I am five days into quarantine and it only just hit me on day 4. I look around at my bedroom, the room I have been essentially locked away in because I have Covid and somehow, miraculously most of my family members do not, and I think…there is so little that I need. It’s not like I haven’t been here before. When the world shut down in 2020 and we were all in lock down, I became aware of exactly the same thing. Surrounded by the people I loved, safe in my own home, enough food to eat, there was nothing else I needed. It was such an amazing lesson in gratitude for all of the things we take for granted every day. And I remember thinking that I was always going to remember that feeling moving forward…ALWAYS.

So what happened between then and now???  Why am I just now feeling like I got hit over the head again?

LIfe….

Life happens. And we get caught up in work and being busy, in acquiring things we think or KNOW we NEED like those new throw pillows from Target (yes I needed those!), and we forget that just waking up in the morning, in our warm beds, surrounded by those we love is a gift we should be grateful for. 

Being surrounded by these four walls day in and day out for the past week has reminded me of this lesson in gratitude that has apparently eluded me. I have found myself feeling more grateful for the things that I already have in my life and less wanting for the things I don’t. It wasn’t something that I was even conscious of right away, but I have found myself wanting to be surrounded by less, and just simply wanting less.  

It started when I started stripping away knick knacks and freeing my surfaces of clutter. I began going through my drawers and REALLY getting rid of things. The tennis t-shirts they give you when you make it to districts, the shirts that I was saving because I can wear them ‘under things’, and the jeans I might fit into again if I just lost 10 pounds. I moved to my closet and started bagging up scarves that I had in excess, extra shoes and boots and costume jewelry that I hadn’t worn in eons. It felt freeing and instead of clearing the clutter to make space for MORE stuff, I realized that clearing the clutter was making room to embrace gratitude for all that I had already. There is so little we truly need. Say that with me…there is so little we truly need.

So how can we continue to have this feeling day in and day out when we are not locked away from the world and forced to do without? How can we hold on to the need for simplicity when we are caught up in the busyness of our lives or in the throw pillow aisle at Target? 

• The first is to start a gratitude practice. Actively expressing our gratitude for the little things in our lives, creates more joy and happiness, and less longing. It has also been linked to improved mental health and to an overall sense of well being. A few minutes of gratitude can change your whole perspective from “I really need that” to “I am so grateful I have what I need.”  

If you are looking to start a gratitude practice, the book The 5 Minute Gratitude Journal: Give Thanks, Praise Positivity, Think Joy by Sophia Godkin, PhD is a simple way to get started. It gives insightful prompts and only takes a few minutes to complete each day.

• Clearing the clutter in our own lives is another way that we can cultivate this less is more mentality. Starting with our living spaces and freeing ourselves of the clutter, frees our mind. It makes space. And it is within that space that we can start to be still and to start to listen to our inner selves. Within that space we can find the answers to questions we have been searching for, to be able to listen to our hearts, and to make changes and decisions we know we need to make. I know this may sound deep for some people, but outer order truly can create a greater sense of inner peace. This can sometimes be a daunting task and it can often be hard to get started.  Some popular books to help you with the decluttering and simplification process are  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchin Rubin, and Let It Go by Peter Walsh. 

I know I will have mixed emotions when I am ‘released’ from quarantine tomorrow. A part of me will want to race out to HomeGoods and Target to see what’s new and exciting and what I’ve missed in my week away from the world, but a bigger part of me knows that I already have everything that I truly need…Window shopping may be a happy medium! 

Xo,

Joan