If you find value in this weekly letter, feel free to share with friends and family who you think might enjoy a dose of simplicity every Friday.
Once, there were three bears.
The first bear loved stuff. They filled their house to the brim with possessions, spending here there, and everywhere. Their porch looked like a mini Amazon warehouse, filled with daily deliveries from everyone’s favorite penis rocketship owner.
The second bear owned nothing but a suitcase of clothes, a laptop, and a few choice items. They had no permanent home, choosing instead to lug their few possessions around the world.
The third bear lived in a house that was not too big, not too small. Their possessions were thoughtfully curated and each one had meaning or gave value. They only brought new items into their lives when they were required, or something broke. Everything was juuuuust right.
Those three bears are my friend, me, and my mother respectively. Together, we are the living embodiment of what I call the simple living spectrum. Everyone is on it somewhere.
And although the internet would like you to think that the only options are to live at extreme ends of a spectrum, in reality, the best, most sustainable element of any movement usually lies in the middle ground.
Don’t tell her, but my mother might have it right this time.
Embracing the middle ground
There’s something delicious about the banality of the middle ground - it’s often overlooked in favor of the bigger the better (or in this case, the smaller the better).
But those middle ground dwellers have in fact unlocked a superpower. Because it’s not just a great place to be, it’s also the easiest ground to occupy.
My friend’s lifestyle isn’t easy. It’s expensive and stressful and all that shopping, clutter, and tidying takes up a lot of brainpower.
My lifestyle isn’t easy either. It’s hard work keeping possessions to a minimum, dealing with simple living criticism, and moving from place to place.
My mother’s lifestyle, on the other hand, is easy. It’s cheap because she never upgrades her home, car, or anything else. It’s simple because she has to spend very little time cleaning, tidying, or sorting. It’s time-rich which she can use to paint (she’s still a professional artist at 76 years old) or see her grandkids.
And the middle ground is flexible - it can look like anything you want. It could be living in a small apartment in New York. It could be a modest family home in the Midwest.
It can be whatever you want it to be. And therein lies its power.
Simple living criticisms live at the extreme ends of the spectrum
As that person who owns just one suitcase of items, I am at the mercy of the minimalist-bashers. You know who I mean. Those who claim that no one who has a job / child / house / any commitments whatsoever can embrace simple living because it means living on the extremes.
You can only call yourself a minimalist if you live like me and my one suitcase.
Bullshit.
I am only one sort of minimalist. I love my life but I am under no illusion that everyone else would enjoy it.
I get rather tired of the simple living bashing because it’s a totally reductive argument, putting everyone into the same extreme box.
And thus they miss the point entirely.
Simple living isn’t about owning nothing, it’s about owning enough. It’s about knowing what enough means to you. It probably won’t be one suitcase worth of possessions (although kudos if it is). It won’t be a house filled to bursting either.
It’s about being intentional with your spending, your time, and any other finite resource available to you.
What that looks like is completely up to you.
How to boss living in the middle ground
Use the three bears analogy. Take anything in your life - is it too big, too small, or just right?
Your house / apartment
Your car
Your holidays
Your eating out regime
Your groceries
Your phone
Your clothes
Your experiences
Your peace of mind
Too big? Minimize.
Too small or deprived? Loosen up a bit.
Just right? Perfect.
Stuff I’ve done this week to get healthier
6 weeks in Georgia kicked my ass. It’s a land of cheese and butter and bread and dumplings and incredible sunflower oil that is poured over EVERYTHING.
Now I’m back in the UK I need to get back on the health train - and fast.
Committing to running 3-4 times a week.
Turning temporarily vegetarian whilst I live with a veggie for the next few weeks.
Long, long walks and hikes on non-running days.
Fermenting things. Kimchi, hot sauce, maybe a bit of sauerkraut - because fermentation does amazing things to your gut.
Something to read
3 articles from my collection
What Daily Life Looks like for a Simple-Living, Slow-Traveling, Remote-Worker in Their mid-Thirties
Sometimes I Feel like Giving It All up and Living in A Shack
3 of the best articles I’ve read this week
Incredibly Talented People Think They’re Stupid - Tim Denning
How to Be a Non-Annoying Digital Nomad - Lisa Martens
The Growing Movement That Will Transform Retirement As We Know It - Rocco Pendola
As always, if you want to join Medium for $5 a month to gain access to my writing - and thousands of other incredible writers - you can do so via my referral link.
I’m Wales bound for a couple of weeks so this week it’s a Diolch Yn Fawr (that’s thanks very much in Welsh) from me for reading. I appreciate it, every single week.