Two Little Words

Just a head's up, friends ... I've been thinking.  I know, I know.  I usually don't share a lot about what's going on in the old rhymeswithsmile brain, because I'm too busy either making food, cleaning up food, or thinking about more food.  But these two words have been floating around my noggin' for the last month or so, and have come up enough in conversation that I just can't let it go.  So here you have it, the two words that I can't let go: intentional and simple.

Intentional.

Simple.

Intentional simplicity.

Simple intentionality.

Really, there's nothing earth-shattering about the words.  But they're surprisingly complex to think on.  What does intentional food look like?  And where does a simple home fit in?  What does it mean to raise kids with intentionality and simplicity? And there's so many more things - faith, work, earning and spending money, building relationships, fostering community, spending time, planning future.

I can look back on the last five years or so and see how some big life circumstances really helped kick the Mr. and I in the direction of living intentionally and simply.  Grad school is what did it to us - we got stripped of a lot of things that we had taken for granted before (dental insurance and magazine subscriptions, as silly examples) and found out how to have lots of fun with unconventional resources (I almost said limited resources, but that would imply that our only resources were financial.  We were - and are - rich in many, many things).  It really wasn't easy.  I cried a lot.  But it was a start, and in retrospect, it was valuable.

You should know that I'm not really into resolutions for a new year.  But since I can't get these words out of my mind, go ahead and prepare yourself for a few more ramblings on the subject of simplifying and choosing to live intentionally.