Simplify

For the last few years my family and I have been trying to simplify our lives.  We have gotten rid of things that sit and don't improve our daily living.  We've eliminated the collections that sit and only collect dust.  We have minimal furniture and minimal decorative items.

We didn't choose to do this because it was a fad, we chose to do this because we wanted to choose how to spend our days.  We didn't want to be ruled by our "stuff."  We wanted to be able to walk away from it and live and do things that brought us joy.

As we make decisions about our future we weigh the things we want to do against the things we have to do. We try to minimize the "have to's" to make room for the "want to's."  We choose to be free from things and only attached to the people we care about rather than the material things that rarely bring anything extra into our lives.

It's ok to have things that are beautiful and that we enjoy, but it's a good idea to ask why we have them.  Do we have those things because of the joy they bring us or because we think we are supposed to own them. That "should" word comes back again.  Even when referring to the purchases we make, "should" needs to stay out of the equation.

We choose time with each other, freedom to travel, health and peace.  Everything else is extra.