The Square Life

In these days of complexity and busyness, the best answer is some old-fashioned simplicity. That’s right, like philosopher Henry David Thoreau pointed out, “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” There’s no need to venture off to Walden Pond as he did, for the simple life can be discovered through some easy steps:

PRIORITIZE Map out a schedule and take care of the most important, looming tasks, first. Don’t procrastinate, but whittle away at upcoming demands. After all, Thoreau once remarked, “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”

UNPLUG Taking away the distracters, such as music, TV, and other electronics, can help you to refocus and rejuvenate. For after all, you don’t want to be the essence of Thoreau’s declaration: “Men have become the tools of their tools.”

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF Make sure that you have your health essentials in balance: sleep, diet, exercise, and relaxation. In the words of Thoreau, “Every man is the builder of a temple called his body.”

RECONNECT To gain a fresh perspective, laugh, read an entertaining book, write in your journal, look through a photo album of cherished memories, or talk to a dear old friend. In revisiting that friend, you may be reminded of Thoreau’s words: “My friend is one . . . who takes me for what I am.”

STAY NEAT There’s good karma with an organized, simplified living space. It seems that removing clutter and reorganizing brings a new order into one’s life. It’s much like Thoreau said: “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”

MOST OF ALL, SIMPLIFY Keep a focus on your priorities and see which less essential yet stressing details can be eliminated. Mr. Thoreau proclaimed to one and all: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” - NIKKI MERRILL