What would your life be like if you only did what was easy?
It’s almost unsettling, isn’t it?
When I try to answer that for myself, I squirm ….. “That sounds lazy and what about everything else?!”
…but then I got curious …what would it be like? Maybe I’d have more time to enjoy what I do have. Maybe things would be easier.
Ease. What a concept, ey?
We’re conditioned to think something along these lines: Pay your dues. Check the boxes. Cross off all the things. Prove yourself. Soldier on. Good things come to those who wait. Hard work pays off. No pain, no gain. …the list goes on and on. It’s this concept of challenged endurance that can burn our candles from both ends.
If this sounds familiar, I have another concept for you to equally consider – simplicity. The easy way that leads to spacious places. Simple can be incredibly smart, efficient, and even a form of self-compassion. It’s giving yourself a break and letting inspiration be your compass. Simple allows the things you’ve been asking for to enter your life.
Before I go on, let’s get something clear… there are two types of simple. There is the kind of simple that cuts corners to get things done and then there is the honest straightforward Quality ease kind of simple. We are most definitely going for the later with Quality indeed having a capital Q.
When I think about the last couple of years, especially the last year+ of travels and adventures, the concept of simplicity has gotten more familiar and easier (for a lack of a better word). It’s been this spacious quality of fluidity. It’s writing a to-do list every day, but filling it with less clutter. Simple has been learning to get comfortable saying “no thank you” when things feel too distant from what I truly want. It has been learning there are better things to do with my energy. Simple has been learning there are things that are just not in my skill set and choosing to delegate. Simple ease is expansion into new opportunities that frighten me but trusting I can handle it. It’s leaning into grace, and saying yes to the natural flow of life.
But then there’s the far less elegant form of simple ease…the cheap kind … The kind that doesn’t recognize that some losses are actually gains and that not everything that counts can be counted. The cheap kind of simple stays in a relationship because it’s easier than heartbreak or separating the years of belongings. The cheap kind of simple tells little white lies to get things done because it seems easier.
The path of least resistance isn’t about short cuts, cutting corners, or letting mediocrity be acceptable.
It’s about collaborating with the ebb and flow of life and getting yourself (including the mental, physical, emotional clutter) out of the way.
So how do you move towards simplicity when life seems far from it? Start with the easy stuff. Consider all of the things you want to experience, do, create, accomplish. What’s going well that you can lean into? Or in relationships with significant others, co-workers, neighbors, friends… what do you adore about the other person? Start there and you can approach the big stuff with some lightness and gratitude (because we all know it comes up!).
Simplify to find more ease, more abundance.
Gratitude always,
Morgan