I’m just back from a lovely family holiday – nothing exotic, just camping on the Llyn peninsula in Wales. We’ve got a good big tent with plenty of pods inside for the 5 of us; particularly important now our daughters are all getting so big and grown up!
In fact I felt really pleased that the older two were still happy and wanted to come camping. We go to a very quiet, almost ‘secret’ campsite, with simple facilities and wide open views.
Typical British camping weather – when it wasn’t really really windy, it was raining! However we had everything we needed to stay warm and dry and still had plenty of opportunities for playing on the beach and taking country walks.
I admit, we had mobile wifi, but it was strictly rationed. And as there were only 2 power sockets up at the toilet block, everyone was very careful about keeping mobile device use to a minimum to eke out battery life.
We’d packed sparsely, but lacked for nothing – everything we had, had a function and a place.
No big decisions about what to wear, simple healthy camp food, lots more fresh air and exercise, lots of books to read, playing family games, flying kites and generally experiencing ‘real’ life again. What a treat!
Now it is nice to be home again, and to sleep in my own bed (and washing machines do make life much easier), but 10 days of stripped back living has got me decluttering and clearing my house and wardrobe!
I felt so much better living a simpler life – it’s helped me realise how much I have I just don’t need, gets in the way and distracts me from what matters most.
Of course, being on holiday can only increase the sense of well-being and being at ease with myself, but it’s helped me think about ways the business can be simpler too, and how I often clutter my day with ‘busy-work’ rather than what really matters.
Such a reminder that less is more!
(Photo – our ‘secret site’, with tent nestled behind the car and windbreak on the left!)
