Romanticizing Simplicity Part 2: Three Practical Ways

Last week I shared my grand philosophy for romanticizing life. I explained that my favorite way to live life is to “find the beauty in what is.” Sometimes, we think that if we only lived like so-and-so or got to take that vacation to the Bahamas, then we’d be living the life! But I’ve come to see that I can make my simple life into something truly beautiful.

I imagine the concept still sounds a little bit vague, so here are three practical ways that I “find the beauty in what is” or “romanticize simplicity.”

I say “no” to commitments sometimes, so that I can say “yes” to the things that help me enjoy my surroundings.

It’s easy to get caught up in a world of to-dos. In fact, until maybe a year or two ago; I had a schedule written out for each half hour of my day! I would get frazzled and grumpy if I didn’t fulfill the schedule perfectly. But in the last couple years, I have trained myself to slow down. Now, when I have a day off, I pick three absolute “musts” that I want to accomplish that day. I start as early as I feel ready, and I work throughout the day, pacing myself to get the three things done in a way that will make the work enjoyable. Nothing is rushed.

I purchase furniture at thrift stores.

Sometimes living simply also means living cheaply. I have found a number of beautiful pieces of furniture recently that have transformed my living room! An old Victorian chair for only ten dollars, a desk for just twenty-five dollars, and a beautiful hardwood china hutch for one-hundred and twenty-five dollars. These pieces have the appearance of something so much more expensive, but they were cheap. I had wanted these pieces for years, but waited until I had cash to spend. Until it was the right time. Something about beautiful furniture can really help one experience the beauty of one’s surroundings. Doing so at a low cost, kept everything simple.

I add that little “extra” to mundane things.

I think this is probably at the heart of the whole concept of romanticizing simplicity. There are so many examples of this that I could give. One example would be adding whipped cream to one’s coffee. Another would be lighting candles at dinner. A third option would be taking the scenic route on the drive home. At the heart of it, it is a mindset shift. When you take a step back from your life and look at it objectively, you may be surprised to see how beautiful it looks to an outside observer. Sometimes, it's so close to us, that we don't stop to consider just how beautiful it is.

Maybe you’ve come to see all the miracles all around you as mundane. But what if you found that the mundane is the miracle?