Courting Simplicity, Combatting Stress

I've been hearing and reading quite a bit lately about a possible correlation between stress and health/illness. I guess that correlation could be what experts sometimes refer to as dis-ease when referring to disease -- a state when a person is in a state other than ease. To be true to oneself, to slow down with celebration instead of guilt are so counter to today's culture that we sometimes feel like lesser human beings when we allow ourselves time to be (hence the name of this blog). Courting simplicity and embracing it are a necessary component of my quality of life. Winter can provide such a time. It is during winter when I slow down, stay home, curl up and renew. This year's mild winter, quickly giving way to spring, has rarely afforded me such an "excuse" to sit still and hibernate. So, it's up to me to create little pockets of "winter" every week just to enjoy the quiet. In so doing, I will consciously court simplicity and combat stress, and possibly reduce dis-ease in my life.