Less is Definitely Going to be More in 2020

I took this picture on our last day skiing in France this holiday season. The sun was just peeking over the crest of one of the magnificent mountains. There was a small stream to the right of me, that had a perfect flow of water. It felt so calm and peaceful. It’s curious to me how nature can evoke these feelings and also how it gently nudges you to be more introspective.

I started thinking about our last two weeks of 2019 and now our first two weeks in 2020, the things that worked for me last year and the things that I want to improve upon this year.
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Last year, I thought a lot about self care and became really good at finding the balance between my family, personal, and professional life. Without a doubt, I will continue that through 2020. However, as in true fashion for me I am always reaching for more.

​Then it hit me as I was standing there listening to the water flow, what if more was actually less?
Let me clarify: What if simplifying life with less “stuff” could actually bring more to our general wellbeing? Of course, it is easy to think about “stuff” in a material sense, and who doesn’t love a good closet or junk drawer clean out?! Being able to see the clutter leave and have more organized space results. It’s a good place to start for sure; however, what I am hoping for is a carry over to more important aspects of life. Getting rid of the “stuff” that holds you from making a much needed decision/change/or dream from taking shape. The “stuff” that keeps you from true happiness and feeling light and free. The idea being to live more simply with less. Letting situations and conversations go after thinking them through, not dwelling, finding the positive more than the negative, becoming the glass is half full kind of person. I feel these are good examples of cultivating a less cluttered mind. Easier said than done at times I know, but if the intention is there than the battle is half won, I once read.

I was always drawn to the complexity yet subtlety of Chinese Medicine for its treatment of ones physical and emotional health. On a daily basis I help patients to move the stuck “stuff” that manifests as physical pain, digestive buildup, and emotional frustration. After all of my years as an acupuncturist, I truly believe that the most rewarding part of my work is seeing a complete change in a person’s physical and emotional state. Of course, this doesn’t happen with one treatment, and it certainly doesn’t happen just from acupuncture alone. It’s the work that the patient does at home that makes the difference. Chinese Medicine is just the catalyst.

And so, this is my focus for the New Year and what I am going to be practicing in 2020: Living more than well with less and cleaning the clutter from my mind (as well as my closet)!

Im really excited about this one!

Wishing you the Happiest of New Years!

 Natalie Maddox Rougié, DOM, AP