“Living simply is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. It’s about living an examined life where one has determined what is truly important and enough…and then just let go of all the rest.”   ~Duane Elgin

            While I don’t consider myself an expert or authority on minimalism or simple living, I do recognize the value of focusing on aspects of the practice.  That’s right, I consider minimalism or simple living to be practices that lead to a more happy, balanced, and meaningful life.  But because there are so many rewarding aspects to the practice, and so many juicy benefits to share—I’ve decided that a focus on each one as an individual “tip” would be helpful for myself—and perhaps you as well.  So to start with, I wanted to come up with best benefit of them all.  And I couldn’t do it!  The truth is that since I started practicing a more simple approach to life—the benefits keep showing up.  That’s when I decided that the primary SMART Minimalist tip is to let you know that simple living offers more benefits than you can imagine—and the only way to start experiencing them all is to just begin discovering them for yourself. [Read more…]