I woke up early this morning to the exquisite smell of freshly laundered sheets, the sun rays softly peeking through the bedroom window shades, hearing the the song of birds breaking through the silence of the early morning, listening to the rhythmic breathing pattern of a person I've been with for 34 years. I felt the luxury of being able to just lie there and curl up deeper into the sheets and let all the these comforting sensations wash over me.
Lately, I've been pondering the meaning of what it means to live simply on this planet. I've come to think that it means more than just making choices and living a lifestyle that minimizes our ecological footprint on the earth, I think living simply also means staying very present and feeling the beauty of our common everyday actions: the satisfaction of decluttering a closet, refolding and reusing paper bags, noticing the movements of birds in the yard, baking cookies, reading a good book. I know I'm not saying anything particularly new or profound here. I guess it's really just the old Zen way of living. But it feels so nice to have figured out for myself the secret of living simply: simply live.
