Simplify Your Life

Yampa River, Steamboat Springs, CO June 2011

By Jessica Hoelzel

 

A very wise man, back in the 1850’s – when it seems life should have been far less complicated that it is today, wrote this:

“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand, instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.”

That man was Henry David Thoreau, Philosopher, Naturalist, author of Walden.

What he wrote so long ago, his advice gleaned from pulling himself out of the busy shufflings of society, and into the tranquil balance of nature, is advice we should heed, now more than ever.

Now, our world can seem chaotic. Now, our world can seem like time is accelerating. Now, we need to focus on what really matters. And not let things that don’t clutter up our lives.

Time to get real. Time to re-focus. Time to live authentically, with what really matters: LOVE.

Be with the people you love.

Do what you love.

Surround yourself only with what you love.

There’s nothing more simple than that.

Boundary Waters Balance Part 1

By Jessica Hoelzel

The feng shui of the Boundary Waters? Perfectly balanced and harmonious.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, John Lake

For good feng shui, one of the core principles you must follow is to “use nature as your model”. Heading into nature every now and then is a good way to observe nature’s perfect balance, and achieve a state of balance for yourself.

When you are in nature there is less distraction, pulling your energy this way and that. No TV, no cell phone, no Internet…in our case, no motorized boats or traffic either. When in nature, you are free to be present, to BE. When you can BE, unencumbered by the typical distractions, you have the opportunity to find some balance. With the nurturing solace of nature’s beauty surrounding you, you have the opportunity to:

BE in quiet

BE clear-headed

BE healed

BE refreshed

BE inspired

…and return to a state of physical, mental and spiritual harmony.

So how do you keep that state alive when you return home? By ensuring that your surroundings are also balanced. That you don’t have too many noisy distractions – or at least opportunities for quiet. That you also have a place of beauty which provides you solace.

Stay tuned for more to come on how “stuff” impacted our experience of balance…