Living the Simple Life

zen habits : breathe

‘A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.’ ~Henry David Thoreau

For almost 9 years now, I’ve been learning to live a simple life.

A life uncluttered by most of the things people fill their lives with, and left with space for what really matters. A life that isn’t constant busy-ness and rushing, but contemplation and creation, connection with people I love and time for nature and activity.

That doesn’t mean I have zero clutter and zero complications: I’m a part of the world, not a secluded monk. I have possessions, electronics, distractions, and occasional busy-ness. I just have reduced it to make space.

Today I’ve been reflecting on this simple life, and thought I’d share some of those reflections.

Some things I’ve learned about living the simple life:

• Decluttering your home and work space can lead to a less cluttered mind. These visual distractions pull on us in more ways than we realize.
• A quiet unrushed morning is a thing to treasure. I wake early so that I have some quiet time to read, write, meditate.
• You can’t have a simple life if you’re unwilling to let go of what you’re used to.
• Letting go can be difficult, but is easier if you do a one-month challenge. Let go of something for a month and see whether you like it or not.
• Letting go of cable TV was one of the best things we did early on — no more constant television in my home, no more ads for crappy things we don’t need.
• Shopping isn’t therapy. It’s a waste of time and money.
• If you’re filling your life with distractions, its probably because you’re afraid of what life would be like without constant Internet, social media, news, TV, games, snacks.
• Simple, whole, healthy food is not only much healthier than junk food: it’s a pleasure.
• You have to make time for what’s important: time with your kids, time with your spouse, time for creating, time for exercise. Push everything else aside to make time.
• Overcommitting is the biggest sin against simple living most people make. I painfully cut out a huge number of commitments to simplify my life, and I’m glad I did. I do this every year or so because I keep forgetting.
• I keep my days mostly unstructured and unscheduled so that I have room for the little things that are so important: reading with my child, going for a walk, taking a nap.
• I have certain activities I do almost every day, though not on a schedule: writing, reading, eating healthy meals, doing a workout or playing with the kids outdoors, processing my email inbox, reading with the kids.
• It’s easy to fill up our lives because there are so many things that sound amazing. We hear about what others are doing and instantly want to add that to our lives. But it’s harder to remember that by adding so many things to our lives, we are subtracting space. And that space is important.
• By saying no to things that sound really cool, I’m saying yes to what’s truly important to me.
• Distractions are both more tempting and more destructive than we realize.
• It’s tempting to fill in every little minute of the day with productivity or distractions. Don’t. Leave some emptiness.
• We put too much emphasis on excitement. It’s temporary, and not important.
• We overemphasize productivity. Focus, priorities and effectiveness are more important. So is a nice walk with a loved one.
• If you can’t learn to sit in a quiet room alone with no distractions, you won’t be able to simplify.
• Buying things doesn’t solve our problems. Neither does food.
• It’s not how few things we own that matters. It’s whether we make those things count.
• It’s better to have six books on your shelf that you’re really going to read than a hundred you never get around to.
• When you travel lightly, you’re freer, less burdened, less tired. This applies to life, not just travel.
• Your attention is your most valuable possession. Give it as a gift to the people you love most, not a bunch of clowns on the Internet. Give it to the work that matters most, not distractions.
• Sometimes distractions are nice.

‘Let’s begin by taking a smallish nap or two.’ ~Winnie the Pooh

      Posted by Thai Nguyaen from the book--  Zen Habits book

 

Why Are Adult Coloring Books So Popular?
By Don Sebastian

The coloring books for adults have intricate patterns to color. Some say these are psychologically based patterns to relieve tension. Actually, it's the coloring we do that causes us to relax and as a result these books are extremely popular.

Years ago, I remember catching my wife coloring away with a quiet yet enthusiastic demeanor when I came home from work early around 4:00pm. She was sitting with our three children (all under 8 years at the time and all quietly coloring) in our den. I went up to give her my usual hello kiss and didn't get her attention right away as she was totally absorbed coloring.
"Oh you're home early?" she said continuing to color.
"Yeah, what's up?"

"We're just keeping out of trouble... , kids like to color... " I didn't think much about her enthusiasm at the time, and was happy she was having a break.

Remember the Wham-O's Hula Hoop rage where millions found a lot of enjoyment and fun with such a simple hoop. But coloring is different? It's more individualistic and peaceful to yourself and others around you. Adult coloring now is a rage for adults in the modern world.

