Goal 74. Walk somewhere you would normally drive

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Since I clearly have lots of time to spend, I decided that Tuesday was a great day for a walk. It was a lovely day, and very warm. In fact, I dressed far too warmly, thinking it was a warm Fall day, when it was actually a warm Indian Summer day. As I walked I thought about the last book I took out of the library, Organized Simplicity, and the main thing that struck me is how complicated simplicity can be.

I am terribly lazy when it comes to exercise. So there are only two ways I can trick myself into lacing up my running shoes: 

1. Someone to walk with

2. Somewhere to go

Since I had already tricked Prince Charming into walking with me to Southgate Mall (although I traded him for cinnamon buns) last week I figured that I should use the “somewhere to go” option. So I walked myself to the library to apply for more jobs. It was a 2 hour round trip, but I felt pretty great by the end of the walk. 

Organized Simplicity is written by Tsh Oxenrider, the founder of Simple Life Media, a group of blogs. I read several of these on a regular basis, and I really respect and appreciate many of the things I have learned from these websites. However, this book seemed to be a little different. It was a handbook filled with all her most popular tips and ideas, such as choosing only 3 Most-Important-Things on a to-do list, ways to budget and ultimately become debt-free, and how to de-clutter and spring-clean your house. I think I am at a point, having read this and other blogs about simplicity and minimalism for the past year that I don’t need to be reminded to do house-cleaning, or told that having fewer things will mean having less to clean. I already know this. For me its the motivation to do what is right that is hard. When I clean I know I’ll eventually have to do it again, but it means I can have someone over. When I budget no one wants to do it with me, but at least I have a direction to go and dreams to meet. 

One of the things I found most interesting in Organized Simplicity was the advice to create a purpose statement. Which I did. It was very admirable and thorough. But still pretty complicated. I tried to write to-do lists based on these points and found myself needing more than a page. 

So maybe my version of simplicity could be this:

In whatever you do, look for someone to walk with, or somewhere to go.