keep it simple – Page 3 – Holistic Living

SO…HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WENT?

be the change, live with intention, live your purpose

I imagine that when we leave this life and we move on to what's next, we will have the opportunity to 'sit down' + have a conversation - a debrief, if you will - with our great creator. I imagine it will go something like this... "So. How do you think that went? What did you do with the precious, precious gift you were given?" ... My parents taught me that when you're a guest in someone's house you don't leave a mess behind to be cleaned up. You don't even just clean up after yourself. When you leave, you've made your guests home or lives better. You've made their life easier. When my time on this earth has ended, I want to be able to say, with confidence, "I made the…

by Mackenzie 2 Comments

3 LIFE GOALS WORTH WORKING ON

family, grow heal love, keep it simple

A bit o' truth from this little journey of ours. I've discussed before about some of the challenges our family has dealt with over the past year (plus). There has been no 180degree turn. but I'm climbing steadily to a place of peace, positivity, acceptance, growth. This is how it's happened : No light bulb, no switch flip, no lightning bolt of revelation. A slow, steady, uncomfortable, sometimes unbearable, stumbling crawl in a progressively upwards direction. There have been times that have seemed light + beautiful. + times when I've wanted to just scream, give up, + slide back down to start again. Two steps forward, one step back, repeat, sometimes three steps forward, no steps back. It's a big learning curve for me. Learning to heal, learning to grow together,…

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ONE YEAR OF SIMPLE BEAUTY

be the change, environment, keep it simple

Part of living simply is cleaning up the crap that's going in + on my body. Some of the choices we are making include: buying organic +/or local as much as possible;paying attention to labels;cleaning with a vinegar/water mix + using old cotton clothes as rags. On Christmas Day 2014 I made the decision to stop using shampoo. The catalyst for this decision was that my hair would start to get really oily within a half-day of having washed it. It is really frustrating to feel that you're getting gross on the same day that you've washed. Over cleaning stimulates an excessive amount of oil because one's body is trying to compensate for the fact that all its natural oils have been stripped away. So I quit shampoo cold turkey. Thank…

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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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MAKING TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST

live with intention

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2016 ON focusonsimple.co I recently saw the quote "'I don't have time' means it's not important to you." This was a wake up call for me. I work full time, + am trying to make my side gig my real gig. I have a toddler + husband. Other family + friends. + they're all important to me. However. Most/all of my 'free time' is spent on the side gig, so it can someday be my real gig + then I won't have to do the 'day job'. I keep thinking, 'that's when I'll have time for the things i don't have time for now'. For the most part, that's been time for friends + time for health. + my friends are beautiful + amazing + they deserve better.…

by Mackenzie No Comments

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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GOALS ARE ACHIEVED ONE STEP AT A TIME

live with intention, live your purpose, Uncategorized

When I make a 'to-do' lists, they're always unreasonably long. + the more I add to the lists, the less gets done, because there are so many things I get overwhelmed, don't know where to start, + end up paralyzed into doing none of the things. So I'm starting to focus on one goal at a time. Instead of cleaning + purging my entire house in one go, I'm going to start with one bedroom. + I'm going to give myself a week. + each day I'm going to do 1 thing. Today I'm going to put up those curtains which have been sitting on the floor for a month (finally). Tomorrow I'll put away the random things that have migrated to our room for whatever reason. + so on. +…

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WORK HARD FRIEND, WORK HARD

live with intention, live your purpose

I wrote a post a long while back about a phrase my mother used to say; Do what you love + the money will follow. I took this as gospel + have spent much of my life since childhood trying to figure out what it is that I really love. The one thing I'll be able to spend my days doing in ease + joy...+ because I will love what I do, the joy will flow through + people will be drawn in + I will shine + be brilliant. Wait. What? That's not how it works. If I want to be successful at something I get to work hard at it. I may love what I do, but if I don't do the 'do' part I'm not really going to get anywhere in life with…

by Mackenzie No Comments

DELVING INTO MINIMALISM

keep it simple

Traditionally a minimalist approach applied to art or design or theory. Today there is a growing movement towards minimalism as a lifestyle. Like most people, I have generally been influenced + driven by our consumerist culture, always feeling if I just was able to buy the perfect cushion, bed linens, art work, piece of clothing, dish set, + on + on, that I would finally feel content, be satisfied, be happy. of course, that never happens. Our place is filled with stuff. Even when we get rid of lots of stuff, it's filled with stuff. + all the stuff doesn't bring life satisfaction. In fact, it does the opposite. The desire to embrace a minimalist lifestyle has become my goal more specifically over the last few months, but the journey…

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WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF

keep it simple

It comes down to; if you don't use it, lose it. If you can't store it in an organized way, toss it. When my husband + I went on our honeymoon we stayed in a suite that had a very small living room, fold out table for a dining space, + a minuscule kitchen; 2 element stove top, bar fridge, microwave, single bowl sink, + an 18" dishwasher. Small. I thought we were going to go crazy trying to make do with such a small place. It was our honeymoon - I didn't want to feel like we were compromising on comfort. But it was enough. With some planning it was a cozy, romantic home for us. We didn't feel cramped or that we were missing anything. In fact, it…

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