I want to live simply. 
I’ve even written it down in my notebooks. 
“Live more simply.”
But why do those words keep sounding less like permission to do less, and more like yet one more to-do item on my already too-long to-do list. Why does living simply feel like such an uphill battle?
Take this morning, for instance. I intended to get up and read before work. I envisioned a slow morning with coffee and Mary Oliver poems. But instead I woke up late and rushed around the house, simultaneously checking my work-email while drinking coffee standing over the kitchen sink. 
After work, I meant to go for a peaceful walk in the woods near my house. But instead I worked an extra hour to meet a deadline, and then felt too tired to want to leave the house. 
I meant to cook a slow, home-cooked meal but because I already felt tired and overworked, I instead rewarded myself with frozen left-overs and silly videos on my phone. Suddenly it was past midnight and, oh my, where did the day go? And why did none of it feel simple? 

Does any of this feel familiar to you?

It seems like most of us these days are living in a too-fast, too-busy, too-stressed, too-MUCH state of being most of the time.

But I just don’t believe we are meant to live that way. So I’m going to keep striving for the “more simple” version of life. One frustratingly difficult step at a time. I will share any helpful lessons I learn along the way.