Lately I’ve been asking myself how simple my life really is at this point. I always thought simple had to be about less and less. About letting go. About saying no. About knowing how to make wise choices and healthy routine. About buying less and wanting less. About reducing.

And I still believe this to be true, but as I now live in an old farm that covers over 500 square meters of living area with 2500 square meters of land. As we now have three children, a lot of animals and many friends. As my work field is getting broader. As my field of interest is getting broader…. what is still simple about this life? It feels full. It feels rich. It feels abundant. Not a lifestyle that i would call simple, but yet in essence it still is.

The simplicity here is not in the ‘no’ and the ‘less’, but it’s in its honesty. Its transparency. Its connection. Simplicity here refers to something I call a ‘first hand experience’. In touching life directly. The elements of life. The hardship. The beauty. There is no filter between me and life. I am life. In all its fulness, richness, abundance, there is this very clear and simple heart: it all comes from me directly. I have an honest loving relationship with every element in my life. I say this with pride, but without bragging. This was a choice, and I pay a price for that choice. It is a practice, and I show dedication to that practice. This did not come falling out of the sky into my lap. It took years and years of digging and searching and diverting from what I learned to be right and true. And here I am. Living a simple life. Restoring wholeheartedness. Restoring the connection to life. Slowly, steady, moving in that direction. Becoming whole, weaving myself back into the whole. Into life.