The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Photography by Zia Mattock

The Joy Of | Window Watching

Iona Bower July 17, 2025

People watching is always a pleasure, but it’s particularly enjoyable done from the comfort of your own home, through your very own window

There’s a pleasant comfort in seeing the neighbours unpacking shopping, fetching in a parcel or weeding the front garden from your window-watching position. Nosy it may be (we’ll happily own that) but it also makes you feel part of a community. There goes Susan on her bike off to work. One gust and that packed lunch in her pannier will be gone… Isn’t that a new postie? Hope she sticks around until Christmas - she looks a sensible sort. What are those workmen digging up NOW? Surely there can’t be a square inch of tarmac they’ve not messed with this year… 

And it’s not just people that are worth taking a seat at the window for. As well as seeing folk you recognise (and, much more interestingly, folk you don’t) a seat at the window might give you a glimpse of wildlife - whether a neighbourhood fox, inquisitive squirrel or flock of birds making their way back to warmer climes. A window onto wildlife is like a TV nature documentary that never stops. 

Perhaps you’re a weather watcher, monitoring the approach of enough blue sky for a pair of sailor’s trousers. Or commenting that it’s ‘black over Bill’s mother’s’. Or maybe you simply like to cloud watch, seeing dragons and castles come and go. 

Window watching is a way of marking the day. The keen joggers, off before breakfast, the school run parents hustling children and cardboard models of Stonehenge down the pavement, the older residents keen to get to the supermarket before the queues, the delivery van drivers, to-ing and fro-ing all day, the toddlers scooting back from playgroup, the dog-walkers off to the park, the evening commuters eager to get home again… All of life is out there, framed by your window, hour by hour. 

As well as making you feel part of a community, a window view takes you out of your small world and into the world of others, literally broadening your horizons. 

And if your view doesn’t offer quite enough for you, the magic of technology means you can always visit someone else’s. You could lose hours on WindowSwap (https://www.window-swap.com/Window), clicking ‘open a window somewhere in the world’ and looking through a window in Cambodia, St Petersburg, Montreal, Melbourne… And you can share your own window view there, too. We warn you - it’s dreadfully addictive for window-watchers.

Why not pull back the curtain right now, see what your view is, and make another link with the world?

In our July ‘Fruit’ issue, our ‘My Place’ pages are all about rooms with a view, and we’ve picked out some beautiful windows for you to gaze out of, including the sea view above by Zia Mattocks. The issue is in shops now.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More windows and views…

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Jul 17, 2025
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More from our July issue…

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How to | Haggle
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In Fun Tags issue 157, windows, views
Comment

Photography by Marilyn Harrison

Wellbeing | Why the Sea Makes you Happy

Iona Bower July 13, 2023

Why we really do like to be beside the seaside…

We’ve been exploring the health benefits of the sea for centuries, from bathing in its salty waters to breathing in the cleaner air of the coast. But the power of the sea to improve our wellbeing is so strong, you can actually reap the benefits without even rolling up your trouser legs and getting your feet wet. 

A recent study from the University of Exeter found that simply living near the sea had protective benefits against anxiety and depression, with those living close to the sea less likely to experience mental distress. However, that benefit was reversed if they moved inland. In fact, just looking at the sea and out to the skyline can have a positive effect on mental health. A 2015 study found that having a sea view could slow heart rate and increase happiness, and hearing the sound of waves has a similar effect. 

Of course, we’d all love nothing more than a permanent view of the changing sea from our windows, but if you’re a little land-locked, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy the benefits of the sea. On days where you can’t get to the water, here are some ways to bring it to you

Make a plant pot pond 

If digging a pond is out of the question, Helen Rook author of Urban Wild (Bloomsbury Wildlife) suggests this clever idea. Take a pot (preferably without holes). Fill with water, then add a couple of deep water and marginal plants (choose one for spread and one to cascade). Position out of direct sunlight and enjoy watching the wildlife it’ll attract.

Visualise the ocean

There are many guided meditations that use water as an aid for relaxation. Find one on a meditation app or simply sit for a while, close your eyes and imagine the sounds, smells and feel of your favourite watery environment. 

Have a soak in the bath

Oprah Winfrey is so keen on bathing – her ‘restorative escape’ and ‘ideas time’ – that she had a bathtub designed to fit her body. While that might be a bit ambitious, you can still benefit from the increased creativity, calm and ideas that come with a long soak.

Listen to the waves

The sound of water is very relaxing and can help you fall asleep, reduce stress and anxiety and clear your mind. You can find wave sounds on YouTube or next time you’re by the coast, record them so you can listen and picture yourself there again when you’re in need of a boost of vitamin sea. 

These ideas were taken from our July 2022 issue, in which Rebecca Frank wrote about Blue Space Thinking and why we are drawn to the water. The wonderful sea view pictured is by Marilyn Harrison. It’s just one of the rooms with a sea view that we featured in our My Place pages this month. 

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More things we love about the sea…

Featured
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Jul 19, 2025
Learn | A Sea Shanty
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Jul 13, 2023
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Jul 13, 2023
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In Wellbeing Tags issue 133, sea, views, my place, wellbeing
Comment
Featured
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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