CREATING A LIFE OF MEANING THROUGH LIVING SIMPLY

CREATING A LIFE OF MEANING THROUGH LIVING SIMPLY

grow heal love, keep it simple, live with intention, live your purpose
There's so much to be said for living a simple, minimal, filtered life (links to related posts below). + all of it boils down to how we want to look back at our life when we're getting ready for the next great adventure. Loving connection provides the dependable web of intimacy that allows us to cope with life + to live life well. + that is what gives our life its meaning. For most of us, on our deathbeds, it is the quality of our connection with our precious ones that will matter most.Dr Sue Johnson We've been reading Hold Me Tight by Dr Sue Johnson as part of a communication class my husband + I are taking part in. It is a great book. I highly recommend it for any relationships…
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RITUALS FOR AN INTENTIONAL DAY

RITUALS FOR AN INTENTIONAL DAY

gratitude, live with intention
What I know for sure...practicing gratitude will change your life (it's science!), sleep is foundational for your best well-being, + rituals (especially in the morning) keep you rooted This is what my morning ritual looks like. Wake up early (most days ;) ), put the kettle on (coffee is ground the night before so it's not loud + waking up the house before I get a few minutes of me-time in), put the diffuser on with wild orange + peppermint, do some gratitude journaling, + look ahead to what will be happening during the day. When my baby boy wakes up, we put on some gentle morning music + away we go. There's been flex + flow with my morning as life has changed + evolved. For a while I…
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GRATITUDE + PURPOSE

GRATITUDE + PURPOSE

gratitude, live your purpose
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2015 ON focusonsimple.co I have a great job. My coworkers are fantastic. My office looks like it's out of a movie (old building, brick walls, lots of light, miscellaneous team building games). I'm relatively good at what I do. I'm well liked (most of the time. I think.) I have a good relationship with my boss. We work regular hours, no over time is expected. There are the usual work-gripes, but overall everyone is happy. + yet. I really hope it's not what I do to the end of my days. I don't feel deeply fulfilled by it. I don't feel like I'm truly using my life for it's best purpose, like I do when I'm writing or spending time with my son, or when I'm outdoors.…
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MAKE SPACE FOR YOU

MAKE SPACE FOR YOU

grow heal love, keep it simple, live with intention, live your purpose
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2015 ON focusonsimple.co 2015 is all about simplifying. Life got a lot overwhelming in 2014. Overwhelming to the point where you're holding on to your gratitude for your health, having food to eat, + the well-being of those you love, wondering what the next challenge is going to be, + not sure how much more capacity to deal you have. So by the end of the year I found myself yearning for some simplicity, some zen, some space to recharge + process the entirety of the previous year. + in simplifying, I'm focusing on the commitments I make. I tend to take on too many things - make too many commitments. I think that's an affliction most of us have. As a result I find that I do nothing really well. + I'm feeling…
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GRIEF + GRATITUDE

GRIEF + GRATITUDE

family, grow heal love
I was pregnant. Then, I had a miscarriage. Being pregnant was miraculous, given that we had done everything possible to NOT to be pregnant. I had two glorious days of familiar exhaustion + nausea, + the settling of a new presence fitting in with me. + then nothing. Absence. Emptiness. A return to feeling ‘normal’. On one hand, + I'm not sure why, I expected a miscarriage to happen. On the other, I really wanted a second child + happily continued to plan for a babe + start my countdown to the end of the first trimester. When it would be 'safe' to openly celebrate this pregnancy. Life continues. Until it doesn’t. The first signs of blood were, not necessarily a surprise, but heart wrenching all the same. My refrain; “No... No...…
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OBSERVATIONS

OBSERVATIONS

grow heal love, live with intention, live your purpose
ORIGINALLY POSTED IN 2012 ON focusonsimple.co Last week, I came across a whole slew of articles on finding your passion, + what to do with it once you've found it. Which seemed lucky, as they were providing answers I was looking for + information I wanted to share, record, think about, process. But at the end of the week, that was it, + I wasn't sure where to go from there. Well, it's Monday morning, + I have about four or five tabs open with articles, blogs + sites that I want to delve into...all very uplifting, with messages of growth, inner-peace, + hopefulness. So I'm going to try a new thing - we'll see how it goes. When it seems that themes are starting to appear in a week's…
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THE INVITATION BY ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER

THE INVITATION BY ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER

be the change, grow heal love, live with intention
The first time I read this it sank into my being, + when things start to go south it always comes back up to the surface - particularly the line about spending a night with grief + despair, + still being able to get up in the morning + feed the children. It's been a great reminder to be real, authentic, not to deny ones feelings, but not to let them keep you down. It doesn't interest me what you do for a living I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.It doesn't interest me how old you are I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love for your dreams for the adventure…
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IF I HAD MY CHILD TO RAISE OVER AGAIN

IF I HAD MY CHILD TO RAISE OVER AGAIN

family, grow heal love
If I had my child to raise over again ~ Diane Loomans If I had my child to raise all over again, I'd build self-esteem first, + the house laterI'd finger paint more, + point the finger lessI would do less correcting + more connectingI'd take my eyes off my watch + watch with my eyesI'd take more hikes + fly more kitesI'd stop playing serious, + seriously playI would run through fields + gaze more at starsI'd do more hugging + less tuggingI'd see the oak tree in the acorn more oftenI'd be firm less often + affirm much moreI'd model less about the love of power+ more about the power of love.
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IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER AGAIN

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER AGAIN

family, grow heal love, live with intention, live your purpose
By Erma Bombeck, 'If I had my life to live over again'... "I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was  stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the good living room and worried  much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the  fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about  his youth. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer  day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it  melted in storage. I would have sat on the lawn with my…
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ORANGE SHIRT DAY

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

be the change, grow heal love, truth + reconciliation
Full disclosure : I am a 30-something white woman. I'm not sure how much perspective I really have to give, or that my words really bring anything to the table... Today is Orange Shirt Day, in recognition of the abuse suffered by the First Nations people in our country by the hands of my ancestors. Here is the explanation from the official website : "Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis' story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening…
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