"...beauty in our personal environment"

I am new to simplicity, I hadn't heard of it until fairly recently. Today I was reading an article by Linda Breen Pierce who is known by two of my online friends. I was pleased that some of the 12 values listed I can relate to very well. And upon reflecting on them more closely I can see I can relate to them all. I hope I haven't bent them too much out of shape. As the points are most of the article I have just posted the last three.

"Some of the simplicity values that are important to people who live simple are:

10. Connection to nature -- delighting in spending time in nature regularly.
11. Aesthetic beauty in personal environment.
12. Living in harmony with values and integrity."

I have been reflecting on them overnight. Today (last Friday) point eleven came up and I was thinking about it during the day. I have been outside the area where we live for a daytrip one day for three weeks in a row and another one before that. There may also be one next week.

Our "area" is the 1 1/2 hours it takes to get "somewhere" that resembles normal Victorian living. One of the times I went out I noticed a marked difference, it really was different to come home to and very scenic.

I noticed that this comes at a price, possibly to simplicity. I wonder if this subject is discussed in simple living?

What is the subject? I was married at 20 and until hubby went OS for a week here or there, we did everything together. Even when OS I still just went basically to school and back, but I suppose it does count that I drove to the airport a couple of times as our hometown didn't have a big enough airport. Remember now we live 2 or more hours from our hometown.

When we went out in the car, it was together mostly. Even if hubby had to go out it was for work, but not that often I don't think.

These days, my car is mine. I don't regret having a second car, I wouldn't go back to having one car. I like flexibility. Not for lifestyle purposes.

I go driving in it to buy food, lots of driving. And like these past weeks, I have had to go out, not optional, except for the one day hubby had a rare day off work and we did go together. I didn't want to go at first, but since we were buying a puppy I did. The people at the camp remarked how tired we looked when we got there. We were up very early and it was a long way.

The other two days related to the dentist and the school holidays and this time we went to zone school sports, and yes, my daughter got a ribbon! I have five children and this hasn't happened to our family before.

The next day my husband took our second son to a University based help for Year 12, he went out and I stayed home. So that is one day out of our weekend together.

So the aesthetic beauty is offset by the driving alone in this case. I use my Grandparents as a point of reference for simple living. But on reflection my Nana did actually drive by herself a bit. Admittedly not the distances I drive.

I suppose this is another topic altogether?

When you live in a smaller community, if there is stress like suicides and things like that, everyone knows about it, and you wonder how it could happen.

About ten minutes from home there is a beautiful view, it was quite blue at the back of the view. It would be hard to photograph, all the beautiful views are on dangerous roads, but I wish you could have seen it. I think I have one picture of it I hope to find for you.