One of my most often re-read books is “A Woman’s Guide to a Simpler Life” by Andrea Van Steenhouse.
This is not a how to book, but a listen to your heart book. And I think that’s why I find myself returning to it time and time again.
In these times of change, stress, economic upheaval, and everything that goes along with that, I find this book to be very comforting and challenging at the same time. It comforts me to remember that I am in control of my journey, and it challenges me to listen to my heart and walk on that path.
It reminds me that simplicity in my life is how my heart chooses to define it. It asks me to listen to my heartsongs, and to follow them. It doesn’t tell me that if I do that all will be well. It doesn’t tell me that when I do that I won’t disappoint or disillusion other people. It actually cautions that as I follow my heartsongs and not other peoples expectations, I probably will disappoint or disillusion some people. And that’s okay if I’m being true to my heart.
Let me “read” you an excerpt from the introduction:
Simplicity looks different in different lives because each heart holds it’s own themes. It looks different at different time of our own lives because our tempos change with age, events and experience.
Simplicity is not a matter of time management or efficiency or organization. It does not consist of shedding one set of life furnishings in order to make room for another. Rather, a simpler life is one in which the knowledge of what matters dictates all that surrounds us. It is a life lived with the courage to let go of what our hearts know does not belong. It is a more balanced life, not a more expert balancing act.
……There is no right or wrong in the search for simplicty. It is not a destination, like a house we move into, but a direction, like the path that leads towards the house. Where it takes us, if we dare to follow, is back to our hearts.
Yes, this is one of my favorite books to read, especially in times of change. And we are living in a time of changes, on all levels.
Do you know your heartsongs? Do you know what at your very core matters most to you?
Do you know your heartsongs and are you following them?
Judy,
Thank you for this post. I’m learning to follow those songs.
Thanks for this post! I’m smack in the middle of major life changes, but those changes are my heartsongs….and yes, I’m following them.
Thank you Judy! This is exactly what I needed right now. I’ll definitely check this book out. It’s often when life seems darkest that the Light becomes most visible. I’ve been lucky to have the time to re-examine my heartsongs, and some of the tunes have changed. Through that I’ve learned that love is not just the “knocking on the door”, but the force that opens it as well.
(((hugs)))
thanks for the recommendation judy. it appears that i know a few people that need a copy of that book, including myself. thx!
“It is a life lived with the courage to let go of what our hearts know does not belong”…..how beautiful. 🙂
Ok, this has just been added to my wish list. I think that when I have followed my heartsongs, people have invariably been disappointed or disapproved.
But it is not for them.
A Life lived totally to the satisfaction of others may as well have me buried in a box…. NOW.
Mandatory reading, I think.
Hugs,
Me