Mountain Zen Den Podcast ~ Episode 44 – Seeking Simplicity

“Simplicity is never a matter of circumstances; simplicity is always a matter of focus.” ~ Ann Voskamp

There is something so wholesome and alluring about seeking the simplicity found in Nature, and escaping the craziness and cacophony of the man-made, synthetic world.

Simplicity comes in many forms, but every one of these forms involves one thing – “Presence”.

When there is worry and clutter and unresolved details in your inner and outer world, it’s easy to begin to lose a sense of presence, and be tempted to either, fall back into the past, filled with a sense of guilt, loss and regret.  Or, we tend to jump ahead into the future, surrounded by fear, anxiety and wistfulness –a longing for what is not yet here.  Both directions steal your joy by taking you away from the moment, and placing you where you can never be.

 

When Thoreau went to the woods to live simply, he confirmed the truth that every one of us have all that we need to live and to be happy in what has been provided by the Creator of the Universe. 

 

By returning to nature and the wild, his heart’s desire was to return to simplicity and true happiness.  So why would we ever look elsewhere?  Even back then in the mid-1800’s he observed the mass of men “leading lives of quiet desperation”.  Way before the internet!

Technology isn’t the problem.  We are the problem. We lose our minds – become “unmindful” as we clutter, and try to fill our lives with a host of things we do not really want or need.

Let today be a wake up call to take some time to do a personal life assessment and decide to unburden yourself of all that is unnecessary for your happiness.

 

 

 

Photos by Filip Mroz on Unsplash  and Deniz Altindas on Unsplash

 

 

 

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