The Simple Pleasures Project

"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth" ~ Bonnie Friedman

This year, the unthinkable happened; I missed the spring pumpkin planting. The planting of the pumpkins is one of my favorite parts of the farming year, something I always look forward to, something I'd be heartbroken to miss, and this year that is exactly what happened.

My hours at my office job had double this year, and it felt like I was racing all the time. I'd blow through chores in the morning as fast as I could, run off to work, then run home and try and get something done on the farm with the short time before nightfall, only to do the same thing all over again. I was feeling like I hit the ground running every morning, and I was missing out on the life I really loved, the life of the farm. It's difficult to enjoy working 40 hours a week at an indoor desk job, when your heart longs for the outdoor world of the farm. I was missing everything I loved and it made me feel like Geroge Baily "cooped up in some shabby little office." I knew I couldn't live like that, because what's the point of living if you're not enjoying life right? Something had to change.

I took a leap of faith, and knew I either had to get my hours at work lessened or go out on my own. I was prepared to do either, and it all worked out in the end. I got my office hours lessened, and now I get to enjoy that as well as enjoying my time on the farm. Now I actually feel like I have time to breathe, and it's made me realize just how much I really was missing. Too often we're so hurried in life that we don't have time to "stop and smell the roses," we neglect to notice the simple pleasures in life, and those simple pleasures are what really matter

So I've begun a little experiment I'm calling the Simple Pleaures Project, taking time to slow down enough each day to notice and enjoy something simple. 365 days of simple pleasures. I'm sure it's boring as all heck for anyone else to read, but it's something fun to do on your on own. Here's the link if you feel inspired to start your own such project for your life: The Simple Pleasures Project