The Healing Power of Simplicity in an Age of Excess

There is a quiet truth many of us feel but rarely speak: life has become too heavy. Too many choices. Too much noise. Too many expectations pulling us in different directions until we forget what peace even feels like.

In that weight, the soul begins to crave less. Not because we are weak or incapable, but because what we really need isn’t more — it’s space to breathe.

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Simplicity is not about stripping life down to nothing. It is about clearing away what doesn’t matter so that what does can finally come into focus. It is about learning to live gently, even when the world around us tells us to move faster, buy more, and stay endlessly distracted.

We are surrounded by excess. Advertisements insist we’re missing something. Social feeds whisper that we’re falling behind. Work and obligations never seem to end, and the culture we live in celebrates busyness as if it were proof of our worth.

But excess doesn’t just live outside of us. It seeps inward. It becomes clutter in the mind. Suddenly every choice feels overwhelming. Our thoughts race. Our energy drains. We begin chasing validation instead of truth, and slowly, we lose touch with the simplicity of being present.

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To choose simplicity today is not a passive act. It is resistance. It is a way of reclaiming yourself from a culture that thrives on keeping you restless.

Healing begins in the small choices we make:

• Clearing one drawer, one corner, one shelf.

• Saying no when something doesn’t align with your values.

• Protecting your attention as though it were sacred.

• Choosing simple, grounding routines over endless busyness.

• Sitting with silence long enough to hear your own thoughts again.

Each act of simplicity is an act of healing. Slowly, the noise fades. The mind clears. And you begin to feel that you are not broken — you were simply buried under too much.

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Letting go is never easy, but what comes after is always worth it. When you step into simplicity, you find clarity where there was confusion, peace where there was restlessness, energy where there was exhaustion, and freedom where there was pressure to keep up.

Simplicity doesn’t diminish life. It multiplies what matters.

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If these words speak to you, I wrote more in the full Benevolentia Journal entry — a deeper reflection on how to return to peace in an age of excess. You can read it here: The Healing Power of Simplicity in an Age of Excess 📜

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Sometimes the most radical choice you can make is the simplest one.

- Benevolentia ✨