We have been living where we live since May 2008. Up to now, we have no cable nor landline phone. And yes, surprisingly, we survived. It could get frustrating at times, but thanks to mobile phones, people who matter can reach and communicate with us. Thankfully, we have a strong (and surprisingly fast most of the times) internet connection. It has made things bearable when we are far away from close friends and relatives – they are just an e-mail or chat away.

I clearly remember we lived without TV for a long time, maybe three years, when I was little. But me and my siblings survived. I was never one to go loco when we don’t have TV, I was always upstairs reading books or listening to music (and dancing). During those years, me and my siblings bonded over music (I also remember it was the time of long power outages). And yes, we survived.

This is proof we can live without things we think we “need”.

Something to think about during Holy Week.

BUT, if ever utility billing would be as efficient here, we would definitely sign up with the Time Warner High Speed Internet bundle. Not only do you get the Time Warner Internet Service, you can get cable and phone service bundled up as well.

Time Warner Internet = Digital Cable + High Speed Online + Digital Phone for as low as $124.85 a month for a year!

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~via http://quote-book.tumblr.com/.

(Thank you Alpha for always sharing the best inspirational cute stuff!)

I haven’t even gotten to summarizing 2009 in this blog and here I am swamped with backlog of stuff I want to write about. But then again, who decides which is important in the blog or not? I need to stop trying to accomplish everything and do it in sequence, or else I will never be caught up with life. What I am trying to say is, I may or may not be able to summarize 2009 for you in my blog – but as long as I have pictures and entries for it, I can always look back to it in April or June or August – when life gets less busy. In the meantime, I am sure most of us are still trying to recover from the holidays (drinking and taking colon cleansing products from all the indigestion) and trying to make goals and resolutions.

I am still trying to decide my one little word for the year – so let me just share with you an article I read over at Zen Habits to help all of us achieve our goals. Just live a simpler life.

A 12-step method, perhaps, simplified into just 6 steps.

1. Write down your top priorities. We all have a long list of things we want to do, to try, to learn, to accomplish. Just pick 4-5. You can do that right now — make a short list of the things that are most important to you. My list: spending time with my family, writing, reading and running. These are the things you’ll build your life around, for now. You can always change this list later, as your priorities change.

2. Reduce one commitment. What is something you do every day or week that’s not on your short list? Is there any way you can get out of it? Make a phone call or send an email right now that will get you out of that commitment. It might mean disappointing one or many people — but you are going to create the simple life you want, not the complicated life others demand of you. By reducing this one commitment, you are simplifying your life, creating more time and space for the important stuff. Make the choice to put your priorities first, to find the time for them, by reducing your commitments.

3. Simplify your to-do list. Same concept, but at a smaller level — what’s on your to-do list that doesn’t need to be there? Something you’ve been dreading that you don’t absolutely have to do? Can you tell someone you’re just too busy to work on this? Can you give it to someone else, or automate it? See if you can pare your to-do list to just the most important things. Alternatively, just pick 1-3 things to do each day, and don’t worry about the rest.

4. Set aside some disconnected time. If you’re connected all the time, this step is essential. Don’t skip it! Pick one hour to be disconnected — no Internet, no email, no IM, no phones. You can use your computer, but just for desktop computing, like writing in a word processor or text file, or working in Photoshop, or what have you. Use this time to really focus, to pour yourself into important tasks that you love to do. Or you can use this disconnected time to relax.

5. Create your perfect day. You’ve blocked aside some disconnected time, but let’s take that a step further: what would your ideal day look like? What would you do when you woke up, what would your work day look like (hint: it doesn’t have to be the work you’re doing now, but it could be), would you have time for exercise or sports or taking a walk or relaxing or reading or doing a hobby, would you have time for loved ones, time to clean or do errands, time for checking email, etc.? List the things you’d do, ideally, then simplify to the most important ones. Then lay them out in a schedule. You don’t have to stick to this schedule exactly, but knowing what’s ideal gives you something to work toward. In some cases, you can simply start living this day, tomorrow, but in others you’ll have to make gradual changes to allow this ideal day to happen. The key: taking control and responsibility for making the perfect day a reality.

6. Declutter. You want a nice, decluttered, serene space to surround you in your new simplified life. So you’re going to create it. Two ways to go here: if you don’t have much time, just do 10-15 minutes for now, and continue to do small increments until you get to where you’d like to be. Here’s how. Second method is if you have an entire day or weekend — set aside a big block of time and just overhaul your workspace or one or two rooms in your home. Here’s a good method.

Next Steps
Once you get to this stage, things should be a bit more simplified. But you’re probably interested in going beyond that. Here’s what you can do next — but please, please, don’t try to do these all at once. Pick one at a time, and do it slowly, over time. Simplifying isn’t a race — it’s a life.

• Declutter some more. Read.
• Letting go of wanting to buy more. Read.
• Reducing more commitments. Read.
• Transitioning to doing only work you love. Read.
• Creating time for solitude, quiet and relaxation. Read.
• Slowing down in everything you do. Read.
• Being present more often. Read.
• Single-tasking. Read.

And most importantly: enjoy the process! The important thing isn’t a destination — a perfect, simple life — but the journey along the way.

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
- Lao-tzu

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If children live with criticism,
               They learn to condemn.
          If children live with hostility,
               They learn to fight.
          If children live with ridicule,
               They learn to be shy.
          If children live with shame,
               They learn to feel guilty.
          If children live with encouragement,
               They learn confidence.
          If children live with tolerance,
               They learn to be patient.
          If children live with praise,
               They learn to appreciate.
          If children live with acceptance,
               They learn to love.
          If children live with approval,
               They learn to like themselves.
          If children live with honesty,
               They learn truthfulness.
          If children live with security,
               They learn to have faith in themselves and others.
          If children live with friendliness,
               They learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Copyright © 1972/1975 by Dorothy Law Nolte
Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
This is the author-approved short version.

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Source.

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Proof of which is today.

Please do not make us forget You once again.

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