Gratitude #6 November/December 2017 $2.99 www.masterofsimplicity.com
Direction and Edition: Fรกtima Teixeira Supervision: Giovani Goulart Marketing: GGO Master of Simplicity Contact: masterofsimplicity@gmail.com
Translation: Cรกtia Nogueira Editor's Note: The articles are originally written in Brazilian or Portuguese, giving each author the freedom to express themselves accordingly. Icons created by Madebyoliver of Flaticon License by Creative Commons BY 3.0
Thanks in this edition to:
Gratitude e, read these Thank you for opening this magazin After all, the year words and sketch a smile right now. thank! Therefore, is ending and nothing better than to de to all the this edition reflects our gratitu was a full year of collaborators and interviewees. It nt, stories and MOS Magazine filled with rich conte ays brings this learning. Work done with love alw satisfaction. inexplicable sense of well-being and nt perspectives We turn to gratitude through differe at this season. and suggest meaningful reflections your own routine Take advantage of our ideas to create more good things of gratitude. The more you thank, the come, believe me! prove, progress In each issue we always strive to im h great joy that and bring the best content. So it is wit we introduce some new elements. Sit down, take a deep breath and enjoy this edition with your open heart! Very grateful! <3
by the directress and founder Fรกtima Teixeira
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MINIMALISM 26 MINIMALISM AND NOMADISM Krystel Leal
28 LIVING WITH THE ESSENCIAL IN A CAMPERVAN Cibele Stefani
32 FROM LOVE.. TO PAMPERING AND DETAILS Vânia Costa
SHARING 22 SUGGESTIONS OF GIFTS 24 FOTOGRAPHY Cecília Almeida
WELLNESS 8 GRATITUDE... WHAT IS IT? Fátima Teixeira
52 GRATITUDE BEGINS IN THE PLATE Lorena Ventura
54 GRATITUDE: THE ANTIDOTE TO FEAR AND ANGER Claudia P. Weber
56 USE THE HEART FOR DECISION-MAKING Maísa Sodré (Prem Sundari)
58 FEEL GRATITUDE Cristina Ramos
60 CREATE TO BE HAPPY Sara Silva
SIMPLICITY 40 CREATING MOMENTS...
ORGANIZATION
Catarina Agostinho
20 A PLACE TO THANK Mariana von Kruger
ENTERVIEW 48 ORGANIZATION X GRATITUDE 44 SHYLA HUTCHISON
RECIPE 74 OATMEAL AND BANANA PANCAKES Diana Pereira
EVENTS 73 WORKSHOPS
Rosangela Aggio
SUSTAINABILITY 66 2030 AGENDA Eduarda Castro
68 REBENTO: FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND CONSCIOUS WORLD Rita Rosa
Gratitude! Ed. 1 Jan/Feb
Colleen Valles "Living in a tiny house means using less resources: buying fewer things and using less water, electricity and energy." www.slowsimplelife.com
Ed. 2 Mar/Apr
Krista Dickson "I'm a big fan of the minimalist approach to blogging! Trying to do a million different things (...) only leads to a massive overload" www.blogbeautifully.com
Ed. 3 May/Jun
Francine Jay "Writing The Joy of Less has connected me with so many wonderful people!" www.missminimalist.com
to our interviewees throughout 2017! Ed. 4 Jul/Aug
JoĂŁo Signorelli "Gandhi's relationship to simplicity was total. (...) truth, non-violence, respect for all forms of life and an unconditional love for humanity." joaosignorelli@uol.com.br
Ed. 5 Sep/Oct
ZoĂŤ Kim "Most often young kids will want to join in when parents tie in the benefits of simplicity in their lives" www.theminimalistplate.com
Ed. 5 Sep/Oct / Ed. 6 Nov/Dec
Shyla Hutchison "As a mother of eight kids (...) I learned early on that prioritizing, focus, streamlining, and simplicity are my friends." motheringingrace@gmail.com
WELLNESS
Gratitude... what is it? The word gratitude has its origin in the Latin "gratia" (meaning grace) and derives from "gratus" (meaning grateful / thankful / pleasant). It is defined as a feeling or state of mind in which you are grateful to something. Gratitude encourages a sense of happiness as it encourages the valuation of simple things and encourages you to deal with life's problems and obstacles in a more positive way, always looking for the good side of everything, and feeling less stress. It covers recognition, appreciation or reciprocity of favor. Gratitude is not an obligation, nor should it be a debt. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, "the important thing is not what is given, but the love with which it is given." For me gratitude is much more than gratitude. It is to be in good with life. Wake up in the morning and feel grateful for life; to open my eyes and be grateful for the vision; is to listen to the birds and smile for being able to hear such a beautiful song. Gratitude is to appreciate everything we have and what we do not have, to contemplate nature, to cherish the home, and to admire life. More than saying "thank you", it is to feel grateful.
