A New Leaf

Posted by Jeremy in blogging, education, family, philosophy, simple living

Yesterday marked move #4 since last November. I will be back on campus until the Christmas Break, and move #5 (the last for a while *fingers crossed*). The month leading up to this weekend has been extremely busy for me. But, now I have left my fruit quality research in the hands of our very capable crew in Western Washington for the remainder of the growing season.

While on campus, I will be transitioning to another kind of lab work - materials. A lot of my peers find it quite comical to learn that I am working with the Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles department. But, looking at the degradation of fibers and films brought me to them and that will be my primary research focus for the next four months.

That being said, DW and I have been discussing my future as a blogger and decided that the nature of my posts are not as engaging as they could be. So, I will be working on more practical posts relating to simple living. Things like how to prune a tree, or repurposing otherwise useless household items. So look for posts of that nature in the weeks to come. Or, even better, send me some suggestions.

I have also been contemplating what it actually means to "achieve simplicity." After all, the simple life I am leaning towards involves far more work than traditional living (in the post-modern Western culture sense). And, it has been a bit of a struggle. But, I think I am wrapping my head around it the more I consider it. Simple living isn't so much about making life easy; simple living is about finding happiness, not from an adventure, gadget, or some periodic pleasure, but from the simple joys of daily living. It is finding happiness in a turn in the weather, a bountiful harvest, or even the lessons learned from failure. It is about finding happiness in the tiny moments, seeing your children learn and grow. And if removing the distractions of "modern living" helps you find that happiness, I think you're on the road to achieving simplicity.



Thanks for listening.