1.3 Simplicity
Simplicity boils down to two steps:
Identify the essential.
Eliminate the rest.
Leo Babauta
The word simplicity just came to me one day when I was trying to figure out how to handle this chaotic life of mine. I often feel overwhelmed, tired and stressed out, while there is just too much of everything at the moment. I was frustrated, because for the first time in my adult life I have a heart-based path in life, that I truly want to pursue. I actually have several heart-based paths I want to follow. But at the same time my reality is so far away from going down any of these pathways due to lack of money, time and energy. So, at the moment it is quite difficult to see that any of these dreams can become my life at some point.
I was therefore sitting thinking where am I going to go from here? And the answer that came from my inner guidance was just the word “Simplicity”. I was just like, yes simplicity, it sounds easy, but yet my brain couldn’t quite comprehend the meaning of this word. So, I turned to google and searched for some definitions of simplicity, but nothing quite seemed to be what I was looking for.
An example is this one from the Oxford Languages:
1. The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do
2. The quality or condition of being plain or uncomplicated in form or design.
So, I kept searching and instead I found some interesting concepts, that in some way all contained some elements of what I believe the word “simplicity” means.
Conscious living is about choices.
Every second of our life is about making choices regarding to our actions, words, thoughts, feelings, movements etc. When we are conscious, we are present in the NOW and we are therefore able to make conscious choices, also known as the choices of our true inner self, the soul. When we are not in the NOW being present, our choices are not conscious, but running on autopilot. This means that we are running on programmed patterns that already exist. The programmed patterns are our habits, which has come into being, due to repetitive choices over a longer period. And no change can occur when we are running on autopilot, because we need our consciousness to create the change.
Simpel living is about complexity.
First and foremost, it is about you getting peace and a surplus of energy to focus on the few, but important things here in life.
It is about rejecting what is unnecessary complicated,
to enjoy the small things in life,
to live with less,
to drop the constant pursuing after more,
and to put people over things.
Slow living is about time.
It is to get a slower approach to all aspects of life, where one doesn’t get carried away with the high pace of modern society. But instead, you stop and sense/notice what you are feeling and thinking, and do things in your own pace.
Minimalism is about things.
It is about owning and using as few things as possible. To remove everything that does not create any value for you and instead to keep only the essential. In other words, it is about living with as few things as possible and just own what you need in your everyday life[1].
Zero Waste is about consumption.
The overall goal is waste prevention where one strives to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators or the ocean. This is thought to be possible through a circular system where resources are conserved by a set of principles.
Refuse: decline things because of its packaging, imprint or production.
Reduce: minimize consumption of imported goods or new stuff that one doesn’t really need.
Reuse: use things more than one time or to buy something that has already been used.
Recycle: actively sort waste and let it enter circular into our waste disposal facilities.
Rot: composting what can’t be reused or recycled.
Repair: avoiding buying new things by repairing and maintaining what one already has[2].
Going through these concepts I realized that for me “Simplicity” is more a process than anything else. It is a process where the above mentioned concepts are intertwined with each other, because they are so similar.
And as I see it, there is a bit more steps than the two mentioned in the quote from the beginning of this text. These are as following;
1. Presence
Be present in the NOW, so that you can become conscious about what you feel and sense. If you get more in tuned with your feelings and senses, you will be able to figure out what your needs are and what is right for you.
2. Identification
Identify what choice/change/habit/ pattern/ thing/relation is important for you to work on. Chose only one thing at a time, so that you know where to put your focus and make peace with the fact that at the moment this is your area of focus[3].
3. Time
In order to create change in your life, you need to find time for it. Making conscious choices in everyday life, takes time because we need to switch off the autopilot an incooperate the choices into new habits, so that they can become our new patterns that can control the autopilot.
4. Elimination
When you know what your area of focus is and have found time to work with it, you need to eliminate everything that is unnecessary complicated, so that you only use your energy on the essential regarding to your chosen focus area.
5. Repetition
You might need to repeat the steps several times with the same focus area, before you have eliminated everything that is unnecessary for you, in order to get where you want. Or maybe you chose to go through the steps with a new focus area, that you want to simplify.
This process is for me what simplicity is all about. A circular process where one is continuing to make conscious choice to eliminated old patterns, things, relations etc. that do no longer serve one’s highest purpose. So that one is able to shine one’s light clear and bright in this world.
And yes, I have really tried to write this post as simple as possible, but it was difficult, because it is such an interesting topic. 😊
[1] http://etlangsomtliv.dk/slow-living-101/minimalisme-simple-living-og-slow-living-hvad-er-forskellen/
[2] Johansen, Gittemarie. ”Bæredygtig badass – en zero waste livsstilsguide” Muusman forlag (2020) 1. edition
[3] I use focus area throughout the steps as representative for choice/change/habit/thing/relation or anything else you want to simplify with this theory, so that it is the same word through out the steps.