Five Minute Friday - Simple

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from HS Coffee Break helps fuel this blog.

One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

the simple life

simple pleasure

keep it simple

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

********************

A few years ago we decided we needed to declutter, get rid of some of the accumulation of stuff in our house. Wasn't the first time we'd made the effort, and we knew it wouldn't be the last. It's funny that we know we don't need all the stuff we keep, but for some reason we keep it anyway.

When we packed up to move, we weren't sure what kind of place we'd get, but we planned on renting so we knew we'd have less space. In a way, it was so good, because it made me think about what things I actually needed or wanted badly enough that I would make room for them. I even looked forward to starting fresh with only those things and having a simpler pared-down home. Some of the decisions about what to bring were not easy!

So here we are, still working our way around boxes and things. We haven't decided where everything goes and how to arrange it, and there are still a couple items of new furniture we're waiting on. We're not quire sure what to do with all the empty boxes. I haven't decided where to hang any pictures on any walls yet, because I want to know where the furniture goes first. And I don't have any picture hanging hooks and such anyway. We put up the tree but I still haven't decorated it.

And it's okay. It's not a race and there's no one to impress. I really think I should get the tree decorated tonight, but I know I'll use far fewer ornaments than usual. I kind of like the tree with just the lights. Over the next week or so, we will get the rest of the furniture, and most of the things that are still sitting out will go into the shelves or dressers or cabinets where they belong; and we'll get the empty boxes looked after. We might even get some pictures hung on the walls. 

Speaking of simple pleasures . . . 

And I wonder if I'll continue to be content with simple decor and fewer things? I hope so. We don't need to impress anyone with all the things we have, and people whose good opinion is worth having aren't impressed by all the things anyway. 

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with - that's poverty - but how efficiently we can put first things first. ~Victoria Moran

Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world. ~Oscar Wilde

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough. ~Charles Dudley Warner

In other words, simplicity has much in common with humility and being content. 

And Mary said:

"My soul glorifies the Lord, 

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me -

holy is his name.

~Luke 1:46-49~

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 

~I Peter 3:8~

********************

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we will not be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

~Shaker song by Joseph Bracket, Jr, 1848

********************

This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Simple".

 ©2006-2022 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.