Every summer, my family and I travel up to a small town in Rhode Island (see last year’s post for the backstory and details about the experience). Thanks to my teaching schedule, I was lucky to spend 4 weeks this year in my favorite place on earth. Summers on the New England coast are my time to relax, recharge, and refresh. They always remind me of the value in slowing down and living simply.
I realize, too, that one doesn’t have to be in a perfect place on vacation to live life in this way. There are little ways to find calm and connect with the present moment. In the coming month (or whichever month you choose), I encourage you to make a small change each week that will help simplify and enrich your daily experience. These are all inspired by the way life is lived in Rhode Island.
Week 1: Phone away by 8 pm
We can all be guilty of lingering on our devices a little too long. By setting a time limit, you’re going to get precious hours back in the evenings – whether they are spent enjoying a favorite book or chatting with a loved one. I recommend setting a nightly alarm on your phone alerting you that it’s time to put your phone away.
Week 2: Cook fresh meals
Life gets busy, and sometimes we succumb to ordering take-out a few too many days in a row. Just for a week, commit to only eating fresh food that you bought in a grocery or better yet, a local farmers’ market.
Week 3: Daily quiet walks
If you know me, you know I walk nearly every day (weather permitting). Sometimes I listen to music or a podcast on my headphones. But I find that the best way to feel centered is to listen to the sounds of nature around you. When I walk without my headphones, I notice things like a hooting owl in a nearby tree or a group of deer in the woods.
Week 4: Replace TV with reading
Most nights, I both watch a TV show and read a book. But some of the most lovely, peaceful nights happen when you just read. I always drink peppermint tea before bed, often with a piece of dark chocolate. Try giving yourself a treat like this to make reading a fun ritual each night. By replacing TV with reading, you’ll find that your mind is clearer and calmer.
Give this a go, and see how you feel by the end of the month! I’d love to hear about your experience here, or share it with me on Instagram. Enjoy!
Such beautiful pictures! I absolutely love these tips for slowing down! I always put my phone down in the evening.
Beautifully done, Blythe! I find that decluttering and rearranging around the house clears my mind – I feel renewed and refreshed when I think about the special items around the house that friends or family gave me and perhaps move them to a new place to enjoy them in a new light. If something really doesn’t wow me anymore, I give it away so someone else hopefully will enjoy it.
This has been a year for more restoring of old family furniture and a distressed mantel that a friend gave me. Watching a tired piece of furniture obtain new life makes me feel like I am preserving pieces of family history. I hope those who owned them during their lives in some way are smiling down on me as I bring renewed beauty to their old treasures.
It simpler to renew something I already have rather than going out to buy a replacement.
I hope you will be able to come visit soon and see my renewed living room – repainted in blue with the old mirrored fireplace removed. It was a happy find to see the original wooden paneled fireplace with marble surrounds that had been “buried” behind the mirrors. My restored mantel is being mounted there tomorrow.
Love,
Aunt Cathy
I love this! I’m going to try the phone curfew this week.