Simple. What does living simply mean to you?

Soft. SIMPLE. Still

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Hello my friend,

How are you today? It’s been a couple of weeks since we shared a cuppa together. How have YOU been?

I am gently exploring my Substack name with you. Soft. Simple. Still. Last time I spoke about SOFT. Have you noticed any SOFTNESS in your life these past couple of weeks? Have you noticed how the soft softness has been able to gently soothe the edges and hard places within?

I would love you to write to me and share what has happened in your life since we last connected.

I took last week off from writing as I have been facilitating Magic Moments - my 21 day online meditation retreat. Today is day 9, and oh how divine this workshop is. It is a soft simple place to pause and ask your heart each day “What does my heart need most in 2024?” Imagine that! Imagine asking your heart each day “What do you need most, my dear heart, at this moment?” Today we received healing and blessings from the Spirit of Water. Imagine the answers. Imagine the healing. Imagine the Soft Simple Still moments.

Personally I have been receiving SIMPLE and yet powerful messages like - drink more water, get a massage, go for more walks along the cliffs, go for a swim…

These are SIMPLE things.

And yet,
and yet I feel that when they are said back to me something in me wants to complicate them.

I wonder why I turn the simple messages into complicated and convoluted ones?
I wonder why I am unable to follow through on such simple messages as - go for a walk to my favourite place, or - get a massage?

SIMPLE.

I looked it up.

Can you relate to that definition?
Can you imagine what life would be like if it was as per that definition? If it was easy, if there was nothing to complicate it or decorate it with “The-fluff-of-stuff?”

Can you imagine what that would be like for you?

To live humbly and unpretentiously.
To do things without difficulty.
To see things in their uncomplicated form.
To see the beauty and simplicity in things and be filled by it - filled by curiosity, by excitement, and by joy (

Natalie Eslick

writes so beautifully about exploring nature in its simplicity. She is also an incredible fine artist and her drawing of animals in their natural form and detail is something extra-ordinarily enchanting.)

I wonder,

what would living simply look like
and feel like in your current life?

And then I wonder,
what would it be like for the whole of humanity
to live more simply?

Ahh, we are human. And life for us humans is sometimes as far from simple as possible.

And maybe we want it to be simple, yet maybe it is because there are external factors, institutional demands, family pressures (I am sure you can add more), that impinge on our lives and turn our Simple into Complicated.

When I choose to do things that are not Simple (in the pure essence of the word) my body gives me very clear messages to STOP. I get very tired. I become incredibly stressed. My breath becomes shallow. I can feel that I put too much pressure on myself to be in too many places at once, and thus I feel very stretched, even before I begin.

And then my health - my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health suffers. And the simple things like drinking more water and going for a walk seem to be “too complicated” and I think “I don’t have enough time!”

Don’t get me wrong, I do love a challenge;

yet I feel that when I flow with the innate TRUTH and WISDOM that lives within me,
my life becomes SIMPLE.

In that pure sense I can do many wonderful things all at once,
for I am listening to something greater than my ego,
greater than societies demands on my essence,
greater than the things that clash with my innate sense of self

and that then allows and invites a Simple Flow to occur.

I feel that when I live simply my life flows better,
and my life becomes rich and full.

I am pausing with you right now, and I am asking myself as I invite you to ask yourself

What does living a simple life look like?

Would you like to do a little exercise with me?

Let us imagine that our life is a delicious pie.

If you could look down at your delicious pie, a pie that you have eaten over and over again - What portion of it would be made of Simplicity, Ease, Nature, Nurture, Flow, Kindness, Expansion, Skillful abilities…?

And then what portion would be made of…Complications, Expectations, Adrenal Overload, Stress, Dis-Ease, Pain, Anxiety…?

Released of judgement, just look at this pie
released of judgement, just look at the pie that you have been eating and digesting over and over - for how long - only you know.

How does that image now make you feel?

Now imagine you are cutting a piece to eat from the Simple side…What flavours will you be tasting? What ingredients would make up this part of your pie? Now bite into it…How does it feel to bite and chew and digest this piece of your pie? Savour the taste. Savour the texture. It is truly delicious isn’t it? Can you taste it?

{pause for a moment to digest this delicious part of your pie}

Now imagine you are going to bite into the Complicated side? What ingredients would be in that part of your pie? Can you imagine the smell, the flavours already coming into your mouth without taking a bite? What would digesting a Complicated piece of your piece be like for you?

And now imagine your IDEAL LIFE…what ingredients would you put into that pie?
What would you be doing that is DIFFERENT to what you are doing now?

If you could write out your ingredients for the perfect pie, what would you include?

For me:

A simple life for me is a life where I can interact with people with love and compassion, respect and genuine interest, and who in turn interact with me that way. A simple life for me is having all my needs met and yet having less material things around me.
A simple life for me is slowing down, being mindful in my thoughts, actions and deeds.
A simple life for me is pausing and connecting with nature. Being bare-footed on Mother Earth, swimming in the ocean and sitting on rocks.
A simple life for me is reading out loud to my children, hand sewing and pottering in the garden.
A simple life for me is having lots of home cooked meals that are made with love, that invites less waste in the kitchen and that enables me to preserve and store for later seasons.
A simple life for me would be writing more, sharing more and creating a soft, simple, empowered place for more people to enjoy.
A simple life for me is early nights and early mornings and a soft gentle waking to the day.

I would love you to share your ideal SIMPLE life.
And if for this moment in time you could change just one SIMPLE thing in your current life, to make your life SIMPLER, what would that be?

Just one SIMPLE THING…something that you know you can achieve.

I invite you to try doing that.

And please share how that was, and what occurred. I would love to support you and cheer you on, encourage you and learn from you.

Until next week,

May your life be SOFT and SIMPLE.

In kindness,

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Maybe you would like to support me by becoming my FINANCIAL PATRON?
As a Financial Patron you are sending me a very strong message that you acknowledge and value my time, and the energy that is required to write these healing posts, stories and meditations for you.

Your contribution ensures that my light and energy can be sustained in a soft and simple way.

In gratitude,
for all your support. x