Free

In the past year I've tried, sometimes with great failure, to simplify my life. Cut out the unnecessary and keep or add the necessary. It sounds so simple. The steps to remove these things were simple for me, until it started impacting others. Then I started to wonder if I was being selfish. Refusing invitations to see movies at the theater, turning down foods that I once "loved", spending time working on my garden instead of hanging with friends, sitting around a fire instead of a tv, not having the latest and greatest and being content. But the more I strive for simple, the more I enjoy it and hopefully draw others in. Simple is peaceful. Simple is fun. Simple is...well, simple.

Yesterday I took my brother to Ocean Shores for a night. It's one of the vacation places we went to as kids, back when life was simple. We just hung out. Walked around the beach, rented banana bikes and peddled around town, and checked out all the shops we went to as kids. We came home with a bag full of shells and pretty content. We didn't buy any souvenirs. We didn't go out to eat. It was perfect.