Stillness.  My views of stillness are easier to explain with an analogy of a river. A river runs along moving all the energy of the forest, but it is still.  Every season, the river changes, but it also remains the same. A river can change the landscape through which it flows. Finding stillness is like seeing this river, knowing its essential core is always the same, yet it can change as water flows within it.  This is the way I see the practice of stillness in daily life. I took the picture above at Jenny lake, at Teton National Park.  We hiked this trail as ..read more

This week I had an interesting lesson – our dryer broke.  It has been officially 2 weeks since we did laundry.  I have to say I do not mind-a laundry vacation.  It’s been relaxing.  Yet, the dryer breaking has given me much food for thought.  How much clothing do we actually need?  I re-assessed my wardrobe and decided I still had too much.  We all had too much.  I spoke to the repair person yesterday, and they are ordering a part to repair it.  It is my least favorite chore. During this laundry vacation, I realized why I hate laundry:  because ..read more

Life is full of new beginnings. New chapters that give us perspective and the ability to re-invent ourselves. Life affords us the ability to write our own stories.  What a beautiful gift.  We are defined by these moments, some that change life forever. Life is a series of little moments, and these are the things we should collect. What if we had more time to appreciate these special moments in time?  Of course we would take it.  Of course we’d create space for more life experiences to fill our days.  The journey to minimalism has afforded me the time to appreciate my ..read more

“Sitting still is a way of falling in love with the world and everything in it; I’d seldom thought of it like that.  Going nowhere as a way of cutting through the noise and finding fresh time and energy to share with others; I’d sometimes moved toward the idea, but it had never come home to me so powerfully as in the example of this man who seemed to have everything, yet found his happiness, his freedom in giving everything up.”  – Pico Iyer in “The Art of Stillness” Stillness.  Have you ever gone in a forest and felt so lost in nature that nothing else could be more relaxin ..read more

The first day of summer officially kicks off our Summer of Fun!  This tradition started five years ago and it’s the way the kids and I spend the summer.  The idea is simple: we promise to do at least one fun thing per day.  Some things take all day and some are very short. They can be anything from doing a craft, to going to a museum, going to the pool, playing outside at a park, or just having a movie night with popcorn.  I will post our Summer Bucket List as soon as the girls complete it. The purpose of summer is fun is to remember to do things as a family while the ..read more

Honest Good Life View original post ..read more

After my mother died, I was inundated by emotions. A part of me wanted to hold on to whatever was left of her on this earthly plane, and that manifested itself in holding on to her things.  It displayed itself in my home, in keeping her dining room set, a few of her personal things like jewelry, and a collection of different nick-knacks.  Not only did I hold onto these things, but I felt an obligation to do so.  I felt giving them away would somehow betray her memory or make me lose a part of her.  Although I gave away many of her possessions immediately after she passed, I ..read more

Happiness will completely elude us, if we look for it in outside ourselves. I spent my entire life trying to find happiness, only to discover it is not a thing to be pursued or chased, but something we grasp in our mindset.  Over the years, I’ve realized that happiness is a forever fleeing quality-the more we seek it, the less we seem to hold it down because it can not be purchased, held down, or secured.  Happiness is just a state of being, like a smile or a joke, a loving kiss, or a beautiful sunset.  We have to notice, but it is always present if we take a moment to se ..read more

Happiness and celebration go hand and hand. Ever since I was a little girl, I remember Christmas time as magical. My mom made this time so special.  I have memories of her singing Christmas Carols  in the car. She would take us to see the Nutcracker and the Rockettes, or the lighting of the tree in New York City. She would stay home a few days and watch cartoons and cook us our favorite meals. Today, long gone are memories of any toys other than the cabbage patch, and honestly those things were just things, unimportant in remembering the most important things, the love we shared. Re ..read more

We have 4 children.  They have very different interests and age levels. Our kids are a big part of any life changes we embark on, so we want them to know we value their opinions and input.   Our kids were reluctant at first. Yet surprisingly, once they realized the benefits of a more comfortable space and added family time, our kids changed their minds. They love that we have more time as a family to play games, instead of organize on weekends. That being said, decluttering kids areas can be challenging.  I suggest dividing the project in phases.  In this way, chi ..read more