Welcome to the October edition of the Simply Living Blog Carnival – Enjoyment cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. This month, we write about what brings joy to our lives. Please check out the links to posts by our other participants at the end of this post.
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My life is constantly evolving as I strive to grow, learn, and change things for the better. Some days are more zen than others, but life, just as anything else, is a process. Through trial and error over the years, I have found that there are a few things which help to make life simply more enjoyable.- Decluttering. Normally decluttering refers to removing physical clutter. It is true that I feel much more peaceful, and hence enjoy life, when my world is not full of clutter. However, the physical items aren’t the only clutter that can seep into my life. The non-physical clutter can be even more distressing to a person’s life. The countless activities or myriad responsibilities that you just aren’t feeling, or enjoying, are cluttering up your life. It is often difficult to say “no” to friends, family, or others, but keeping the activities and responsibilities to what is really important to me helps keep my life sane.
- Taking Time. As a mother, I know how difficult it can be to fit in some me time. Everyone needs something and it often feels like my own needs often get shoved to the bottom of the list. If I do something for myself, I feel guilty for taking time away from my family. It doesn’t have to be like that, though. In fact, taking time for yourself doesn’t even have to take long. Sometimes it just means taking some breaths or sitting down for a few minutes with a cup of tea and a good book.
- Enjoy the Moments. Life isn’t just about the big events. More importantly, it is about all of the small moments which make up life. Don’t zip through those seemingly inconsequential minutes. Embrace them. Enjoy them, and truly live them. It is the little things I treasure the most.
- Only Do What You Want. This isn’t what it sounds like, but it has probably made the biggest difference in my life. When I am in my zen zone, I only do what I like. Sure, you think to yourself, your life would be a lot more enjoyable if you only did the things you like to do, but what about all of the things that you have to do? You are half right, and that is where the difference lies. The difference is in my attitude and focus. When I look at my to-do list and see all of the things I have to do, there are definite times when life doesn’t seem very enjoyable. However, if I change my perspective, everything looks differently. Rather than having to clean the house, I focus on how much I enjoy my home when it is clean and I choose to clean my house because of that. Suddenly, with that subtle shift, I can find my groove, and not only do I get in and clean the house and enjoy the end product, but I find myself enjoying the moments of cleaning because I am doing something I want to do.
photo credit: Joel Bedford via photopin cc
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Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Read about how others are make their lives joyful. We hope you will join us next month!
- No, She Doesn’t Sleep Through the Night – And It’s Not So Bad! – This post on Partners in Kind is about our family sleep habits, how we tried CIO, and how our family learned to let go of the ‘standard’ in order to enjoy a good nights rest for all of us.
- Don’t Do Anything That Isn’t Play – Momma Bee at Raising a Revolution is inspired by Marshall Rosenberg’s (nonviolent communication) advice “don’t do anything that isn’t pay” to find the enjoyment in doing even the most mundane and disliked tasks.
- Shared Hobbies – Jorje of Momma Jorje shares her progression of hobbies, since hobbies can wax and wane. She also explains why sharing a hobby makes it the best.
- The Joy – Relaxation Relation – At Authentic Parenting, Laura discovered how much enjoyment is related to relaxation.
- Finding and Defining Enjoyment – Anneli at Mamman i det gula huset shares what she enjoys, her thoughts on how she has found truly enjoyment through self-reflection and how to find enjoyment in every day tasks.
- Simply Enjoying Life – Mandy tries to focus on enjoying life at Living Peacefully with Children by cutting out some things and changing her perspective on others.
living peacefully with children 
Honestly I should take some of this and apply it to my own life. I don’t remember what down time feels like sometimes!