The need to Simplify

This is one of the photos from my "From Days Gone By" series available on Etsy. I know it wasn't really a simpler time, with all the making food from scratch and such, but doesn't it just *seem* like a simpler time? No internet... no commuting... no rushing here and there. And no cell phones.

When I first got my blackberry, I used it constantly. Constantly checking my blog, my etsy shop, googling things, getting directions, and playing. It took about a month til I felt like a slave to it. Now, I have it on me constantly (who doesn't always have their cell phone?), but I have pulled back. I don't stay on it constantly. I check what I need to periodically (probably still too much, honestly), but am no longer looking at it every 30 seconds.

I went on a media fast years ago, and now only hear the news (and yes, always the bad news) from my husband or at work. I don't think I will ever return to watching/reading the news altogether.

I think I could survive in those olden days. I absolutely love making bread from scratch, would certainly never miss the tv, enjoy doing cross-stitch and stuff with my hands, am not afraid of hard work... yeah, I think I could do it. I may need medical treatment from blackberry withdrawals... but I could do it.

I'm feeling a need to simplify. Probably because I worked 55 hours last week. But I feel a need to slow down and re-discover. Re-discover my children, my home....

What are your needs today? I think so often we are concerned with the needs of others that we forget US... and I know for a fact that if we don't recharge, we have nothing to give others. So, I need to simplify. What do YOU need?