I researched adult coloring and read the back and forth movement of the crayon, colored pencil, or marker does in fact have a calming effect since it requires the use of both sides of the brain causing neurons to reinforce their connections between both sides while shutting down the frontal lobe which controls organization. So, a feeling of balance occurs after a stressful day. Coloring gives relief to the daily demands of attention focusing at work, stress of everyday life, information overload, intense competition, intense play, intense everything at times.

Johanna Basford's, "Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book" seems to have started the adult coloring book rage in 2011. This book may be a collector's item someday - like an original hula hoop.

Basford, a Scottish commercial artist doing a lot of intricate black and white patterns for wallpapers, beer bottles, wine labels was originally asked to do a children's coloring book but she convinced her British publisher to have her do an adult coloring book since her clients enjoyed coloring in her patterns. Well, we all know after two million copies were sold, Johanna found a new niche for adults to enjoy worldwide.

Johanna doesn't use computers to assist her drawings as she believes computer generated works are soulless.
Her success speaks for itself as she does work for Sony, Chipotle, Absolute Vodka and other major clients from her little studio in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Her original book shows signs of the Brodick Castle Gardens on the Isla of Arran where Johanna played as a child.

You can get many free adult coloring books on the web or you may want to get the book that started this new fad, Johanna Basford's "Secret Garden:An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book." and her new one "Enchanted Forest, An Inky Quest."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Sebastian

 

 

On Sunday, August 30, at 10/9 Central, the TLC channel will air the premiere of "Breaking the Silence." It has been an incredible experience participating in the development of this groundbreaking film addressing the issue of child sexual abuse. This film communicates the importance of adult responsibility and prevention. Don't forget to set your DVRs or tune in to this special commercial-free program. Join us on Twitter before and during the premiere, using the hashtag #BeTheVoice, to discuss the film and how to protect children from sexual abuse.

30 Quick Stories that Will Make You Think Differently
Written by Marc Chernoff

This morning I randomly received emails from three different blog subscribers (subscribe here) that basically said the same thing about three completely different articles: “The story you shared at the beginning of the post made me think differently.  Thank you.”

In light of this, I just spent an hour sifting through our blog archive and re-reading the intro stories to dozens of older posts.  And I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of our subscribers.  Even when taken out of the larger context of a full blog post, these quick stories pack a thought-provoking punch.  So, I figured it would be a fun to re-share them with you today.  I hope you appreciate them as much as I do…

This morning, like he has every morning for the last decade, my 86-year-old grandfather picked a fresh wild flower on his morning walk and took it to my grandmother.  This morning I decided to go with him to see her.  And as he placed the flower on her gravestone, he looked at me and said, “I just wish I had picked her a fresh flower every morning when she was alive.  She would have loved that.”

Today, on my 47th birthday, I re-read the suicide letter I wrote on my 27th birthday about two minutes before my girlfriend showed up at my apartment and told me, ‘I’m pregnant.’  She was honestly the only reason I didn’t follow through with it.  Suddenly I felt I had something to live for.  Today she’s my wife, and we’ve been happily married for 19 years.  And my daughter, who is now a 21-year-old college student, has two younger brothers.  I re-read my suicide letter every year on my birthday as a reminder to be thankful – I am thankful I got a second chance at life.

After injuring my back, losing my job because of it, being evicted from our apartment, moving in with Laura’s parents, nursing my five-year-old through a nearly fatal bout of strep throat, I was stuck in a tragic rut for far too long.  And I was sitting on the front porch of my in-law’s house feeling sorry for myself, yet again, when my old college buddy called me crying and said, ‘Mel-Mel-Melissa, my baby girl, just died in a car wreck.’  And suddenly I felt like the lucky one.
 http://www.marcandangel.com/2015/08/19/30-quick-stories-that-will-make-you-think-differently/

Widespread Child Sexual Abuse Case Rocks Pakistan

HUSSAIN KHAN WALA, Pakistan — Pakistani officials have initiated an investigation into allegations that a gang of men sexually abused more than 200 children and sold videos of the abuse.

The accusations have rocked the country, drawing the attention and condemnation of human rights activists and politicians in a case that involved subjects long considered taboo here.

At least 280 children under the age of 14 from three villages in eastern Punjab Province were said to have been subjected to sexual abuse by a gang of 15 men, who made videos to extort money from the children and their parents. Seven of the accused have been arrested, police officials said Sunday.

The accusations of abuse started trickling out last month as victims began to report it to the police, and last Tuesday, hundreds of residents staged a protest, accusing the police and local politicians of protecting the gang members and ignoring the accusations. Some of the protesters clashed with the police, and dozens of people were injured, including several police officers.

On Saturday, details of the abuse were carried by The

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/world/asia/widespread-child-sex-abuse-case-rocks-pakistan.html?_r=1