I squatted down in the long grass, the sun warmed my back and a strand of auburn hair fell across my face as I gazed down. I reached my small hand down and flattened out my palm towards the vibrant yellow Dandelion flower. As I moved my hand closer I noticed the bright yellow reflected onto my hand. Tilting my hand backwards and forwards the yellow-lit up my skin with its lively glow.

I’m not sure why I vividly remember details from some childhood moments like this one. I would have been only 3-4 years old at the time I discovered the beautiful yellow spilling from a simple paddock flower. I grew up on my grandparents dairy farm where warm fresh milk, warm days and warm hugs were in abundance. I always loved to find the beauty in things, simple everyday things like the inky flourishes my Mum drew whilst talking on the telephone, the way a sunbeam could create a rainbow along the edge of a thick piece of glass or the soft velvety texture of a lambs tongue leaf as you run your fingers across it. For as long as I can remember the seemingly small, simple and beautiful things intrigued me.

Right now in this time of anxiety and uncertainty, the answer is simple. Yes, that’s right ‘simple’.  I came across this beautiful quote the other day:

“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things”.  Isaac Newton

We have been bombarded and are now living a new reality, which for many comes with heightened stress, anxiety and boredom. It’s new and unfamiliar. We are all left wondering what the next few months are actually going to involve. We can kind of imagine, but only to a point. It won’t be until we are in the trenches living it for a little while that we’ll know for certain.

So I wanted to offer a little insight from the frontline of living with anxiety and depression whilst homeschooling for six years. My world was reduced to the four walls of my home and the dark depths of my mind many times over. Every time I came through the darkness like we are living in right now, my focus was on simplicity. You will not find peace and certainty in the news or Netflix. Such temporary distractions will leave you feeling empty and drained. Now is the time to turn your energy towards beauty, finding it in the simple, lovely and every day. Your child's smile, the dainty flower in your garden, the red as it runs across your lips, the lace on your skin. Be gentle with yourself and choose to approach this time with curiosity over dread. Beauty lies in simplicity so uncomplicate your thoughts and life and now is the perfect time to do that. What are you creating during this time, in the way you live life, the words you speak, how you choose to spend your days?

As I sit and write this to you I have noticed the beauty in the softness of the music I am playing, it makes me feel safe and held, it brings a smile to my lips. There is a gentle breeze blowing that makes the leaves outside dance.  I am in my studio surrounded by beautiful art because inside my home is too noisy and crazy to even hear myself think. None of us is immune to the good and bad that comes with living life, but we can choose where we focus our energy and how we find beauty in our everyday life no matter what that looks like. Simplicity is one of the greatest treasures.

💜 Sanchia