When Dreams Come True: The Joys of a Simple Life

A year ago, I wrote these words:

Every winter I get the same longing for a life closer to nature, and every winter I promise myself it will be my last in the city. But it’s never been easy to make this a reality and this year hasn’t made it any easier. Once more, I set the intention to leave the big city in 2021. Perhaps announcing it publicly will make it more feasible.

I was full of hope when I wrote that post and now, a year later, I'm living in a small town surrounded by nature. I had held this vision for years but I couldn't see a way to make it a reality... until all doors opened. The transition wasn't easy (is change ever easy?) but now green mountains greet me every morning. I can walk to the beach or enjoy pink-orange sunsets in a marshland filled with birdlife. I can help a struggling bumblebee, see a hawk and pet a horse, all within the same hour.

I remember the first time I felt this love for rural life. I was visiting family members who lived in a tiny town in the mountains. Hearing a donkey in the distance, picking a fresh orange from a tree, enjoying the fresh air and the serenity of the landscape... It was bliss. I thought it was the novelty. Surely, I'd get bored if I lived a life like that? That's what people always said, anyway. But you never know until you try. And then you realise that inner whisper was there for a reason.


The place I live in is temporary and I don't know for sure where life will lead me next year. I'm hoping it will be a house with a plot of land! But for now, I'll enjoy this version of quiet life that I've been gifted. 

Last year I wrote a post about the lessons 2020 had taught me. 2021 has taught me just one thing: To appreciate simplicity. After years spending thousands of euros in courses, striving to "improve" myself as a human being or to find my "purpose" and, overall, following my head instead of my heart, all I want is a quiet, simple life. Now I believe the real wisdom lies there. I think the fox from The Little Prince got it right: L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. What is essential is invisible to the eye. Our society might not assign value to a simple life but it is there, waiting for us in every pause, in every inhale, in the quiet, in the simple celebration of being alive.

I hope 2022 will bring you what your heart desires, and that whatever that is, it brings you peace. 

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