Sweet Stuff - A round up of "simple living" posts

About a month ago I wrote a post called simple living myths. At the time there was a lot of blogger discussion (in my internet world) about the complexities of simple living, natural living, sustainable living. Yada yada... whatever you want to call it. Looking back I think the collision of summer and fall precipitates a lot of extra work and stress in people's lives, even those of us trying to live simply. After all, late summer is the peak of harvest, not to mention the start of shifting rhythms and routines even for us homeschooling slackers!

My internet world has been quiet lately on the subject of living the good life struggles. Maybe everybody has it all figured out now! More likely however is that we're all in our fall groove, having passed through the turmoil of late summer. Regardless I've been saving posts about the challenges (or lack thereof for some people) of simple living in my google reader to put together this "simple living isn't so simple" sweet stuff post. And yes you read that photo right. This was supposed to be posted in September but I got behind and I'm ok with that. So I left the photo as is.

• Rachel at Small Notebook talks about trying to keep up appearances and reminds us that "most of us are on a journey to simpler living, and the process is gradual change."
• I love Melinda Epler's (a writer for The Simple Green Frugal Co-op) take on living the lifestyle you want and living it sustainably. And because I'm a city dwelling folk I also liked this post (by the same author) on sustainability in the city.
• My friend Nicola at whichname? writes about seeking simplicity and then the "natural" norm; the journey many of us are on to more natural living. Like Nicola reminds us, "this life, no matter how i/we choose to live it, is a work in progress".
• Sarah at Handmade Homeschool asks a simple question and shares a simple quote.
• SimpleMom shares 12 Green & Frugal Lessons that are actually doable and make living simply seem so... simple.
• For a dose of refreshing honesty I loved Denise's Peaches and Pears post at this is my life where she confesses, "I'm actually bored with the whole idea of sustainable living." Finally someone is speaking the truth!
• At Promise of a Rainbow Jenn writes about simplicity being doing what you can and being happy with that (though I have to say she does a lot in terms of simple living).
• And finally, maybe there is no such thing as balance at Nourishing Days. Wow, good stuff. Shannon talks about shifting our focus to priorities instead of trying to "balance it all". Something to think about as we mamas try to craft, blog, sew, write, cook and simplify our lives.

Sorry if I missed someone who wrote some wicked awesome (speaking like a Mainer now) synopsis (ha!) on the simple life.

If I can take away one phrase from all these posts that I read and enjoyed it's this:

Simple is different for everyone (and often not so simple), focus on your priorities (forget the rest), enjoy this journey and be kind to others and yourself along the way.