Not long ago my husband and I moved to a new town.
Well, not “new” really. We had lived there when we were in high school and college, met each other there and married there. So, in a sense we were moving back home. Still, it was a big change because we had lived in the house we were leaving for 30 years!

In the midst of the sorting, packing and downsizing (because we were moving into a house that was considerably smaller) I began to seriously think about my desire to live more simply and this move seemed like the perfect time to figure out what that meant. It was a fascinating question to grapple with because I discovered many ways that I have allowed my life to become overstuffed. Aside from identifying the “things” we keep that we no longer need (and maybe never did), there are the “things” we think we cannot live without or the “things” we hang on to because of the memories we have attached to them. So I began to question whether my life and my memories really depended upon these “things” or whether I could let them go. Once we started making decisions to release our grasp, it became easier and we could feel the freedom of creating simpler surroundings. It felt so wonderful to reduce the amount of stuff that was around us.

I think one reason this felt so good is because we asked ourselves seriously whether we needed these things. And that highlighted our awareness of what is precious and irreplaceable in our lives. I think it is easy to lose sight of our basic foundation when our lives just rock along accumulating.

But, of course, “things” weren’t the only clutter I’d collected over the years. I admitted that it is way too easy for me to overstuff my time, too. And as I became involved in our new community and made new friends, I tried to remember to ask “What is it I really do need, now, at this time in my life? How do I want to spend my time? What roles or responsibilities do I gravitate toward out of habit and what roles are fulfilling for me?” And on a positive note, I also ask, “What is it that I have more of now than ever before ? What is it important to cherish now?”

These have been challenging but freeing questions to consider. They involve risking letting go of some habitual ways of living and being – making intentional choices for change and knowing why.

Janie Cook is a retired teacher who lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Gareth. She shares her days with family and friends (a precious privilege), facilitates a bereaved parents’ support group and enjoys digging in the Texas Hill Country dirt & learning about natural gardening.
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