I’ve been carefully examining my simplicity journey and message to better understand why it means so much to me, how I can make it even more powerful for you, and why I am always called to simplify further and help others do the same.
The answer wasn’t obvious at first, but now it’s crystal clear. Simplicity has been my way back to love. It’s been my way back to people I love, work I love, and a life I love.
6 ways simplicity will show you the way back to love
ONE
It may start with decluttering your kitchen. Once you clear the clutter though, simplicity shines a light on your kitchen table and the meals you used to share there before you covered it with bills, school work, and the other things that had no place of their own. The clutter-free table is your way back to healthy meals, family laughter, and candle-lit romantic dinners. It’s your way back to love.
TWO
Perhaps simplicity starts in your closet. At first the focus is on sorting and donating clothes, but after a while, your lighter closet offers more compliments, less decision fatigue, and the realization that you are wearing clothes you love every day.
You stop wearing the jeans that pinch your waist, the coat you wore during a bad relationship, and the shoes you held onto because they were so expensive, even though you can’t walk in them without wincing. You get rid of the guilt, the sadness, and all the other emotions tied up in your clothes, and find your way back to love.
THREE
If you’ve been holding on to things that support activities you’ve loved over the years, you might have several collections of sporting equipment, craft supplies, journals, hiking gear, video games, and other things, but not enough time or attention to engage in those activities. Maybe you fell out of love with camping or jewelry making, or just forgot how much you loved it.
Let go of the stuff that represents your past … the tent you never use, the tandem bike your partner refuses to ride, or boxes of things you are saving just in case. Choose one activity that makes you smile, engage in it, and find your way back to love.
FOUR
Do you have lots of great ideas, and passion projects that you never start or finish? What can you cut to make room for your best work? I’ve been creating books and courses since 2011 and letting go of some along the way. Before the end of the year, and probably before the end of this month, I’ll be letting go of more courses, making the ones I keep even better, and creating new works of love.
Is there one project you can choose to move forward with right now, while you put the rest on the back burner? The love may fade for the ones you set aside, but then you can pour all the love into the one you choose. Work on something that makes your heart sing and you will find your way back to love.
FIVE
If you push and struggle to be happy, and feel like you have to keep seeking and proving, or if perfection and comparison stand between you and joy, confidence, or love, there is a simple way to get back to love. Go outside, notice the clouds, walk around the lake, or take a deep breath in the park. Nature will remind you that you are enough, and that you deserve to find your way back to love.
SIX
If you say yes to everything and fill your calendar with one obligation and commitment after another, when do you have time to work on your heart? This morning I didn’t check email, I didn’t work on work, and I didn’t clean my house. I took a walk, took pictures of flowers, and listened to a moving memoir.
The only think I worked on this morning was my heart, and I’m ok with that.
Let go of what you think you should do, work on your heart, and you will find your way back to love.
Trying to figure out what matters to you every day by sifting through what doesn’t is exhausting. I always hear about how hard it is to let go, but holding on is harder. You have to hold on everyday, but you only have to let go once.
Every time you let go, you’ll be once step closer to finding your way back to love.
