I’ve been thinking a lot about the life I really want and the life that I can too easily substitute. I can easily become enthusiastic about new and exciting possibilities. And then I have to make myself ask, “Do I really want this?”
Obviously, life is sometimes made up of things that we don’t want, and we do not have the possibility to choose otherwise. Sickness, job loss, death, house repairs, broken cars, and natural disasters aren’t things that we choose to have in our lives, but they are there.
No, I’m talking about knowing what kind of life I want and taking steps to make it happen. I want a life that is joyful. I want a life that is simple. I want a life that is quiet, yet I am drawn to activity and learning and doing new things. How do I keep a balance between simple/quiet and new/exciting? How do I manage to not have clutter in my home or in my heart? THESE are my struggles.
I was drafting this blog post two days ago, and then yesterday, I saw this post at simplemom.net. The author (Tsh) defines simple living as “living holistically with your life’s purpose.” In other words, you understand the life you were built to have. Then all the things and activities in your life work toward that purpose. Tsh says it this way, “all the parts of your life are pointing in the same direction.” I like that. For us the direction is Christ, but there is a lot of room in that for figuring out a way to live. Check out the article. I think you’ll like it. And I’ll let you know how I do in figuring all this out!
Warm as Pie 
How do I keep a balance between simple/quiet and new/exciting? How do I manage to not have clutter in my home or in my heart? THESE are my struggles.
My struggles as well…Clutter in my home and clutter in my heart – I hope they aren’t related. 🙂
I have had such a difficult time with exactly that: clutter! I have been working diligently to declutter my life. I did this naturally with friendships that were toxic (if they weren’t true to me, they wouldn’t stick around or support me). I have made so many possessions mean something more, and can’t let go. No hoarding here, just slowly but surely going through items over and over until I can firmly let go.
And maybe they are linked to an extent, but I always work to declutter my heart first 🙂
This is a wonderful post. I think about the life I want to live often, but almost just as often my wants change! That’s just what makes life exciting, right?
I have possessions I don’t want to let go of as well. Most of them, I find, are my mother’s — who died 25 years ago! I tell myself they are all I have left of her, but of course, that isn’t true. I have her in my heart and in my memories. But still, when I see them, or use them, I smile. And should I give them up? Ah, well, we’re moving soon to a much smaller house, and stuff will have to go. I hope my heart and my head and hands will all agree…
roamintwin, I’m glad you found your way to my blog! Ah, yes. Clutter is so hard. I’m finding that most of my clutter doesn’t even belong to me. It belongs to my kids. Stuff, stuff, stuff. I do have some clutter of the heart that needs to go! Uncertainty and self-doubt get in the way of my joy and my motivation. I hope you’ll visit again soon.