Community Connection ~ July 6, 2025: Simplicity Day

Next Saturday is one of the lesser-known “holidays” we love sharing with you, and this one has especially meaningful undertones if you look a little closer, so we wanted to give you some lead time to prepare for…National Simplicity Day.

This holiday is observed every July 12, the birthday of Henry David Thoreau, and honors a key tenet of his worldview, simplicity. Thoreau and his fellow transcendentalist thinkers advocated for a life stripped down to the essentials in order to facilitate a connection with the deep self-knowledge inherently present in each of us. Retreating to a quiet spot in nature, as Thoreau did at Walden Pond, was a way to cultivate a life of simplicity, reflection, and profound understanding. This sounds a whole lot like the intention that drives the season of Lent, and comes at a time of year that is just far enough from Easter for the clarity of the Lenten mindset to have faded. So why not sharpen it back up by observing National Simplicity Day?

You can escape to the woods if you’d like, but regardless of where you are, consider taking some time to slow down and simplify. Perhaps it’s the right time to KonMari your house - after all, according to National Today, 25% of Americans who have a two-car garage don’t even have room to park a car in it! You might also set aside some time to just do less. People today are, on the whole, overscheduled and stressed out; what if you JUST DID NOTHING? Or, if nothing is too big of a lift, spent time in meditation and prayer even though it isn’t a Sunday or a religious holiday?

You might have other ideas for areas in your life that could use simplification, and of course we wholeheartedly encourage you to pursue them! Of course, if you do, please share them with us. Connect with us via Facebook or Instagram and let us know about your progress in following Thoreau’s sage advice to “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”