8 Ways to live a Good Simple Life
Image taken in the rice fields near Ubud on my recent trip to Bali, Indonesia November 2022
As I walk along the beach front in Christchurch New Zealand this morning after dropping my car off for a service, I smile at the simplicity of my Monday.
I feel happy to have a time to carve out a 40minute walk. I could have taken a courtesy car that was on offer at the mechanics, but instead I decided to walk along the beachfront to the public library. This way I could get in a walk, and also get my chores done. I find I can also fit in a coffee stop and really take in the view of the mountains and the horizon, which all helps me generate creativity for my wellbeing writings I love to do.
I am aware this is not a lot of people will be spending their Monday. And to be honest, it hasn’t always been like this for me.
It’s taken a lot of letting go.
Letting go
Over the past 7 years I’ve step by step proactively taken action to prune down my commitments, say no to more people, and to courageously simplify my to-do list so I can focus on things of greater importance.
It has meant letting go of social expectations of what it means to be successful. Letting go all the things that kept me feeling constantly over committed and never really having time to do the things that truly matters to me.
I feel proud. I’m not just lucky…. I have carefully and consciously created a simple life for myself.
Everyone says, “if only I had more hours in my day.” We all want more time, but is this the real issue?
Moments of simplicity
After recently coming back from a month in Indonesia, I’ve felt inspired by the following moments of simplicity.
I think of the Balinese man in the rice fields carefully and proudly drawing his pencil sketch that would be a wall hanging. He told me he had been doing it for 3 days. I could tell he was more happy to show me his creative process than he was eager to make a sale to me. He seemed proud, peaceful, in flow, and content
I think of my homestay host in Ubud. How she got up before all off us to sweep the frangipanis off the concrete, and then brush her elderly Mums hair and massaging her shoulders before cooking nasi goreng and pancakes for 3 groups of guests and tending to her colleagues at the massage spa she also ran. She told me she had magic hands, that’s how she could give so much. She always made time for rest in the afternoon. She seemed so joyful in her giving.
I think of how my jandals broke when I was walking to a yoga class on Gilli Air Island. A tiny Island in Lombok, off the coast of Bali. It was just 5kms around the Island. It had no cars, just a few bicycles and donkeys and carts. Walking in bare feet was common, and the ground was mostly sand. I never really missed my jandals in the days after that. The sand in between my toes felt great.
And now I’m back in New Zealand….
I think of how grateful I am for good health. I had lots of Bali belly this trip, and I remember thinking on my holiday, if I could have one thing in my life, it would be good health, to be fit, to climb some NZ hills! If I could have just one thing? It would be good health and vitality.
I think of how travel is actually hard at times. Its not what you see on social media. Travel helps me learn my real strength of character, and how lucky I am to call NZ home.
I think of the how everyone seems to be trying to be the ‘next big thing’, a social influencer, and most prominent businessperson, a Tony Robbins….with all due respect to Tony Robbins (I do love his content!), I don’t think we need to strive to be ‘the next big thing.’ If we all just did our small part to add value to the world, we could all live with more gentleness and harmony.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – GhandiI think of the build up to Christmas, and how we Kiwis tend to thrash around the country seeing family, we over-consume rather than simply reflect on the gifts we already have.
“More is not the answer to our problems. Doing more and keeping ourselves busy will never satisfy the place inside that never feels full.” David Brooks, New York Times Columnist and best selling author of The Second Mountain, The Quest for a Moral Life.I think of the importance of walking. This simple pleasure I took for granted until I went to Indonesia where scooters and jumbled pavements made walking even 400 metres tricky. The wellbeing research tells us to be walking 10,000 steps a day. Simply putting one foot in front of the other is good for not just for the body, but for the mind. We are so lucky in Christchurch with ocean and hills and big open spaces on our doorstep!
Anchored in something deeper
It’s a bit unrealistic to think we need to all run away to a remote island to find simplicity. We all have life admin, we all need an income, and at times stress is part of life. But we do need to be anchored in something deeper in life.
“Living simply is not living without. It’s enjoying life with everything you need. ”
Simplicity reminds us to value what’s important. Values such as contentment, gratitude, simplicity, compassion and giving, making ordinary moments extraordinary and understanding that often less is more.
These yoga values that have endured the test of time (and are also well documented in wellbeing science) give us a foundation to build a good life upon. If we are not anchored in something deeper we float around distracted and get pulled into other people’s priorities.
Living a good life means we find a careful balance between getting our life admin done and staying anchored in these values. It’s like holding our admin duties in one hand, and our values in the other, and the art of living a good life is like a dance of balancing out both hands. We want to get to the end of our life and be able to say that we have done what truly matters.
8 ways to Live a Good Simple Life
To summarise, to live a good simple life means we cultivate a mindset where we make time for what matters.
1. We make space for slow time, and down time – we become aware of our old habits of squeezing in too man things in our day. Less is not laziness.
2. We make time for long walks - Can I step outside more often away from the computer screen and simply see the horizon? What opportunities are there for walking outside around me to soak up the fresh air, and the many wellbeing benefits for getting active in nature.
3. We create chunks of time to get lost in our creative endeavours – where we are lost in a deep meaningful conversation, or a creative writing, or artwork.
4. We give to others – make your life about giving to others. Do I need to be aiming for huge well-known project to get me lots of following to feel successful or could I simply help my aging neighbour?
5. We train our mind to notice what’s going well in our life. Through yoga we find peace in letting go of what no longer serves us. We become more present and have clarity of mind.
6. We values challenges as on opportunity to get a broader perspective - Is this the truth, or could there be another truth? Am I overcomplicating things or adding my own mental chatter to a scenario? What could this possible teach me? Can I take a pause, get active, do some yoga, question different angles.
7. We value experiences over belongings. How does it feel when you travel with a small bag? What do I really need to be happy? If I die, what will matter more, what/how much I own, or what experiences I’ve had?
Decluttering is about removing the things we don’t need. Living simply is about discovering how little we actually need - The Minimalists.
8. We courageously make boundaries with our peers, our family, to prioritise our health and wellbeing, so we are not always overcommitted. This will mean disappointing others, to put your own health and wellbeing first.
Our life becomes more fulfilling when we live simply. There are many areas of our life we can start to simplify – remember this can be a step-by-step process.
It turns out that by stripping away the clutter, the simpler life becomes and the freer we feel. This is part of the process of relaxing which is also good for mind - Annonymous
Jo Jarden is a health coach, yoga teacher, personal trainer and founder of Heart and Mind Yoga Christchurch New Zealand. She helps people find mental peace, physical vitality, and to live with purpose
Services include:
Workplace Yoga - 1 hour yoga session, or wellbeing workshops
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