On the surface it's quite easy to see how busy we are, or what occupies our time. Our priorities are often decided for us - we have to go to work and school, get dressed, eat, etc... So many things are optional though. They seem to be good ideas or seem to be important in the moment, but we find ourselves wondering just how important some things really are.
Comfort is a word that keeps cropping up. Our comfort often gets in the way of what could mean a simpler life. Gadgets and hobbies can occupy our time. That favorite game or television show could provide an adequate amount of 'down time' necessary for stress relief. They can also be huge time and brain wasters, leading to a more complicated schedule.
Gadgets that make our lives supposedly easier, end up requiring maintenance, storage, cleaning, time, and often seem to create more work than they are worth! Cell phones make us more accessible, but also foster the idea that we can NEVER walk away from the endless texts, tweets, emails, and notifications.
Then of course there is what I will call the 'judgement factor'. This is the response from other people when you downsize your life, or create a less hectic schedule. It seems that everyone else has an idea of what your life "should" look like and when you don't meet their expectation, they create their own version of your reasoning. Everything from you must be freaks or weird or anti-social or lazy or mis-manage your resources or irresponsible, or whatever helps them feel better about your life.
As we continue to walk through what simplifying our life means to us, I find myself becoming less concerned with what I may miss out on. I'm not sure that running all the time, or working to achieve another's definition of success is really all that worthwhile.
We only have so much time to live our lives.....so are we living life or managing life? Are we appreciating what we have or killing ourselves to fit in? Are we simply living or living simply? Big questions for sure. It's easy to say we never want to take any day for granted since tomorrow is not promised, but how many of us actually life our lives this way?
