The Simple Life
I don’t know about you, but for much of my life I have overcomplicated things. It’s probably been in the last eight years or so that I realized how much better things are when we simplify. But these last 18 months have especially been life changing. I realized how truly basic I am and that I love my life the most when I’m looking at it and living it, in the simplest of ways.
Whenever fall comes around, I seem to crave a lot of the basics. Most of these things are what I treasure and what is most important in my life. But some of them are simple pleasures or luxuries that we take for granted. Fall comes and I feel an innate desire to minimize all of the material things and just make my life easier. It makes me want to seek only the things that bring me joy and get rid of the rest. Spring cleaning is overrated. I’m all about a fresh fall.
I’m Back
So here I am, writing my first blog post since May of 2020, when we were just about nine weeks into quarantine. After those revelations I posted, life got a bit more complicated for us all. At the same time, it was a year of discovery for me; the year I truly found myself and got back to basics. It’s taken me this long to figure out what and who I want to give my attention to, how I want to simplify my life, where and how I want to spend my most joyful moments, and what God has been calling me to do for quite some time now.
I won’t bore you with the long list of things I need to do, what I need to change, or the many ways I need to do better and improve, so that I can live up to His full potential for me. That’s all for many posts down the road, God willing. But one of the things that has been a constant message from Him, that I seem to love to ignore for long periods of time, is that I need to write.
You Can’t Ignore It
Write, write, and write. I kept hearing it on a daily basis, but kept giving it no credence. I mean, why would He want me to write? Who was going to read it and how was it going to be purpose full? I put it off constantly for so many reasons and excuses. yet it kept coming back, over and over again. You know the feeling. It’s that continuous, nagging in your gut that happens when you know you’re supposed to be doing something regularly, but you can’t make sense of how or why. Maybe you even have a strong desire to do whatever it is, but you don’t think you can do it right or that you’re the person for the job. So you try to quiet your gut or ignore it, thinking you know better. God comes to us about lots of important choices in a still small voice. But I feel like if we’re not truly listening, He gets a bit louder each time, until we get the message. Let’s just say, it took a while and a lot of happenings during this chaotic time in our world, but the message was finally received.
Falling Back
All this to say, this is my reentry into the writing world. My hiatus was way too long, but that’s in the past, along with any other silly limiting beliefs I held for myself. Fall inspires me in so many ways and is my all time favorite season. So it seemed fitting to come back now, when I see so much I’m going to want to write about on the horizon.
Writing is a really basic thing, but so important. It can literally invoke feelings, educate, and give the writer freedom to express themselves. As a storyteller, I can put you in a time or place with just a few descriptive lines or bring back memories with some eloquent prose. Perhaps I can even challenge you to think differently, entertain another viewpoint, or maybe create a level of awareness for you that you did not experience before. It’s powerful. And it can do a lot of good in the right person’s hands.
Plus there are so many really basic things about fall that I love. I plan on writing about a lot of them here. I’ll share some of my favorite things, some resources and things I’ve found helpful during this season, and all the little, simple things I’m finding joy in. Of course, I have to write about autumn leaf peeping, pumpkin patches, apple picking, and all the other fall things we love to do.
Future Topics
I think a lot of us have lost the ability to get back to the foundational things of our lives, the things that truly matter. For me, it’s God, family, our faith, and all the little things we’re called to do here, as well as the simple ways we need to be as human beings. The latter are the things that while seemingly small, can make the biggest impact in our world. Basic things like being kind, accepting, and loving our neighbor, even when we don’t agree with them. This is definitely something that has been lacking over the last year. But it’s so simple and something we’re called to do. Not only that, it’s imperative for our world.
This is just one of many topics I’ll be touching on in the coming months. We’ll talk about our Catholic faith, gardening, anxiety, essential oils, self-sufficiency, autism, wellness, book recommendations, personal development, chasing dreams, business tips, and even the occasional fabulous shopping finds. But I think falling back to the basics is something that’s vital for all of us if we want to live a more simplified life while we’re here. It’s important to know where you’re coming from, what your foundation is, and what is most important to you, in order to know where you’re headed and have some kind of direction in life. Because in the end, our time here is temporary and this is where we prepare for the eternal. So turning to the most basic and important things in our lives is certainly a good place to start if we want to create a life we love and that we can find true joy in. But no matter the topic, whether it’s faithful, fun, or informative, I hope to provide you with lots of great value and share lots of helpful tips that can better your life all along the way. Let’s see if I can get my family to write along with me too so that you can hear from them as well!
Thank You
Thank you for being here and for patiently awaiting my return. I appreciate all of you for following our journey and for all of your support and encouragement. I look forward to continuing our journey alongside you. As I get back to the basics in my writing this fall, I’m blessed to have you along for the ride. Can’t wait to share all things fall with you!
Darlene xo