Less stress, more living

After realizing that her life was just too full, journalist Annemiek Leclaire resolved to spend a year slowing down: 365 days of shifting into a lower gear, cutting back and simplifying.

I had only just started when I came across an ad for the online course ‘A year to simplify your life’ from DailyOM: ‘In today’s busy world we tend to over-schedule ourselves, piling on more responsibilities, more commitments, and inevitably more stress. Our relationships suffer, our homes fall into disarray, and our bodies and souls begin to languish. In our quest for convenience, and in an effort to produce more time in our hectic day, we overload ourselves with all the latest technological advancements, yet we often find that they only invite more complication and disconnect. If we can find ways to dial back the excess and forgo unnecessary (often self-imposed) obligations, we can begin to thrive in ways that are reflected in every area of our lives. Time for self-care and soul nourishment, deepening of relationships, and surrounding ourselves with beauty come to the forefront of our priorities as less important list items fall away.’

Even just reading that intro gave me a sense of relief. I signed up. It sounded like a great way to help make my life easier and lighter. The ‘Simplify your life’ course was developed by the American author and space clearing expert Stephanie Bennett Vogt, who, among other things, wrote A year to clear – A daily guide to creating spaciousness in your home and heart. The core theme of her books and courses is ridding yourself of clutter. By ‘clutter’ she means anything that has been piling up, whether it be things, thoughts or feelings. Clutter in your house, head or heart. A lighter life only comes about when we learn to clear it out.