One of my biggest beliefs in life and how we live our life as a reflection of that, is that simple living is the key to happiness and fulfilment.
There is nothing better than sitting in our garden, with the sun shining, having a drink and enjoying the wildlife. Or having candles lit in the living room on a gloomy day, with a cup of tea and my husband by my side. There’s nothing better than eating a cake that’s fresh out the oven, with a big dollop of cream on the top, or having a cuddle with my beautiful cats and hearing them purr.
What’s the theme with all these things?
They’re free. Or almost.
Buying lots of materialistic things, keeping up with the latest XY&Z, living in the biggest house you can possibly stretch to, having big blow outs at the mall, spending 100’s on day trips out and novelty items don’t make for an easy life. Once you start buying goods and keeping up with the trends, life becomes complicated. Know why? Because you have to keep buying stuff, to keep up. You know the Joneses? They come into play here. You buy more and more things to impress others, whilst making life more and more complicated in the process.
But, you know what? The Joneses aren’t happy. They are straining under the weight of their material possessions, as they use these to determine their own sense of self. The shiny big 4×4 on the drive way, the fancy designer clothes, the kitchen gadgets on the side and the billion and one novelty items don’t make them happy. They might do, for the short term but over the long term? Nope.
Human beings naturally want attention and compliments and positive aspects to their life. Buying things to impress others so they’ll compliment you isn’t being happy. It definitely isn’t the simple life. Be proud of who you are without the “stuff”. If you aren’t proud of who you are without the barrier of goods to hide behind, then question why that is. You don’t need to validate your existence because you own the latest video game. You are good enough without having to make life complicated.
Some of our friends don’t really understand why me and my husband are happy to go without. We’re not bothered about going out every weekend, or seeing the latest film at the cinema. We’re not bothered about having the latest gadgets and the new fashion trends. We’d rather go for a picnic and a bike ride when the weather’s fine, or go and spend time with family members who appreciate the effort. We do go to the cinema occasionally, but as it’s now quite expensive to go, it’s a treat rather than the norm. I have quite a capsule wardrobe, where I buy things I know will last, rather than what’s the current style. Our simple life links in with a somewhat minimalistic lifestyle.
You know what’s best though? I love our life the way it is. I’d recommend the “living with less” lifestyle to anyone; we’re not depriving ourselves of anything, far from it, but we’re much more mindful of the things we do buy and where they will go. We don’t have the biggest home in the world and we certainly don’t want it crammed full of things we don’t need nor appreciate. I also think that the more stuff you own, the more stressful it is to be the owner of everything.
We live a good and simple life, and we like it that way.
Do you agree? Or not? Are we missing out by not indulging? I’d love to hear from you!
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You do not need a big budget to have a great time. Most of the finest things in life are free.
What would today’s generation do 50 years ago? No cell phones, no computers, barely TV.
Radio and card games were the big thing, and of course there was working, which most forget how to do…
This is so true. Once you caught up with keeping up with the latest trends/the Joneses, it seems like happiness in life lies in materialistic possessions, when actually there are other things in life that can make us happy. Nevertheless, I will admit that I also like to keep up with the new technology
sometimes, or go out to watch a movie. Balance is key.
You are right; balance definitely is key. I need to remember that sometimes 😉
I could not agree more! People not overcomplicate their lives with stuff, but now I’m realizing more and more with plans. A girl I know posted on FB yesterday that she now has every weekend booked through the summer. Geez man, leave some room for spontaneity and alone time! That kind of busyness would overwhelm me. Same with too much stuff!
Thanks for stopping by! I agree – I hate having lots of weekends booked up as it doesn’t give any room for spontaneous trips/days out 🙂
I loved this post, Nicola! I do agree with you that simple life is the best. Owning things sometimes does feel like a burden. I love the idea of minimalism and have recently got rid of many things I owed. I feel a lot better now but would love to declutter my life even more.