As many of you remember, that I started blogging about living simply and stepping lightly after seeing the phrase over and over again. But the real kicker was when I heard from one of Eckhart Tolle’s group to Step Lightly and to not walk with any burdens. That put me over the edge. That made my heart ache for a change.
Soon after, I found myself at St. Vinnie’s digging through the bookshelves (as I usually do). I have been trying to manifest my own copy of Walden so I was glancing, hoping that I would find that buried somewhere among the books. No such luck that day, but I came upon another treasure that I would soon find would continue to send me on the simple path and learn more about it and myself.
As I started reading Living Simply with Children, I began to question mine and DH’s life now. What surrounds us? What do we need to raise a child? How will I handle things when my family thinks that I’m being cheap, or picky, or even that I may be neglecting my child of some of the things we choose? But as I was reading it, I came across one of many book recommendations – Stepping Lightly! I didn’t even realize there was such a book!
On my quest to get it from the library and their sources that they can get an interlibrary loan from, I was at a stalemate. I didn’t want to buy it since I felt that it would be another thing to take up space, but I decided buying it used from Amazon would be okay. If it was a book that I wanted to pass along, I could donate it or sell it to the used bookstore in town afterwards. After starting it though, I may just keep it as a reference. I have a few things dogeared and highlighted already.
Some of my things I’d like to come back to are:
- Simplicity Website
- This question ~ “How much does the acquisition of this new thing add to my innate capacity to experience richness in life, and of what costs to the environment and to those I love and care for?”
- This quote ~ “We seem obsessed with filling the void instead of simply being in it.”
This book has brought me back to Tolle and has helped me realize that their philosophies aren’t on totally different ends of the spectrum, but these philosophies move together toward a simple life. They both speak of being present in the moment, and that we can simply live when we aren’t numbed by the constant chatter of technology, jobs we aren’t happy in, and going going going without slowing down to pay attention to our breath and the beauty around us.
Reading Stepping Lightly has also already shared another book recommendation. This is a book that was recommended to me about a year ago, and I bought it used off of Amazon and stuck it on my “to read” shelf. It’s been sitting there ever since, but I have gotten my push from the Universe. My next book will be Your Money or Your Life. 
“Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences, but rather, it’s a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite sublime plan.”
