Simplicity and Self-Healing

A woman sitting on a chair on a porch looking into a field

I’m fortunate enough to be able to spend time in a quiet, 200-year-old Farmhouse nestled in a hollow near the Shenandoah National Park. Each time we are here, life slows way down. I’m constantly amazed how very, very different my life feels here vs. Northern Virginia. But it’s not just the lack of traffic and people, or even the abundance of nature. It’s the whole lifestyle that comes from being in a remote farmhouse. Let me explain.

Remote living takes me back to the way my ancestors lived. I let life revolve around simple meals and gathering with friends and family. I want to tend the land, and be nourished by what’s around me. I want to watch the foxes play and the deer eat. Sure, I could do all of these things in the ‘burbs, but here there is nothing rushing me to do something else more productive, or seemingly better. It’s just me, loved ones, and nature.

Part of the simplicity stems from the fact that the only food available is what we bring, and we can only bring so much. So, meal planning and preparation has to be simple, and predetermined. With the closest grocery store being a 40-minute round trip, missing ingredients remain missing.

More simplicity comes from the sparse furnishings, and general lack of anything extra. With minimal storage, everything is naturally organized, tidy, and necessary. This natural order also means there’s nothing to clean, purge or rearrange (all of which I find myself spending time on after living in my regular house for 27 years.)

Finally, I find myself “making do” without things constantly. No mixer? A fork or whisk, then. No vegetable peeler? A knife will work. No apron? Better wear an old T-shirt.

This make do attitude has been the entry point to some of my personal healing. Back in NoVa, where I have all the things, I find I’m sometimes less willing to settle. I fall into the capitalistic mindset of wanting it all, all the conveniences, everything the Jones’s have. If I can catch myself in the dissatisfaction, then I am able to remember the valuable make do lesson from the Farmhouse, and I foster a sense of deep gratitude.

No matter where we are geographically, I know that slowing down and simple living can be very healing. It has as much to do with mindset as actual setting. And, of course, our yoga and meditation practices can be key components in befriending our mind to increase joy, ease and contentment.