The benefits of gratitude are diverse and cover the three areas: physical (better rest, less stress, and a stronger immune system), psychological (more present, cheerful, and optimistic), and social (more compassion, forgiveness, and less isolation). Robert Emmons, an expert in the science of gratitude and the author of some of the seminal studies of gratitude, further suggests that in the case of writing, "Writing helps to organize thoughts, facilitate integration, and helps you accept your own experiences and put them in context " He adds, "In essence, it allows you to see the meaning of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life."
How to practice gratitude? Having a daily gratitude routine can be fun. Follow our ideas!
1) Gratitude Journal It is a personal diary in which you write what you are grateful for. It can be a list with 3 to 10 items or it can be your reflections in text form. Writing has a great liberating power, so it can have a very strong positive impact.
“Since I began to thank for everything, however small the thing may seem, more things come to thank. Gratitude begets gratitude! At first, it seems superficial. But after practicing it for a while it goes deeper and you start to feel a lot of gratitude!” Ariane Fernanda Koehler
“I started writing a Gratitude Journal without high expectations. Gradually I realized how good it made me feel, to stop and reflect a few moments about so many good things that happen to us every day. I notice that it's always the small things that make me grateful. It's the cloudless sky of autumn, the unexpected embrace, the smell of coffee... Always simple things." Vânia Lacerda
Photo: Ariane Fernanda Koehl
Photo: Vania Lacerda
Photo: Clรกudia Ribeiro
MINIMALISM
Living with the essentials in a campervan
SIMPLICITY
Creating moments! by Catarina Agostinho
Gratitude is the greatest treasure that all men can find, and it is within reach of everyone. Just open your heart, stop, breathe, deliver, accept, and trust. Then just let this noble feeling take over and move you. And never forget, It is what we are and not what we have, that enriches us.
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1) Grateful for the comfort and joy that my home brings me. 2) Grateful for being able to contemplate nature. 3) Grateful for having the privilege of sharing my days with an extraordinary person. 4) Grateful for making my first meal of the day unhurried every day. 5) Grateful for the wonderful energy I feel inside my home. 6) Grateful for the food that the earth gives me so generously. 7) Grateful for living near the sea.
Catarina Agostinho works in the optics field, but it is through Yoga, meditation, and all her inner work that she has changed her view of herself and everything around her.
Pictures kindly provided by the author of this article
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INTERVIEW
Shyla Hutchison is a homeschooling mother to 8. She's been married to her high school sweetheart for twenty years and lives in the rolling hills of TN. In her free time she can be found dreaming up organization plans, reading anything she can get her hands on, and longing for her next trip to the beach.
...continuation of the previous edition... MASTER OF SIMPLICITY: What kind of strategies do you use to keep everything organized? SHYLA HUTCHISON: I've developed a plethora of organizational strategies over the years, and some of those look different now than they did when I had a houseful of babies, toddlers, and younger kids. I love organizing and planning and making things look lovely. My mantra is to just keep.it.simple whatever that looks like in your life. My brand of minimalism is going to look different than yours; what looks minimal for 10 people is going to look a lot different than what looks minimal for 4! My overall strategy is really to just think about what tasks and things in my environment that I get hung up on and brainstorm ways to eliminate those challenges. When I walk into a room or open a cabinet I notice what frustrates me, what bugs me; does something annoy me or weigh me down? What can I do to achieve a peaceful and satisfied feeling? Identifying that is how I approach organization, simplicity, and minimalism. For us, one example is that we have a family laundry room/closet. One wall in my laundry room is all shelves. Each person has a basket that holds their socks and undies. Next to the basket is where all their clothes go. I buy one kind of sock for each kid so I don't have to worry about matching socks - they can just grab two out of the basket and they know they will match. The clothes come straight out of the dryer and I fold
them and put them onto their shelves; no more "putting away the laundry" and I never have laundry piled up on the bed, floor, or couch. We have clothes that are mix and match so the younger kids (and myself!) don't have to spend time putting outfits together. Each kid has a stack of pants, shorts, short sleeves, long sleeves/jackets. If the stack gets too tall the chances are they have too much stuff in that category. They each have a shoe basket and for the most part each kid has a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of flip flops/sandals, and a pair of boots. We also have a couple of baskets labeled sports. When I wash their various dance/soccer/etc. items I put them into that basket so when they are getting ready they know exactly where to find their uniforms. That's the pared down version of how I keep clothes simple and easy for 10 people. My laundry is faster and easier than many of my friends that only have a couple of kids! There is a little variation, after all I have 4 teenagers that have definite opinions on clothing and money to spend as they please. And some of my kids want their clothes in their room. I say if they want to deal with taking it up and putting it away, be my guest! Three of my kids actually do this on a regular basis - those are my super organized/detailed kids. I'm also a huge KonMari fan when it comes to clothing. If I don't like it and/ or they don't like it, and especially if it's something they never choose‌out it goes! No one wants to deal with clothes falling over or stuffing things into a pile.
WELLNESS
Create to be Happy The Create to be Happy is a brand of wood craftsmanship with a genuine taste for nature. From kitchen tables to wall clocks, it combines pyrography and the possibility to make dreams come true in wood.