Great ideas. We've got a lot of other wildlife around and my place too. I'm sure he'd enjoy that.
Purposefully constructing my life and orientating my actions in a way that resists the emergent inclination of our modern society to add complexity to life without compelling benefit. Simply put, seeking happiness through simplification.This can look different for everyone. For me personally this means closeness to nature, friendship and conversation, minimizing my financial obligations which minimizes my need to work, limiting screen time and unhelpful technology, striving to be present and appreciative, slowing down and enjoying stillness, caring for what I have, releasing myself from pressure to be someone else's "better" while remaining ambitious toward exploring my passions. These are just a few aspects that come to mind.
I carry a Leatherman Squirt PS4 in my pocket every day. It's tiny and doesn't add bulk to my pocket but is super handy and I use it all the time. Has spring loaded pliers and tiny scissors, a small straight blade and file, and both a flat Phillips head and broader flat screwdriver.
There are scanning apps that automatically crop the photo, let you make multi page PDFs, and automatically upload to your cloud of choice or directly to your computer. This has made it super easy for me. I've tried a few and settled on the one-time paid version Genius Scan and it works well for me.
I like the idea of trying to come up with categories to fulfill. That'll also make it easier to balance what we get each of them. Thanks!
Oh this reminds me I was thinking he'd like the Magic Treehouse series. I've heard good things about those books
I've got this on my radar, he's already interested in going out at night to see the stars and moon with my constellation AR app, but I'm gonna save for a future Christmas, thank you!
This is a great idea having a physical representation for an intangible gift, thank you!
Christmas is coming and I have a two year old and a five year old. My wife and I are pretty stumped about what to get our kids for Christmas. The two year old is easy; he doesn't care, will be thrilled with a ball, and just happy to be included.
The five year old is very down to earth and grateful for anything, but he already has everything he needs because up to now we've tried to be smart about buying him things that will last and give him good enjoyment mileage. He has plenty of Legos, an assortment of figurines (farm animals, fantasy creatures, little play houses, action figures, cars.), plenty of outside balls and whatnot. He also doesn't need consumable stuff (has plenty of candy from Halloween, crayons, coloring books, crafty supplies)
He doesn't need more stuff, but we still want Christmas morning to feel special and exciting and we want him to have a good "Santa came!!!" experience. I like the idea of giving experiences like tickets to Disney on Ice or a voucher to an ice cream shop, but that just doesn't have the same effect for a five year old, cause he can't hold it and it's really just a promise for the future.
Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated!
Thank you all and much love from me to you!
Posting this in the Simple Living community a well, but thought I might a different perspective and additional input here.
Christmas is coming and I have a two year old and a five year old. My wife and I are pretty stumped about what to get our kids for Christmas. The two year old is easy; he doesn't care, will be thrilled with a ball, and just happy to be included.
The five year old is very down to earth and grateful for anything, but he already has everything he needs because up to now we've tried to be smart about buying him things that will last and give him good enjoyment mileage. He has plenty of Legos, an assortment of figurines (farm animals, fantasy creatures, little play houses, action figures, cars.), plenty of outside balls and whatnot. He also doesn't need consumable stuff (has plenty of candy from Halloween, crayons, coloring books, crafty supplies)
He doesn't need more stuff, but we still want Christmas morning to feel special and exciting and we want him to have a good "Santa came!!!" experience. I like the idea of giving experiences like tickets to Disney on Ice or a voucher to an ice cream shop, but that just doesn't have the same effect for a five year old, cause he can't hold it and it's really just a promise for the future.
Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated!
Thank you all and much love from me to you!
I was following Light Phone for a long time but ended up not pulling the trigger. For me the hard thing to reconcile was whether ditching my smartphone would really make my life simpler or not. I really value having a good camera in my pocket to catch special moments instead of having to plan to take a camera with me. GPS maps means I don't have to think about getting where I need to go. Having apps for banking, utilities, etc. Helps me take care of things on the fly and not have to spend time sitting at a computer sorting my affairs.
But smartphones have that temptation to mindlessly scroll reddit, watch YouTube, and Google things you don't really need to. Sometimes having to use our restraint can be draining, so having a detox is definitely worth it. I'm happy for anyone who's found what works for them to simplify their life and be more present and happy.
I say one thing about smartphones though, they're getting to daggum big!!! I wish I could get a thin smartphone with edge to edge 4.5 inch screen. Small in my pocket, not big enough to entice over using, but capable for doing what I need. Someone make it!!!! Best ive seen is the iPhone mini 13. Might upgrade to that when my pixel 4a dies.
For nonbinary decisions, You can also tell it to roll a die of any size, like a d10, d20, or a fair dice that doesn't mean exist like a D7. You can also just have it pick a number between X and Y, but thats not as fun haha.
Humans are creatures of habit. So often we do things a certain way without really thinking about why we do it or why we do it that way. It's just the way we've always done it. It's so nice when we have those aha moments when it dawns on us there may be a better way to do something that removes complexity from our life.
Here are a few of mine:
-
It occurred to me that it takes the same amount of time to prepare for the day whether I do it the night before or the morning of, And for me warnings usually feel more crunched for time than evenings. So I started doing everything I could for the next morning the night before. Laying out my clothes, fixing my breakfast, laying out my morning hygiene items, packing my bag for work, etc. This ha really decompressed my mornings and given me less decisions to make first thing.
