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When we pay attention, there are many simple joys in life in which we can find peace. Here are a 5 simple things we can find joy in.

A close up of a new butterfly branch emerging.

The modern world can feel so chaotic. This is what prompted me to begin simplifying our home, lifestyle, food, and consumption. Having fewer possessions, buying less, and making food at home with simple ingredients reduces the number of decisions we have to make.

It also gives us more time to be in the present moment.

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5 Simple Things To Find Joy In

1. Improving our small patch of the earth

My family and I don’t own any land but we’re lucky that our rented apartment has a small backyard. And I consider that small patch of earth ours to care for.

Do you have a backyard, allotment, flower bed, or nearby public park? The seeds we plant in our dirt will be appreciated by a range of critters, from bees to worms, to microbes. The flowers you plant might spread their seeds and make other places more beautiful. What we do in our own spaces has eternal effect and it is our duty to improve what we are given. And for me, this brings great joy.

2. A Will To Thrive

We used to have a purple butterfly bush that arched over our backyard. But it was recently removed because it was pulling over a fence that lines one side of our yard.

In recent trip out to check on the container garden I recently planted, I noticed that where the branches were cut, new leaves have begun to grow. And not only in one or two places, but across the entire width of what was cut.

Have you been cut down in some way? Told you cannot do or be something? You are a part of nature, and with proper nurturing, after being cut back, nature grows back stronger. Always remember that we are just as much a part of the wildness of the earth as this butterfly bush, which seems to have been made stronger by being temporarily cut back.

A hand holding a small piece of lettuce that is regrowing.

3. Regrowing Vegetables

Somehow I didn’t know that it was possible to regrow vegetables from scraps until a month or so ago. Have you even see the small green buds of new life slowly emerge from a head of lettuce that it nearly gone? To me it’s almost magical.

For a daily dose of wonder, put the ends of lettuce into a bowl of fresh water on your countertop and watch them grow.

4. Seeing The Stars

We live in a city and stargazing is difficult. But the other night we made the decision to take the family up to the top of a nearby hill away from the city lights and sit with thermoses of hot chocolate and tea and wait for the stars.

Can you think of a way to see the stars where you live? It was worth the trek for us. Think about the ancient light you’re witnessing and the wild unknowns it has passed to reach your eyes.

5. Freedom From Excess

The reason I started Documenting Simple Living was to document how I am simplifying my and my family’s life. I became tired of spending mental capacity making unimportant decisions. Which takeaway should we order? Which new shirt style should I try? Which cleaner should I buy? Now we are trying to make simple food at home, minimise the clothing (and other things) that we have, and use simple homemade cleaners.

Is it time for you to simplify? When we committ to simplifying we have more time for friends, family, or however else we want to spend our time.