Keep it simple

Written By Oliver Mahoney 

With the end of the year approaching, late-night shopping, Christmas dinners, lunch with friends, working full-on to meet end of the year deadlines… you get the point. There is a lot of good coming up, but there is also a lot to throw us off course. As an end-of-year message to you all, I don’t want to discourage all this activity… why would I? It’s exciting, there’s a lot to look forward to. All I want to do is provide a little reminder to relax, spend some time for yourselves, keep it simple.  

I think back on the year that I have had, largely characterised by multiple camping trips – some good, and some… not so much. There have been ups and downs, but all of it has been something to learn from. Then I think about my studies, my work life, my social life etc. It’s easy to be overwhelmed with everything we have done this year. All of us, I mean. COVID-19 is beginning to enter the rear-view mirror, and with it has come a movida; a social surge of energy from everyone to make up for time-lost.  

This is nothing but a good thing, it shows us just how deeply social we are. However, it’s easy for this all to get knocked out of kilter. Keep it balanced and keep it simple. A breath of fresh air doesn’t just come from the countryside but also from structure and minimalism in our daily lives. Soon enough, we’ll be making New Year’s resolutions again and thinking about what we want to achieve in the next year ahead. Perhaps as COVID really does disappear, this is an opportunity to make goals and changes in our lives which strike at the roots of what keeps us together.  

Looking forward to this next year, reflecting on the burst of post-covid energy that characterised 2021 (at least for me and the others who I know), I realise that there are some new things that I want to keep in my post-pandemic life. In that way, COVID has been a positive force. However, there are plenty of things that should be left behind – the harder remnants of these last two years of reflection and isolation.  

As we all move into the next year, take a look at what you loved and appreciated the most. Invest in that! And simplify, your brain might need it more than you realise. I know mine certainly does.