CAN YOU REALLY BEAT THE SIMPLE LIFE?

CAN YOU REALLY BEAT THE SIMPLE LIFE?

This morning I read another fascinating blog from a friend who reports regularly on his travels throughout South East Asia. He is a true adventurer who often takes the road less travelled to experience the world that most of us will never know. I love his blogs and insights and can hardly wait for the next chapter. In the meantime, we are vacationing in Mazatlan for two months again and loving every minute. As I reflected on our two different travel scenarios, I again realized how much I enjoy the simple life that we are now leading. Our adventures generally would be described by many as boring, uneventful and lacking any excitement or fun. While that may be true for some, I am loving the simple life and at this stage of my life, would not trade it for anything!

The simple life is based upon eliminating scheduling endless events, making decisions on the fly and not feeling guilty when the “what have you accomplished today guilt” creeps into your head. I wake up in the morning either when the sun fills my bedroom with light, the morning doves start to coo or the neighbourhood dogs begin their early morning barkarama! The choice is mine.

Then the rest of the day is simply making choices depending on your mood, the weather or if the beer or pop supply is running low. Should we have a simple breakfast in, or go to a neighbourhood cafe? Is it computer time at home or is it time to head for the nearby beach to count the waves and dream about being a soaring seabird? We can return home for a light lunch or take a short siesta as we are probably a little worn out from bird and wave watching.

The afternoon is just as simple. Do we need to do a grocery run to the big Walmart or the local green market to pick up more limes for the margaritas? Maybe we should take a long walk on the beach or just explore our immediate neighbourhood. I can either start reading a new novel or maybe take a trip to “town” to the used book store to find some new ones. Late afternoon involves any combination of the above options and then the hard task of deciding what is for supper. If we are lucky, we head off with friends to a local great restaurant or if we don’t want the hassle, we can combine any number of ingredients from our fridge into a simple supper.

The evening’s activity is determined by the hectic nature of how we spent our morning and afternoon. Washing and drying dishes or tossing a load of laundry into the washer might occur if we are ambitious and if not, we can chase a plethora of weird and oddball selections on our Netflix TV channel for entertainment. Darlene often resorts to assembling a million piece jigsaw puzzle, while I just sit and watch in awe and wonder. I limit my jigsaw activity to puzzles with 30 pieces or less!

As the sun sets and our energy level declines we know that we have spent another wonderful and relaxing day in our little Mexican paradise. We go to bed when we feel like it (usually early) and sleep peacefully not worrying about tomorrow and the choices it will bring.

I can close my eyes with the lyrics of the song, The Bare Necessities, swimming through my head:

“Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life”

PS My bare necessities include Wifi, ATMs and hot running water!