Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.
LEO BABAUTA
Welcome back to my series Life: From A to Z and the word Simplicity for the letter “S.” And just for the record, you have no idea how excited I am that there are only SEVEN letters left! Don’t think for a second that I’m finding it easy to write through the alphabet. But, I’m proud of myself for sticking to it. The last thing I need on the blog is another unfinished series.
Anyway, I love simplicity. I wish I was able to live simply, but I have a little too much craziness in my blood. A perfect example is my featured image. I had the word simplicity in mind today and then I took my mom to Hobby Lobby. I found a simple piece that made me think “yes… that is perfect! It is nice and simple.”
Greetings everyone! I’m excited to be back for my series Life: From A to Z and I’m moving right along… to the lovely letter “L.”
The “L” word that caught my attention was LEISURE, and I’m so glad that it did. Some of the definitions that I found were…
Free time
Use of free time for enjoyment
Opportunity afforded by free time to do something
Time free from work or duties
It was funny to read that last one. When I worked full-time, Monday through Friday (and not remotely), my “time free from work” was actually reserved for “duties.” Mainly grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry. I actually enjoyed doing those chores on my days off, but not because they were fun, relaxing, or entertaining. I enjoyed them because they were “productive.” I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I was finished!
The refrigerator was stocked, a few meals were planned, and there were piles of clean clothes, neatly folded and smelling pretty. In thinking about the word leisure, I realize now that maybe I wasn’t making the most of my “free time” in those days.
What’s funny is that I haven’t done many photo or art projects for a while, and the other day I spent hours on the computer trying to get back into it. By the time I was finished, the sun was going down and I thought to myself, “Man, what a waste of a day!”
But it wasn’t. It was leisure. And I’m probably not alone in thinking that sometimes we feel a bit more “rewarded” when we’ve been productive, and we feel a little more “guilty” when we’ve used our free time to take part in leisure activities instead. That is so wrong!
Anyway, I stumbled on the quote (above) and it was like an AHA moment for me. It sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but it’s so very true. My time was not wasted the other day, because it was time I enjoyed wasting.
About the Image
I met up with some friends over the weekend for a little hike and some photography. It was so cool to be out with like-minded people and it really inspired me to get back into using my camera. The featured image is a shot I took while we were out, and it seemed like the perfect capture for the word leisure.
That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading! I hope you found something entertaining or useful here. I’ll be back soon for the letter “M.”
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Kahlil gibran
No rhyme or reason for this one here. I was looking into my archives, thinking about more feather close-ups, and I just fell in love with these feet.
My new classes started this morning and I was able to get in and view (with eyes wide and mouth agape) what the next 8 weeks will look like. Let’s just say that I’ll have a little less time for blogging! I’m psyching myself up to wind down, and nothing says “I MAY be on hiatus” better than toes in the sand.
Anyway, the next 8 weeks—just like my little friend here—are going to fly…
That’s about all for now. Hope everyone is staying safe and keeping healthy!! —Janet
A Sprinkle of Faith 