Growing up in India in the ‘90s, simple living was the way of life for my family. I am the only child of parents who both had busy jobs and yet found enough time to create an atmosphere of calm and contentment at home. As an adult, I realized that it was the practice of simple living that gifted me with such a serene and fulfilling childhood.
Today I have my own household to run, thousands of miles away from my parents and the quaint little town that I grew up in. Life has become much faster and yet I try to follow in the footsteps of my mother when it comes to homemaking. It is one of the many ways in which I incorporate simple living in my life.
But it is not as if I have always followed the tenets of living simply. I had my share of fast-paced, super busy days. Looking back, I realize that I spent most of my twenties in a half-dazed state, trying to keep up with the rat race. And I was not happy. Perhaps that is why at the first chance of introspection, I decided to take steps to simplify my life. And there has been no looking back since then.
I will talk about the various ways in which I personally practice simple living in a subsequent blog post. Today, I want to touch upon the topic of how living simply has transformed my life profoundly. These are also the reasons why I plan to continue this lifestyle for the foreseeable future. Read on and you might find that you are looking for some of these benefits in your own life as well.
Less Stress
One of the most common benefits of simple living is the reduction of stress in day-to-day life. We get stressed over a lot of decisions in our lives- from the seemingly innocuous ones of what outfit to wear or what to cook to the big ones like which company stocks to invest in to get the best ROI.
With some pre-planning, I at least eliminated the small stressors in my life. And as we all know how the drops make up the ocean, this practice ultimately improved my life drastically.
Improved Mental and Physical Health
Once I managed to reduce the stress, my mental health improved. I was no longer harried about everything and started taking a calm approach to the problems I faced. It also positively affected my physical health. Gone were the common back pains and headaches. Instead, I woke up energized. I started eating better and found the motivation to hit the gym for the first time in my life.
Today, I can proudly say that now I am the fittest I have been in a decade- both mentally and physically and this is reason enough for me to continue down this path.
More Time
Another immediate result was the availability of time. The moment I started eliminating the unnecessary tasks, I realized just how much of my precious time I was spending in these.
I now have time to practice my hobbies and have also been able to set new goals like reading for an hour every day. I have always been an avid reader, but my packed schedule was not allowing me to do so.
Better Relationships
I also took a look at my relationships and found that they have improved a lot over the course of the past year since I started practicing the simple living lifestyle. Earlier I was so caught up in my own existence that I was starting to ignore the needs of my closest people. Conversations had become customary and I was not really listening to half of them.
Now I am in sync with my close relationships. I give them the respect and care they deserve and that has definitely added a new sense of fulfillment in my life.
Joy in the Small Things
Finally, the best for the last. The practice of simple living made me appreciate the small things in life again. As a kid, every flower I smelt or insect I saw enamored me. Most of us are like that as a child. But as life happened, I lost all that wonder. I never realized that this was a regrettable loss until I found it all back.
So now, I take time to stop and look at the lovely flowers on my evening walks, smile at the cute dogs and admire the beauty of the colorful sunset. I have started finding joy in the ordinary again and that has undeniably made my life a tad bit better.
Life is this beautiful gift that we get and it is up to us as to what we make of it. To me, that meant finding the path that makes me content. I do not want to have any regrets of not trying to improve myself continuously. But at the same time, I also do not want to get caught up in that endeavor so much that I forget to live. After all, as the great poet, W. H. Davies said-
“ What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.”
As of now, I have found my balance and I hope that you do yours too, if not already there.
Peace.
Do you have any related experience or story to tell? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
Related Reads
- 7 Invisible Benefits of Living Simply
- The Many Benefits of Simple Living
- 10 Reasons Why a Simple Lifestyle Reduces Stress and Benefits Your Health
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