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THE NARRATIVE ARC
Simple Living Isn’t What You Think (and That’s the Point)
Enjoying coffee from a broken mug
I’m sitting on the doorstep.
It’s still cold, but the sun is shining, and Odin is giving me his puppy dog eyes.
I break off a chunk of the banana I’m eating and try not to lose a finger as he takes a bite. Above my head, the coffee machine gurgles, and I’ve decided I’d like to write.
“It’s time to write a post on how you live a simpler life,” I think to myself. But where to start? I get up off the floor and pour myself a coffee. I take it black. I walk back outside.
Scottish winter has not been kind to our garden furniture, and the bench I sit on gives an ominous groan as I sit down on it. Worried I might go arse over elbow if I fully commit, I give it a test wiggle and relax.
I sip coffee from a mug I painted on a date with my wife. The handle snapped off months ago, but I like it better this way. There’s a hint of wind, and I look up at the washing dancing on the clothesline and watch my dog start to chew a giant piece of bark he’s found.
“What about a list of things you can do to start living simply?” my brain suggests to me. Hmmm. It could work. Then again, who am I to say how…
