For decades, I ran the race the world told me to run. I lived in large, exciting cities. I worked hard in corporate and international organisations. I was “successful” by every modern standard. But inside, there was a constant, gnawing noise.
Noise. Noise. Noise.
It was in my head, around me, and eventually, in my blood pressure. My brain felt overwhelmed by the excess stimulation and the endless demand that “enough” was always just a little more than I already had. I realised my body wasn’t created for this level of chronic stress. Neither was yours.
I spent years hoping life would just “calm down,” until I realised: Life doesn’t change. You have to change your life approach.
In my 40s, I began the journey off the treadmill. Now, in my sixties, I have finally found what I was yearning for: a quiet, simple, off-grid lifestyle. I swapped the “Concrete Mask” for what I affectionately call my Mud Palace.
The Wisdom of the Simple Life
Choosing to live isn’t about “having less”; it’s about making room for more. When I decluttered my life from the world’s demands, I didn’t just find peace—I found these life-altering truths:
- Contentment over Comparison: If you train yourself to live with less, you stop fretting about what you don’t have. Simplicity teaches you that abundance actually lessens the value of what we own.
- Freedom over Responsibility: The more things you own, the more you have to service your ego, and the less freedom you enjoy. True freedom is the ability to walk, look at the clouds, and smell flowers without a calendar alert pulling at your sleeve.
- Authenticity over Performance: When you aren’t distracted by gadgets or the stress of becoming a CEO by 40, you finally have the mental space to learn who you actually are. You stop trying to impress and start being sincere.
- Health as Wealth: Ongoing stress leads to depression. By focusing on what is important, your stress levels are lowered and your health improves. You realise you don’t need a prescription to mask symptoms; you need a lifestyle that doesn’t create them.
Why We Make It Complicated
Life is inherently simple, but we make it complicated to satisfy a “colonial hangover” of what success should look like. We build fireplaces we never light and balconies we never sit on, all while our inner selves are starving for connection—with nature, with family, and with God.
I no longer have to have everything, and I don’t have to have it now. By God’s grace, I have learned to say a firm “no” to the rush so I can say a beautiful “yes” to the present.
