Simplify

For months, maybe even years, I have systematically eliminated things I no longer need. At first it wasn't really a conscious effort, I was just following my intuition. Now I see I was being led to simplify my life.

This week's major accomplishment was to eliminate Dish network, which I have had for three years and go back to Comcast, where I started in 1980. I was never happy with Dish, mostly because I had no clue how to use half of the things I was paying $60 a month for. The price had continued to climb since I originally purchased the contract. Comcast is running a special for $19.99 for the first year, which will save me $480. Even when the price goes up it will be considerably less than Dish is now.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when my picture became distorted and I could not speak to a human to find out what was causing the problem. I took a deep breath and dialed the account number then yelled "disconnect my service" at the automated voice who was on the other end of the line. Today I can watch the programs I want to view by just pushing a channel number, no electronic knowledge is necessary.

It is the same with my phones. I have a land phone for general use and a trac phone for emergencies. All I need to be able do is dial a number or pick up the receiver when the instrument rings. It does not need to play music, provide internet service or order a dinner in a restaurant or send flowers to a friend. It just has to work when I need to communicate with someone.

Last week I did purchase a simple to use digital voice recorder to make interviewing my subjects for my current book a little easier. Previously I had struggled to take accurate notes by hand, which made interviews run much too long.

My life is now simplified and I like it that way!