Keep it simple. You don't need the faff

New year is often a time to chuck out our stuff, but any time is good for a clear out.

Lockdown made me look at my stuff and decide what mattered. I had my things around me like most of us, but what I didn’t have I realised was what mattered.

I’m naturally a fairly solitary person.  I like my aloneness, most of the time.  That is – when I choose it. A single life gives you that.  You can think of it as freedom, or as its own prison – its all a matter of perspective.

And isolation certainly nudged me to reflection. I missed people! Amazing revelation. I was lonely. I craved contact, and with choice out of the picture, I had no option but to look at what mattered.

And the peeps I love loomed large. Or would have, if I could have!

So, the stuff, I figured needed a re-think.  And not just the stuff in terms of possessions – things.  I was fairly minimal on those. No, my stuff was largely in my head.

It was the things I mulled over, stumbled on and tripped over. My stuff goes years back. And I know it was a chance to sift some of it and simplify.

So, like many of us, I emptied some cupboards inside my house and inside my heart.

No, I’m not done by any means, but I am paring down and cutting some dross.  Mindfulness is helping.

Most of us do fine with our normal figuring things out. Every now and then though, a touch of the quiet and stillness can do wonders.

So now, 8am on a bright Sunday morning I’m grateful for the space to sit and be still. No rush, no drama. Just a cup of Earl Grey, a call to family later, and time with a friend.

That’s me keeping my life simple.

How about you?