simplicity has taught me five things
lowering your expectations, doing what you love and being okay with what is.
Hello,
You know what’s really lovely about getting older? You can look back five, ten, fifteen years and recognise how much you’ve grown and changed; how you’ve learnt to let go of the things that don’t serve you and focus instead on what matters.
This is what I’m ruminating on today, my 39th birthday. I don’t like a lot of fuss on my birthday, I’m quite happy with handmade cards and some time to read and write and a delicious meal with the family to end the day (an extra hour’s sleep thanks to the end of daylight savings was nice, too).
My birthday coincided with book royalty week (thank you to those of you who bought Practising Simplicity, I’m forever grateful) so I’ve booked myself into Bri Lee’s reading + writing workshops. I love learning with her and I’ve discovered it’s really important to connect with other readers and writers in-person, lest I fall too far down my solitary, mind-warping rabbit hole. This will be the second time I’ve attended Bri’s workshops and I’m returning because I got so much out of the first; she creates an incredibly trusting, inspiring and motivating learning space. I know I can’t keep writing at the pace I am without these kind of connections and insights. Plus, I need some guidance with my novel and Bri is publishing her debut next year so she’s got lots to share.
If you fancy reading a bit of her work, I recommend her latest investigative journalism piece Debt-à-porter (love a punchy pun title) in The Monthly. It’s a deep dive into the class and migrant undercurrent of lauded fashion label, Ellery and it’s as intriguing as it is shocking.
If you’re time poor but still want to stay up to date with politics, media and social justice issues, you’ll get so much from Bri’s newsletter, News & Reviews, which can be considered an educational, entertaining and engaging summary of the important stuff; style, literature and film included.
five things I’ve learnt from practising simplicity
I’ve been writing about simplicity for close to 16 years now. It’s not something I planned but as I ventured further into motherhood and carried with me a rather persistent anxiety and overwhelm, simplicity offered me mental reprieve. If I focussed on the simple things - and prioritised them - I was much more grounded.
Over the years, as my little ones grew and social media bloomed (I was a mother before instagram existed), simplicity started to sell. It was marketed as a life-saving/life-changing trend symbolised by matching kitchen storage jars, cloth bags and glass keep cups (I’ve dropped and broken three). Despite its rather appealing aesthetic, I soon realised that no amount of decluttering would be practising simplicity and that “living simply”, “embracing minimalism” and only keeping what “sparks joy” were blanket statements that weren’t very practical.
Achievement and perfection doesn’t belong in our conversations about simplicity. Rather, simplicity is a mindset, a choice; it’s something we can practise each day with awareness to ultimately prioritise what we value. It’s not so much about matching glass jars but about consuming with awareness, celebrating the usefulness of the things we own, creating boundaries, prioritising essential care and never not being charmed by the remarkable ordinariness of the every day.
Here’s the simple matters. Because simple, matters.
#1 simplicity is where contentment lives