HAPPY WITH LESS

A chronicle of our family's journey towards living more --- while owning less. Five years and counting...

[happywithless]

[becomingminimalist]

[happywithless]

Yes! Let’s make mistakes and learn things all over again - no matter what age we are. 2016 has just begun! (Personally, it has found me back in uni!)

[zenhabits]

Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things | Official Trailer

[happywithless]

Just. Wow.

Finally, the ‘rebels’, the ‘misfits’ are seen and heard and acknowledged, not to mention reach and inspire more people!

Cheers!

[trevlee]

“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.” -Andy Goldsworthy

I’m a true believer that nature is meant to be experienced firsthand. Trees are meant to be touched and climbed, meadows laid in, rivers swam in, mountains scaled… so go get off the trail, stand on cliff edges, get rained on, wander in woods and find yourself.

*To see captions and type of film used, click on image.*

[happywithless]

We ARE nature! Brilliant. Cheers!

[zenpencils]

ISAAC ASIMOV ‘A lifetime of learning’

[novajosephine]

When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.

Ayurvedic proverb (via lightenedliving)

[happywithless]

Organic discovery gem: wheatgrass

Since I transitioned to organic produce, pastured meats and zero processed foods, I’m amazed at the rate of healing I’ve experienced.

Last year, I’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid dysfunction. After the ceremonial denial phase, I’ve come to embrace all the foods I can now enjoy, instead of those I can no longer have.

Living a simple life taught me the biggest difference I can make for my health is not in pills or supplements, but in food as close as possible to its natural form.

Cheers to a simple and healthy life!

[happywithless]

The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.

~Thomas Edison~

The pop-a-pill mentality should really be put to rest. The simplest and most effective medication is food - proper, unprocessed, clean eating. 

[happywithless]

In a world that increasingly demands us to connect with each other, it becomes almost revolutionary to choose to be alone. But, sometimes, we need to. Aloneness is healthy and it is a beautiful thing.

[happywithless]

My wonderful Mother’s Day ‘bouquet’!

I promise to fill you in soon on my ten months of absence, which somehow enabled me to be truly present in my own life... and quite curiously, opened up a vast new universe of healthy, sustainable living for me and my family.

(Think jumpin’ good bacteria and happy animals in green pastures!)

Anyway, Happy Mothers’ Day to all! Keep it simple, keep it real!

Cheers!

[happywithless]

The Engine Called Minimalism

I've had a problem with minimalism recently.

While I have been continuously purging my unnecessaries, and looking to simplifying gurus for inspiration, I was left vapid. After three years, it seemed it wasn't enough for me anymore to own less and have more time and resources to pursue other interests.

There has to be something else - a deeper, more meaningful next step.

Then it came to me that minimalism should not be viewed as an end-all or fantasy destination of a happier life. We should not be defined by what we don't have, nor by what few that we do have.

Now I have a richer view of a simple life.

After we've streamlined our lives to include only the essential, and as a by-product, unlock more time for leisure, travel and our interests, I believe we should use minimalism as the engine to move us to our deepest desire, our calling, a contribution that we would like to be remembered for in this world.

For me, it's writing, and I endeavour to do it as much as I can.

Here's to firing up your own engines and getting to a richer, yet simpler life!

Tell me what moves you. Should be interesting.

Cheers!

PS - The photo was taken from the balcony of a quaint old cottage overlooking the Hawkesbury River - best place to get the engine started. :)

[yogaholics]

[happywithless]

Cheers to that! -happywithless.tumblr.com

[happywithless]

Project Tumbliatus

Today, my month-long Tumbliatus has ended.

With Tumblr being the only social media tool I retained after nuking that long list, it seemed surprisingly easy to take a break from it too.

However, a few weeks without my feel-good digital fountain of positivity - and mostly, pictures of mountains and lakes - I felt oddly out of whack. It seems one can't stray from inspiration for too long.

To celebrate my bouncing back here, enjoy this photo taken from a family eco-retreat in the wild a couple of years ago.

Cheers!

[happywithless]

Why do we associate 'opportunity' with 'money' or 'career advancement'? Why don't we ever hear someone say, "A few years back, I've had the opportunity to lose my job and discover self-employment, which led me to earn much less, but travel and live more." That right there is my story. Everything is an opportunity for something. Cheers!

www.happywithless.tumblr.com

[happywithless]

ADs CALLING FOR AN END TO ALL ADVERTISING?!

In a perfect world, advertisements such as these would be shown at least once every day. Sadly, it was only created as part of an advertising pitch competition in a talk show.

But just for now, let's relish these two ads calling for an end to all advertisements.

Cheers!

-www.happywithless.tumblr.com

[betype]

BelovedAndCo

[happywithless]

I hear you, and I am on my way...

--www.happywithless.tumblr.com

[happywithless]

Life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes. (I don't care what everyone else says.)

-www.happywithless.tumblr.com

One day, my mum told me this was her biggest takeaway lesson from our last get-together. Living in separate continents, we visit each other every few years. Thanks to modern technology, we chat weekly. And in one of those chats, she said to me she took a long hard look at her shoe collection after she heard me say this last year. It's true - you really have no idea what people will remember about you. Make it count. As for me, I'm just glad my mum - in her 60s - is ONLY wearing comfortable shoes nowadays. Cheers!