Simplicity

Life has gotten very complicated lately for most of us. So much to do, so little time. Overwhelming at times if we’re not careful. Scary if we expose ourselves to the news too often. And the news these days is not easy to take.

Seems that it was easier years ago. Many of us have forgotten some of the simple pleasures as we run from one commitment to another, juggling jobs, children, work and more.

I got to see some of those simple pleasures in action this weekend. I was lucky enough to spend time in rural Maine at the house of my dear friend and due to the kindness of her husband. Close to her house is the annual MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) Country Fair. Going to the fair was like stepping back to a time when people valued the simplicity of a prize winning tomato or a horse. Where children with their families were oohing and aahing over the big pumpkins. Where a child has fun just kicking a rock. Where fresh air and home grown food, school bands and bicycle parades are enjoyed and shared. It was truly wonderful.

My simplicity was by choice. I chose to stay at a house that had only 4 television stations, no internet and no cell phone service. It was a nice respite from my normal plugged in life with the TV blaring, the laptop cranking and a phone ringing behind me. I got to choose to have the simple life for a few days unlike those people in Galveston, Texas who are still struggling without power, some without the house and possessions that had been so much a part of who they were. Or those in many other parts of the world who have so many other challenges to deal with. I got to choose…and I’m grateful.

It all comes down to the basics…fresh air, water, shelter, food, friends and family. If we have those, if have peace, the rest is just stuff. Stuff that we might be able to do without, that we can donate to those who need it more than us, stuff that sometimes is more clutter than benefit both mental and physical.

Embrace simplicity…whether you choose it or it chooses you. Its benefits are often more than we could have imagined.

I need a strategy!!!

I'm having one of those days...you know the kind I mean. When the littlest things seem to go awry and create aggravation. I know a lot of people on this list think I never get frustrated, never get bored, never have problems. After all, I'm the Strategies for Success author, the newsletter writer, the life coach to many.

I have problems just like everyone else - my laptop just starts capitalizing and highlighting without notice, my new toilet has decided it doesn't always want to flush, and the program I'm using to design someone's web site is having temper tantrums. The news is terrible today as it often is with financial failures, a bombing of an embassy and ridiculous political advertising when what we need are clear cut plans, true vision, answers to the problems that plague us, and optimism.

And for the life of me, I can't figure out an iPod!!! I can fly an airplane...I am truly a license private pilot and computer techie...but I cannot load an iPod!!!

Ok...enough ranting and complaining. Here's what I've learned that might help you too.

1. Vent if you must but keep the venting to a bare minimum. This newsletter is my one and only vent so I'm done venting since I'm now in solution mode.
2. Have a list of things handy that you know cheer you up. One of my simple favorites is to view the contented baby I found on YouTube...scroll to the bottom of the page if you haven't seen him yet.
3. Step away from what bothers you if you're able to. I'm stepping away from technology - the iPod from hell, its cousin the laptop with issues and the TV with all its gloom and doom. I'm going to go outside and find a place that makes me happy...a walk to a coffee shop perhaps, under the trees in a local park or one of my favorites, the bay.
4. Get together, call or email people that make you laugh or at least make you feel better.

I used to have my students fill out 3 index cards to keep for days like this. One lists the 10 things that instantly change how you feel, one lists 10 things that make you laugh out loud and one lists 10 things you're grateful for. Keep them handy for days when you most need them...and there seem to be plenty of days that call for strategies.

One final tip...spend at least as much time focusing on what's good in your life, good in the world and what great things are possible in the future as you do on what's going wrong.

Oh yeah...and if you know how to load an Ipod, would you fill me in...please!!