The Heart Of It | Simplicity

Simplicity is something I think everyone needs a little bit more into their daily lives. I feel like we're always on the go and never have time to rest and slow down. With the hustle and bustle of my busy life, I've realized how I've stopped noticing the little things. This summer it was my goal to spend quality time with friends and family and just relax and take a break from the busy school year I had. Thankfully I've managed to have a very laid back kind of summer, but I still feel like there are so many areas in my life where I need more simplicity.

So you're probably wondering what is simplicity, and how in the world can we maintain that type of lifestyle? If you're like me, you've heard the term many times before, and you've heard others mention the idea, but yet you still don't understand the full concept. So for me I like to define simplicity as being plain, and simple but yet still enjoyable. It's not complicated or all over the place but easy going and relaxed.

One of the areas in my life that I feel like it still needs more simplicity, is right here on the blog. Blogging in general isn't easy and a lot of time goes into it. The preparation of putting together a post at least two or three times a week, keeping up with your social media feed, and also commenting and being connected within the blogging community and the blogger friends you've made along the way. Often times I will make certain trips to go visit new locations for photo shoots, or I will buy new ingredients for recipes, and even buy craft items for DIY projects. Hopefully by now, you understand or can even relate with me when I say that blogging takes up a lot of time and is hard work. It's so enjoyable and exciting but not all the time.

As a blogger you have to be fully committed to your content and schedule of posting. If not, it can be pretty crazy and a lot to catch up on. With all of this being said, blogging can sometimes be anything but "simple." Thousands of bloggers are screaming for attention and wanting that Modcloth spotlight, that instead of blogging being an enjoyable love or hobby, it's a competition or contest on who has the largest following and pageviews along with popularity ranking within the community. Even though this comes along with what blogging is, I feel like most bloggers are stripped from their original content of their blog from when they first started out, because of all the spotlight they're wanting. I've been guilty of this myself and lately I've been reminded in a way of why I created my blog, and how I've lost my original content in a way.

When I first began blogging I wanted it to be a lifestyle blog with more journaling thoughts and adventures through my life. Even though most would describe my blog as "lifestyle" blog, I feel like I've stepped away from it a little bit. I don't want to make my blog a fast pace with hundreds of posts every few months, but it to be personal and genuine. I've never wanted blogging to be a chore or a "have to", and lose my passion for why I started in the first place. Sometimes when I focus so much on all the places and things I have to go do for a special post, it steals the joy from where I'm at to begin with. I love having my camera in my hands ready to go to snap beautiful photos, but it's nice to just sit back for a while and enjoy life, not just through a camera lens!

This summer I was needing a refresh through blogging, and my content and I feel like the term simplicity is the perfect concept I've been wanting to find and focus on for this year for A Beautiful Heart. "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful." I love this quote and I think it's the perfect step in the right direction.