-
I realized that having notifications for email on my phone spurred me to react to them immediately, Even though the emails I receive rarely require immediate action. I disabled them all together and put a weekly calendar reminder to sit down at my computer and review my emails.
-
Picking what to cook for supper was always a chore every single day. Figuring out what we were in the mood for, do we have what we need to make that, etc. To eliminate this daily aggravation, I made a list of every supper I know how to cook and numbered them. Once a month I sit down with my list, roll a dice for everyday, and put down what's for supper each day So I don't have to think about it for the rest of the month.
What are some of your aha moments?
I didn't really get that sentiment from the article. To me the author seems to emphasize the importance of religion/spirituality as important for providing an "existential orientation," although that point is somewhat obscured by their flowery, albeit precise, language. Though they do wrap up with that odd citation about having a cultural council, which seemed a bit out there for me.
Great article that discusses a lot of the good and bad of living an agrarian lifestyle. Simple definitely does not necessarily mean easy, but it can be rewarding by both qualities.
Something that comes to my mind is that you can definitely live a purely agrarian lifestyle like it were the 1800s or older as long as you take the lifestyle lock, stock, and barrel with it's benefits and hardships; people have been living this way for ages. But, I think what most people want are the benefits afforded by this lifestyle (the simplicity, feeling close to nature, working with your hand, etc) but to also enjoy the modern luxuries we're accustomed to (like technology, healthcare, etc), but it's really difficult to make this lifestyle support these desires.
What's worked for me is a hybrid lifestyle. I have a small house and a little land, I raise a big garden and my wife cans, so we grow most of our own food, but it's not a business, though we sometimes sell to a local restaurant and on Facebook when we have extra. We work really hard and try to be frugal, but we both also work part time jobs to make money, which gives a better return on investment for our time than we can get trying make it Simple living lifestyle support our modern needs. So we incorporate modern life employment to make simple living feasible and comfortable, but strive for simple living to make modern life minimized and tolerable.
Have a great day everyone!
I actually download that app a while back but haven't played with it yet! This sounds awesome! Ill definitely put time into learning to use it. Thank you!
I used Google Lens. never used it much when I first learned about it, but once one of my friends pointed out it could identify plants, animals, all kinds of stuff, I've been using it on my adventures to identify all kinds of stuff. If you're way out and don't have service you can even use it on photos to take later when you get home!
Saw this awesome little guy on the sidewalk and almost stepped on him because of his camouflage. so glad I didn't! I've never seen one before and I think its a leopard moth. if you look closely, some of his spots are a beautiful royal blue instead of black :) (Piedmont North Carolina).
A subtle chain of countless rings The next unto the farthest brings; The eye reads omens where it goes, And speaks all languages the rose; And, striving to be man, the worm Mounts through all the spires of form.
For me simple living is tied closely to my love of nature. I found that Emerson's Nature is available for free online. Been working my way through it slowly (some sections take a while to digest), but I've really been enjoying it and I hope you do too!
They're are so many great quotes from this one after another. What is your favorite(s) and why?
Playing Crosscode on a recommendation from a previous post when I was looking for an SNES style action RPG. It checks almost all my boxes. Great 16 bit graphics with smooth modern physics, lots of action, fun characters, skill trees and fun items, puzzles, satisfying combat. I'm having a great time with it!!!
I love my garden. I'm not a master gardener, there are weeds everywhere, and a lot of times my plants don't produce well, but it's mine. (I'll post a photo when I can figure out how to)
I love how much slower time passes in the garden. The sounds of bees buzzing, seeing the plants grow, feeling the wind and the sun. I love the connection to nature and the flow I feel when caring for it. family and friends like to poke at how I could do things "better" if I used power equipment or pesticides/herbicides, but that's not the point. I'm not trying to "do better" or be more productive. It's my simple place where I can disconnect from everything and do things my way.
What are your outlets or routines that give you peace and tranquility?
Not strictly related to simple living, but I just wanted to put this out there as reminder, because it is so easy to forget or to be persuaded otherwise. You are enough just as your are.
Don't be pulled into the illusion that life is complex and that there is a high bar to measure up to. We all have faults, vices, and setbacks. But every day is a new day and you're still here. The sunrises, the birds sing, and the earth turns. You're still you, and that's enough.
Love yourself and love others. Be kind to yourself and others. Be compassionate to yourself and others. You are enough.
Hi everyone! Glad to be here on the new Lemmy community ☺️
I've been mostly out of the gaming scene since about 2012 due to grad school, starting a family, etc, but am wanting to get back into it. I love games like Zelda Link to the Past and had a lot of fun recently playing Hyperlight Drifter and Tunic (though I prefer 2D over 3D). I'm not looking for a rogue-like and rogue-lite style game. I'm leaning towards giving Crosscode a try, but am open to suggestions and would love to have a list to work my way through 😁. I'm perfectly happy playing games that came out last year or 30 years ago.
Does anyone have any recommendations for good PC games that scatch that 16bit action RPG Link to the Past itch?
Thank you all in advance and I appreciate your time and input ☺️.
UPDATE: wow! Thank you all so much for all the suggestions! I'll check all these out. Y'all are great 😃