Minimalism is about slowing down and finding joy in everything around you – okay, this may not be everyone's experience of modern day minimalism, especially if you're in it for the aesthetics, but at the heart of the concept is mindfulness. And this is where we find joy in the simple, everyday things that we perhaps normally take for granted. For me, the world is a much happier, more synchronised place when we take the time to appreciate what is around us.

plants

Plants are wonderful things – aesthetically and for our health. I like my minimalist space to be clutter-free and open with space and light, but I always make room for plants. Not only do they bring calm into a home, but they also purify the air. I love filling my space with plant life (my cat loves it, too) and I take such joy in taking care of them. Propagating, potting, pruning and watering them is a sort of meditation and brings my heart rate down as well as letting my mind rest and reset. Slowing down and taking simple pleasure in something as base and natural as taking care of living things brings me back down to earth and creates a tranquility in my mind.

water

Water is an amazing element that sustains life. It's a basic necessity and yet is often overlooked. I love drinking it, bathing in it, hearing it... and I am thankful for it every day. Water is the only thing that really quenches thirst, it makes up over half of my body mass, it keeps me alive and invigorated and best of all it's totally fun (baths, swimming pools, water slides, puddles). We wouldn't exist without water so lets take a little moment of gratitude for this wonderful element. 

stairs

This may sound like a strange one, but hear me out. I love stairs and always have. Perhaps it's because growing up I didn't have them (and use to sit on friend's staircases when I visited them), or maybe it's because I love heights. Either way I have always had a love of staircases and wanted to climb them to the highest point where I can sit away from the crowds. Since moving homes I have, of course, always bagsied the highest room to make my treehouse-like nook. As an introvert I like to have my hide-away space away from public domain to create a quiet sanctuary for recharging.

bare feet

I am barefoot whenever possible. I love the feeling of being free to run and climb and, quite frankly, shoes inhibit this quite profusely. Maybe it was my wilderness upbringing, but I like to feel the ground beneath my feet, feel a sense of connection with the earth and use my feet and toes to grip and climb. I can feel the cold of tile, the warmth of rug, and softness of dirt and I love this change of senses. Walking through parks barefoot and feeling the cool grass between toes sounds like such a romantically poetic scene, but it's a basic instinct that we've somehow lost within our concrete jungle walls. Fling your shoes off and use your feet to feel and move.

temperature

I feel like we've become distant from our surroundings, from the earth, from what makes us human. We mindlessly switch the heating on and pump out the air-conditioning before we put a jumper on or fling open a window. Nature has a wonderful ways of cooling us down and warming us up (with no stuffy, drying, sickness-inducing side-effects) and we're not taking advantage of it. We're closing ourselves off to feeling. Feeling the cold chill in the air is a wonderful thing – cozy under a blanket, hot water bottle under foot, or wrapped in a scarf hot tea in hand is a feeling we all love but without the cold on our noses and flushed pink cheeks these moments wouldn't be tiny miracles at all. Don’t numb yourself to all that the world has to offer – your body is meant to feel cold sometimes... embrace it!

bugs

I love bugs. This is an unpopular opinion but I love having corn spiders in my bedroom, moths in my bathroom and bees in my garden. They're all living their lives in one common ecosystem and we wouldn't be anywhere without them. Plus, they're absolutely stunning to look at. Corn spider elbows are one of my favourite things along with fuzzy moth bodies and bumble bee legs. There is so much beauty we're missing if we mindlessly panic that something is co-existing with us and must be removed or, God forbid, killed.