basic.

We were driving up to one beautiful campsite the other year, and the drive was equally as gorgeous.  Mountains on either side of us, trees, trees, trees everywhere.  The skies were just the right contrast of blue and white.  Let's just say, it was breath-taking!  The road we were driving on had about a 12 foot buffer on each side before the trees were so thick, you could barely see through them.  It was while we were driving on that road that I thought, There were people who forged this road through these trees.  I wonder what they would think of us now ... driving into these deep wood to "rough it" for their "vacation".

It's funny how something so simple - like camping - is now a novelty.  First pioneers to these parts had to literally rough it every single day.  Camping was their norm and not their retreat.  They surely would laugh at me, counting down the days to our next camp trip when they probably yearned for things more elaborate when it came to the thought of relaxation!

We live in an era where basic concepts/tasks are so unconventional that they are considered "fresh" and original.  No longer is an imagination what every kid has ... the few that are left to explore it are almost praised for something that was once how every kid played.  Minimalism is considered a stylish trend.  When in all reality, to pare down and have less stuff is simply smart.  Eating clean, whole foods is not a new, way-out-there-thought, it's natural - how food was eaten in a much more intrinsic time.

Though kids are bombarded by the infiltration of "more, more, more", I believe they still carry some of the keys to simplicity.  Like, how they love people no matter how awkward or unnatural the adult is.  Their acceptance is innocent and not over analyzed.  Or how they can laugh over the simplest of things.  Their not consumed with everyone else's opinion.  Or how, they believe and have such a trust in God and people.  There is such thing as faith like a child.

Basically, simplicity is about getting back to the basics.  Unlearning all the complicated ways and things we've accumulated since we were children.  Knowing and living the "simple is more" mantra.

"It takes a long time to learn how to do something simple." ~ Marty Rubin

So I guess, in pursuit of living this simple life ... I'm going camping!!

pic pix: Yaya & Judah on a simple afternoon walk, May.2014, Fish Creek Park, AB