This is the second post inspired by the book Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. You can see the first post here: Top 10 Most Common Reasons for Choosing Simple Living. I truly think this may be one of the most important posts that will ever appear on this blog. Why is it so important? It's a complete mindset shift to think about simple living as progress instead of regress. It's not reverting to a simpler time in the past or necessarily a back-to-the-land movement. I believe this … [Read more...]
Blue Zones: How Ikarians Live Simply for 100+ Years
"The Island Where People Forget to Die" — That's the title of The New York Times article I came across during my existential crisis in 2015. I was searching through some emails recently and came across an email I sent to my dad in early 2016. Here's exactly what I sent him: I would say Ikarians (from the Blue Zones) are the most sane humans on the planet. Long healthy life, minimal impact on the planet, meaningful relationships ("us" vs. "me"), plant-based diets, drink wine and tea with … [Read more...]
Slow Living 101: What is Slow Living?
I just completed the deepest dive into slow living that I've ever conducted. I combed the internet, read hundreds of articles, watched tons of videos, and checked out all the books, blogs, forums, and podcasts. This 3-part post series is intended to give you all the highlights and help you get started with slow living. If you already have a basic understanding of slow living, feel free to jump ahead to the next posts in the series: Slow Living 201: A Deep Dive into Slow Living & The … [Read more...]
The Meaning of Existential Crisis & 7 Ways to Navigate It
“I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it.” ― Steven Wright This topic is near and dear to my heart. For me, this is when everything started. This is when I feel like I finally woke up and started living an intentional life. An existential crisis can be a dark time. But the light on the other side is so worth going through it. This post tackles why an existential crisis is actually a good thing, the challenge with finding good info about them online, and how an … [Read more...]
11 Slow & Simple Living Leaders Share Their “Why”
This week I started reading Joshua Becker's eBook Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter their Home and Life. Right from the get-go, it made me realize how different the aha moments are that inspire us to change the course of our lives. In this post, you'll see that the tipping points can range from something as simple as a conversation to something as complex as a life-changing health diagnosis. For me, my "why" was a self-diagnosed existential crisis and the realization … [Read more...]
