Friday, January 2, 2015

6 important words for 2015


Simplicity, Mindfulness, Application, Learning, Local and Social - these are words I would like to be conscious of this year. If you look at the acronym, it's only SMALLStuff..... but I'm sure it can be BIG too!

I don't profess to understand the full meaning of these at this stage, but here's my current definition for these words in my life.
  • Simplicity - For me simplicity is not actually the opposite of complexity (cos its probably quite complex in itself), but it's about making ethical and moral choices to keep daily life simple or free from ties to unethical over use. I don't believe  it demands a vow of poverty or a life of rural homesteading, but that it is an ethic of self-conscious material moderation. As one author states, 'Mastering the fine art of simple living involves discovering the difference between personal trappings and personal traps. In this sense, simplicity is ultimately a state of mind, a well-ordered inner harmony among the material, sensual, and ideal, rather than a particular standard of living'. I this it's about sufficiency - and knowing what is my sufficiency threshold.
  • Mindfulness -  This is about a state of awareness, and for me I want to be aware of the choices I make, the way I relate to the world around me, and the way I can impact the world around me. Being mindful is about being conscious of the present, past and the future. One author talks about mindfulness as having a heightened state of concern and due diligence in decision making and also it can mean having a clear state of awareness of the subtler processes of ones own mind - about being self reflective. One definition I would like to investigate is that mindfulness is a state of awareness consisting of unhurried, non judgemental attention to one thing at a time. 
  • Application - this reminds me that I have to action some of these great ideals - appplication means applying my pinciples, applying my learning, and evidence the actions - its an accountability issue for me - or to quote a multinational "Just do it!"...
  • Learning - Important for me is the commitment to keep learning on these issues and others. Not being enrolled in formal training (at the moment), I need to make the personal commitment to pursue my learning opportunities.
  • Local - living local, buying local, supporting local - this is for me about building community, participating in community and caring for the local community.
  • Social - this word is here to remind me that simplicity and mindfulness are not about being isolated. I personally need to be reminded to make time for my social life, and to work on finding connectedness with like minded people. It is way too easy for me to bury myself in my solitary spaces. Building my social networks is something that I want to be actively committed to.
 This post was inspired by a recent post by Cityhippyfarmgirl who asked what what our hopes, plans and words are for 2015. Her word is connected, but I couldn't stick to one. How about you? what are your words for 2015?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

4 comments:

Bellezza said...

To me, simplicity is a particularly worthy goal. My life has become so complicated by its pace, and the technology I love/hate. Here's to us achieving what's most important in 2015!

Karen said...

Love your choices T! I'm still trying to come up with my word but I like your idea of having more than one...

Jeanie said...

These are wonderful words to use as a guide in 2015. I'm trying to narrow down on one as I usually do -- but am having trouble clearing my cluttered mind to center. And if you take that sentence, you probably have an idea of what all the words focus on in one way or another!

I send you wonderful Happy New Year greetings and trust that your words will be a fine guide this year.

Brona said...

My word (for these past few years) has been balance.
Which kind of fits with your acronym - balance in consumerism & materialism, balance in the food we eat, balance in the time spent on all activities, balance of mind, body & spirit... It's not easy to get it right all the time, but we all need time thing to aim for :-)

Good luck with the small stuff.