Striving towards simplicity is becoming ever more popular in today’s modernist society. In Western culture it seems nothing is ever simple these days. From the minute we open our eyes in the morning until we rest our heads at night we are held spellbound by a seemingly limitless amount of choices. We open wardrobes stuffed with multiple outfit choices, spend precious minutes scrolling through thousands of songs on our iPhone playlist, become bewitched by a Starbucks menu offering a gazillion variations of a cup of coffee. Making time for balance, freedom and finding simple joy in the small things is becoming increasingly over-shadowed within this mess of modern clutter. How much time do we waste every day on the choices presented by our wardrobe, playlist and Starbucks alone? How could that time have been put to more effective use on the things that matter most? Our attachment to clutter is distracting our focus from the things that are truly essential in life, the things that actually mean something; like kinship, communication, nature and wellness. My partner and I moved to Bali with hearts that yearned for simplicity, we longed for a place that would allow us to peel away the material layers of unnecessary attachment to technology and possessions so that the truly necessary could rise to the surface. With simplicity comes freedom; by no longer defining yourself by your material possessions you will discover what your true values really are. Slowly it becomes obvious that the necessities in life are not the newest phone model or other expensive trophies. We tend to identify happiness with the purchase of these things but it is a false joy. Did the happy feeling from buying those new shoes last as long as the pure joy brought by time spent with your children or practicing your faith? Simplifying your life doesn’t necessarily mean you have to throw away all your earthly possessions; the journey can begin simply by identifying what is truly important to you in life and slowly taking steps to eliminate the things that distract you from those things.

 

1 | Identify your simple pleasures 
Make sure you make the time every day to honor the simple things that make you happy. Make a list of the natural highs you achieve when you are not in the thrall of the television or internet. Perhaps you feel it after an hour of yoga practice, reading in the bathtub, cooking for loved ones or taking your dog to explore a local area of wildlife. The next time you look at the clock after scrolling your Facebook or Instagram feed and realize 30 minutes has been wasted, make a point of asking yourself how you could have better spent that time.

2 | Minimize unnecessary clutter 
Last year Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he wears the same grey t-shirt every day. Not the same grey t-shirt but his wardrobe consists of nothing but grey t-shirts. He explained that this is in order to avoid the ‘decision fatigue’ caused by exhaustive daily decision making which distracts focus from his work. This of course doesn’t mean all of us should operate mono wardrobes. BUT when we take the time to de-clutter our lives of distracting and un-necessary items we will find ourselves with room to breathe that we never knew we had.

3 | Be a conscious Consumer 
Learn what “enough” is. By visiting the local markets to pick out the fresh fruits and vegetables for our daily meals I have not only saved a lot of money but avoided picking up unnecessary items that I wasn’t shopping for. The power of supermarket marketing is incredible. They use psychological mind tricks to coax you into leaving with more than you came for, such as deliberately confusing layouts which force you to stay in the store for longer than planned and placing toys and sweets at children’s eye-level. We ventured into our local supermarket a few days ago and I left with a fruit bowl I had no intention of buying when I entered!

4 | Eat together 
Every morning Bar and I will sit on the front steps of our home or at our garden table and share a bag of fresh market fruit for breakfast. We split papayas, peel mangosteen for each other, talk about the day ahead and how good the fruit tastes; we listen to the wind rustling the leaves and the carried sounds from surrounding homes starting their morning. No television, no phones, no laptops; instead of screens we look at each other. The importance of eating together is not over-valued; enjoying basic meals with loved ones promotes psychological well-being and improves communication.

5 | Practice Mindfulness 
Finding inner simplicity will naturally lend itself to simpler living. ‘Mindfulness’ has become a bit of a buzzword over the last few years but it is a powerful tool for tuning out distractions. It teaches us to forget re-hashing an un-changeable past or worrying about an un-controllable future and focusing only on the immediate and present moment. I am making the effort to take at least ten minutes every day to mindfully meditate. There are some great free phone Apps available to download which walk you through guided meditations if you are a beginner.

Time is our most precious gift and by simplifying our lives we leave ourselves space to honor the one possession we have that is most valuable.