Joyful living – Peaceful living – Simple living
A life unburdened by
physical clutter,
mental confusion,
emotional baggage,
and relational complications
frees one
to pursue personal goals,
find rewarding work,
fulfill one’s life purpose,
develop meaningful and lasting relationships,
and contribute to helping others and bettering our society.
At least, that is my hope. For that, I consistently strive.
In pursuit of that simple life, that joyful life, that peaceful life,
I try to live by these principles:
✤ Create a haven of peace in your home.
An uncluttered home with things you love provide that haven of joy and peace. This is where you go to be still, rest your body, calm your mind, nourish your soul, and reinvigorate your spirit. It is a respite from the busy, hectic world in which we live.
See “Creating a Place of Peace” for how I create such a haven.
✤ Take time to introspect and converse with God. *
This quiet meditative time each day calms the spirit and focuses the mind. Stress, worries, and uncertainty melt away as you turn them over to God and seek his wisdom and direction. As you take quiet time to introspect, you learn more about yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your goals, and your aspirations. You can start your day with humility, peace, determination, and focus.
✤ Develop goals for your personal life, your family life, your professional life, and your life of service to others, both short-term and long-term. *
These goals focus our lives and help us use our limited time here on earth to pursue meaningful activities. Equally important as these planned goals are the unexpected opportunities that arise to improve ourselves and help those around us.
✤ Establish a routine to work towards your goals and take care of daily responsibilities.
There is a remarkable difference in the peace and joy I experience after a day that I have done something to improve my home, nurture my family relationships, work on my personal and professional goals, and help someone else compared to the days I have not done these things. Try it – you’ll be amazed.
✤ Cultivate friendships with people who are moral, self-confident, positive, uplifting, ambitious, and altruistic.
These friendships last a lifetime and are a continual source of encouragement.
✤ Manage personal finances carefully in order to live within your means, stay out of debt, and invest in your future. Financial stress is inconsistent with mental peace.
If you have decluttered your home and deprioritized possessions, your financial burdens are much fewer. As described in studies of millionaires**, financial security comes much more from a mentality than a particular background, job, or income.
See “Teaching Financial Responsibility” for the steps we took
to teach our children good financial management skills.
✤ Remember that life is a journey, a progression of seasons. Savor joy during each season, embracing that season’s focus and that season’s purpose. Cherish the past, embrace the present, eagerly anticipate the future.
No one can do everything all the time and trying to do so can lead to feeling overwhelmed, overtired, and guilty. However, dedicating oneself wholly to what each season brings can lead to fulfillment. Those seasons are threaded together to form a journey of nostalgia, joy, and wonderment.
✤ Keep worldly concerns in perspective.
I need to be constantly reminded of this one as I tend to be a serious contemplative realist. When faced with death or disaster or great loss, one realizes that only a few things in life are truly important. For me, faith, family, freedom, and moral matters are worth fighting for and dying for.
We have choices in life, every step of the way.
We live in a country of unparalleled freedoms and endless opportunities.
How we choose to live this life and take advantage of these opportunities
is up to us.
I choose a life of simplicity, joy, and peace.
* I keep a “dream” journal to note my thoughts, my ideas, my aspirations, and my goals – this has become an invaluable tool for honing my ambitions and a treasured record of the different seasons of my life’s journey.
** See The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko & Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan