This has to be the most bizzare but interesting thing I ever came across, DM likes asking me why, why I do what I do and why I am the way I am. No one has ever questioned me in that way.

So in the middle of a heated conversation he asked me why am I simplistic, why do I wanna live a simple life? I never questioned it to be honest, it’s always been right there inside of me.

See I am a village girl, when they say you can take a girl out of the village but you can’t take the village out of her they were talking about me. I grew up in a village, with the dust, the open spaces, where children have freedom to play and explore because hardly any car passes by, where everyone knew everyone and everyone had each other back, community…and I look back at that life and I want it now. There was no rush, no constant busyness, no lavish things, no consumerism, shops only had what you need, groceries, furnishing and clothing and everyone had a basic looking house.

does that explain why I want a simple life? Maybe if we compare it to life now…

i was thrown in the deep end, straight from a village and right into the middle of a big city like Sydney. Suddenly exposed to this lavish lifestyles of two storey houses filled with a bunch of things that I don’t even know the use for. My simple porridge breakfast traded for bacon eggs pancakes, I didn’t even know what oats was. Life was busy, it wasn’t long before I was told I need a job, so now I gotta get used to life in school then rush to a job, I remember my first 5 pays sat in my account, I didn’t know what to do with the money, as far as I was concerned I had all that I needed. Then one day I had to go to the shopping centre and I adapted. Wasn’t long before I lived like a city girl, busy schedule, school, work, lunches, movie dates, shopping trips. Funny thing, I wasn’t happy or happier I was tired and fake. ( harsh but that’s how it felt)

does this explain why I love simplicity? Maybe if we explore the lessons I learnt growing up..

My grandma really instilled in me the spirit of living a minimalist and simple life but more than that being content and leaving room for happiness.

Everytime I think about why I’m such a minimalist and I’m so content with life I go back to a simple conversation we had one day, I was maybe about 8 and I asked her to buy me something, as most African parents would say, her response was I have no money, I ask her how come since she works and she looks at me calmly and says ‘ I get P400 every month, P100 is used to pay for the house, P100 buys our groceries, P100 is used for all things we need in house and everyone’s clothing and the last one is for transport and pocket money for everyone.’

I took that, and thought about our lives, everyone was happy, no one was suffering and we were all content in what we had, she was happy with the life she was giving her children, for a single mother with 5 kids and a grandchild. But more than that, there were people who had more than us, and all they ever did was complain about not having enough..

As I grew up, I came to know that she didn’t really get that much (little) from her job, it was more, a lot more. She could have done more with her money, she could have bought a car, or even a TV ( yes I grew up with no electronics) we could have lived a different life but instead she bought books, time and space.

Does that explain why I’m such a simple person, I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. All I know is I have lived different lifestyle since coming to Australia , I been a city girl, a coastal girl, but all this time, at the back of my head, I would always go back to my roots. I want a life filled with space, freedom and peace. Be one with nature, feel the soil on my toes, breath the fresh air, see the stars, the sun set and sunrise from my back yard, watch my children play outdoors not in front of a screen, not be so damn busy and not be pulled into the consumerism trap, because the more you want these things the more unsatisfied you are and it becomes a never ending cycle, you work harder so you can earn more and buy more. You sacrifice your physical and mental wellbeing so you can acquire things with a lifespan of couple of months at most. I want space and freedom so I can create happy memories that will last me a lifetime, I wanna stand still so I can enjoy life and find moments of adventures. I would trade all that over a flashy job in the city with its flashy cars, 5 star restaurants and clubs. I want a simple life with less things and more memories and love filled moments.

That is why, the less things I have around me, the more I have inside of me, more peace and more freedom, to give more love, more memories and more time to myself, my children and everyone I love. That is why….because really, it’s all I want in life.