How connection helps me simplify my life

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I’m an introvert. I function at my best with lots of quality alone time. Preferably in nature. Too much conversing, mingling and making small talk is literally bad for my health. My anxiety rears it’s ugly head and I become very easily stressed. However, if I don’t make connection a priority, my health suffers just as much.

So why does this highly sensitive introvert still believe in good ol’ fashioned connection?

I believe in it because everything is connected and everything needs connecting (part of me can’t believe I just wrote that incredibly esoteric sounding sentence!)

This universe and everything in it is connected. You and I, we are connected. You and that tree outside, you are connected. This is the way of the earth, our connection to each other allows us to exist, and outside of connection, we cease to exist.

Connection is crucial

And as an introvert I sometimes struggle connecting with other people, often preferring the company of my cat or dog. The way I reconcile this need for solitude with the belief in connection is because my belief in connection is fourfold and connection with other humans is only part of it.

I’m convinced (without the backing of sound research… yet) that connection is vital for us in the following areas:

    • Connection with family and friends and sometimes strangers
    • Connection with our environment – plants, the sea, animals
    • Connection with ourselves – knowing ourselves intimately
  • Connection with our God – whatever that means to you. 

You can read more about the four areas of connection here, but in the meantime, I’d love to share with you why I think meaningful connection in these areas can help simplify your life.

How connecting with others helps me simplify my life

Firstly, I see the four areas of connection like pieces of a pie. Generally, as an introvert, the piece of the pie assigned to connection with myself is larger than the others. And just knowing this is very helpful in making my life simpler.

It means I don’t feel obliged to give a bigger piece of the pie to connect with others. And if I do, I usually wind up drained, unable to function well.

Knowing who I want to connect with (and who I don’t) helps me to hone in on meaningful connection and helps me allocate time accordingly. I don’t have time or energy to go to every event, party or occasion I’m invited to. And because I don’t feel obliged to, these invites and the guilt I used to feel don’t complicate my life anymore.

How connection to the environment helps me simplify my life

The older I get the more I fall head over heels with nature. I find an incredible sense of calm and joy when I’m immersed in the natural world. To me, it feels like a homecoming. I’m often reminded of childhood times spent in nature. The memories are vague and distant but serve to remind me of who I am at my very core.

And being in nature helps to strip away everything else. When I get out on a trial to run, I find I naturally leave my day behind. Any worries or stress can be picked back up after. I find it unnecessary to carry the burden of life with me because being there is all I need.

And immersed in nature I have the freedom to be my authentic self. The simplest version of me.

How connection with myself helps simplify my life

Knowing who I am and how I am wired makes it much easier to let go of any extraneous fluff that I might have previously used to bolster myself. Going inward every day and checking in with myself, like I would with a good friend, keeps my priorities in check.

If I’m aware of my needs I can graciously let go of other things that will only complicate life or add unnecessary strain or busyness to my day.

A prioritization of self-care plays a big role in this piece of the pie and helps me resist the urge to work harder and do more.

Connection is essential

How connection with God helps me simplify my life

I believe that a spiritual journey helps to bring us to the essential core of our being. As spiritual beings I think our souls desire to connect with something far greater than us. And when we do we are often gifted peace and contentment.

Checking in with this higher power helps us to simplify because of this peace and contentment. Being content with, and in the present moment is the antithesis of the striving that got us busy and overscheduled in the first place.

A daily mindfulness exercise or ritual to connect with God helps me to slow down and savor the moment.

What area do you need more connection in today to help you simplify your life? Choose one to start with and move through them all, noting which one needs the biggest piece of the pie.

Simplifying doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. And it certainly isn’t just about decluttering! For me, even though I’m an introvert, simplifying has also been about mindful and meaningful connection.