In the winddown from my old job, I have an hour-long zoom today and some follow-up work. That’s it. Thanks to amazing kitty sitters who also cleaned up after my pride the day we came home from vacation, the house is pretty tidied up. As a result, I sit here with just three days left in my current job and not a lot to do. Some picking up, perhaps a load of laundry and dinner. That’s about the fullness of my docket today.
And so it hits me: simplicity matters.
Around here, we truly value calm and quiet. In the past seven years, searching for simple peace has led to a handful of iterations. First, I left my job as a CEO to work as a part-time, work-from-home consultant. Then, I went from four days a week down to three. On Thursday, I completely transition to working for myself and working 10-15 hours per week. What do I get out of all of this? Honestly? Control. Beginning Friday, on the Ides of March, I have control over my own life and for the first time since I was 16 years old, I will work for no one but myself.
Time, it appears, will suddenly be a friend.
But to make time my friend, there are key changes I also have to make. First, I need to commit to simplicity. That doesn’t seem hard in that I love things calm and quiet. Candidly, I’m the only chaos that should reign around here. But the rub comes in when my need for calm and quiet clashes with my decorating ambitions. I often trade calm and quiet for the purchase of one more “small thing” that will make the vignette look perfect. In doing so, I add to the number of things laying about and ratchet up the chaos just the tiniest bit. So, first order of business: stop buying things I don’t really need. Sigh. That one is going to be hard.
Second order of business? Get rid of the things I no longer use. Again, that same ethos resonates with me. I truly hate clutter. Except… . Well, when something still has “life” in it, I can see how I may sometime want it again. For example, I have about five heavy winter jackets in our coat closet that I haven’t worn in at least two years. They’re still there and I’m honest enough to admit that even as I selectively go through and purge again, they are still going to be hanging in that closet. What truly resonates with me is that I could donate them to a charity that would make sure someone had a coat next winter. It does mean holding on to them until next fall, but in the meantime, I can get them cleaned and ready to go.
Finally, the third order of business: everything gets a home. Now this one, I’ve been doing pretty good with. In fact, this one is my mantra. I live by it everyday. As we have gone through and renovated spaces, nothing gets put back into that space that won’t have a permanent home. That philosophy has many benefits. Mostly, it ensures that I spend a lot less time endlessly searching for something.
But the biggest next step in my iteration to a life lived in simple peace is perhaps the most personally challenging to me: slowing down. The first three things I need to do to let simplicity reign are tasks. As much as they may run slightly against the grain of another personal value, these tasks also resonate strongly with me. So doing them may have challenges but in general are very doable. The last one? That’s a characteristic of me. I’m just always in a hurry. When we were in Antigua, my husband joked, “Hi, my name is Gail and I enjoy fast walks on the beach.” It was painfully true. I couldn’t slow my gait to take a leisurely walk. The same is true for life.
And yet, it’s time to again focus on that lower, slower gear. My hope is that now that there are not as many items on my daily or weekly “to do” list that I’ll actually be able to slow things down. That as it finally sinks in that, “Geez, I only have about two hours of work and an hour of house work today,” I will take my time and not rush through each task as if the day is overcommitted. Somehow, some way, my need for speed has to give. There truly seems like no better time than right now to begin committing to it.
And so, let’s try this thing. Let’s finally slow it down. Today, I will do my call and follow-ups and I will do those small house tasks that need to get done. And then… . Well, I’ll go for a walk with my husband in the unexpected sunshine and warm weather. I’ll take stock of one of those two closets that are giving me chills with how overpacked they are and I will start – not finish – the project of decluttering. Mostly, I will take more than a few minutes today just to be grateful.
It seems fitting that as spring breaks out all over around here, I am committing to a new life (again) as new life beings to abound around me. It’s time to make the good things happen.
The Yuppie Homesteader 