The Joy of the Simple Life

Sweat trickled down my forehead and onto my eyebrows as I cut the wood into smaller and smaller pieces.

This tree that I had felled myself would make fine firewood.

I took a moment to wipe my brow and took a deep breath, absorbing the aroma of the beautiful nature around me.

A crisp, autumn breeze greeted me, as did the smell of full trees and the many animals that dwelled in and around them.

There always seemed to be enough firewood, but with winter approaching you could never have too much of such a vital thing.

But there was deeper, more important work to be done this day.

Satisfied with my work I gathered as many logs as I could place into my pack and began my descent from the hill. The logs I left behind would still be there for me to retrieve in the days and weeks ahead.

After a peaceful descent, I spotted my cabin dragged my payload to the back. I quickly emptied the pack of logs onto the rather large pile I had already accumulated.

There was more than enough for the remainder of autumn. But the winter was always the priority.

I went inside my cabin and quickly grabbed an entire loaf of bread. I was delighted to see that it was still fresh after sitting out for several days.

After enjoying the bread with some delicious olive oil and spice, it was time for my real work to begin.

I pulled off my boots, my drenched shirt and the rest of my outdoor clothes and put on some fresher, less dirty clothes.

I saw down and began my most important work of all: writing. Writing in peace and quiet, and without the distractions and temptations of the digital world to redirect my focus.

"Ah... a little bliss at last," I exhaled as I got busy on my latest piece of work.