Themes are starting to emerge across my inspiring mothers series. Slow, connected living. Time spent with family and friends outdoors and being creative. Minimalism and simplicity — which I don’t consider to be the same, but both imply figuring out what is important in life and focusing our energy there. Today’s inspiring mother, Sara Tasker, is someone who exemplifies simplicity.

When I first encountered Sara her world seemed totally foreign to me. Foreign in the best kind of way. Sara lives with her partner and their daughter in the countryside, on a continent across the ocean from my own. The town they live in and their pace of life seems idyllic, and contrasts sharply with my own fast-paced life as an urbanite living in the downtown of my country’s capital city. The bubbling busyness of a big city can be invigorating, but when you feel as though you can’t escape the fast-pace, rather than it energizing you, it can become a drain. No matter our circumstance I think most of us need opportunities for respite. Looking at Sara’s life in photos is definitely visual therapy — the view out her window onto a rolling hill, light and shadow falling across a table — it is my respite.

Over time, I got to reading Sara’s blog, getting to know her a little better and found that we share more than I had expected. We are foreigners geographically, but not as people. Sara, too, is seeking a life of greater simplicity. Wait…what? I thought she had already arrived at destination Simplicity? Looking at her pace of life and her simple home, how can things be simpler? And yet, I learned that Sara was focused on finding ways to simplify her life. I thought about my own life and my own home — people have suggested to me that I have found simplicity (as if it is something you can find…). People have said, for example, that my home is “so sparse” and expressed astonishment that Ro only takes one class outside of formal school. These sorts of comments never fail to surprise me, because from my perspective our home is cluttered and I still wonder if ballet twice a week leaves Ro with enough down time. Like many things, simplicity is relative. And, like many pursuits, the path is long, and most likely the destination is never reached.

Sara still exemplifies simplicity to me, but she also reminds me that we are each on a path, that we are always arriving, and yet, never arrive, and that is exactly where I should be.

What part of the world do you live in?

We live in a little village in West Yorkshire, England, tucked away in a valley between steep green hills. It has a pub, a post box and no shops – unless you count the man who sells his eggs with an honesty box! We moved here last summer from the city, & it’s a dream come true.

How many children do you have and how would you describe them?

So far, we have one daughter, Orla, who is 2. She is fierce and independent and sharp, but also the most naturally sweet and thoughtful person I know. She’s sunshine and thunder clouds, all at once, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What are your core family values?

Respect is a big one – my partner, Rory and I both work with young people with learning disabilities, so for us it’s unthinkable to dismiss someone’s wants or needs simply because they are less able to understand. I try my best to never say or do anything to Orla that I wouldn’t to Rory – not treating her like an adult, but treating her as an equal.

We’re also working hard as a family to live more simply, and keep clutter and materialism at bay; investing in memories instead of ‘stuff’.

How do you spend most of your days?

Three days a week I work, driving a fairly long commute with Orla, and arriving home in the evening with just enough time for dinner and bedtime. I’m getting increasingly busy with Instagram & blog related work, too, which is wonderful, but often means my evenings are spent working at the computer alone. The rest of the time I try to make up for this by living slowly – baking, walking, cooking, playing with Orla. We spend a lot of time in bed, even in the day!

What is your favourite thing to do as a family?

Nothing. Not literally nothing, of course, but just to have no plans or agenda. We might walk down to the stream and throw in stones, or collect firewood in the forest. We’ve recently got really into baking sourdough bread, which is a great family activity! It’s such a luxury to be just the three of us, living life in our lovely home.

What are you passionate about?

Great design, living well. Motherhood. Feminism. Raising girls to know they’re worth so much more than they’re told.

What inspires you?

Everything! The landscape where we live, the seasons. My friends, my daughter, and, of course, the wonderful community I’ve found through Instagram. I love starting my day looking through my feed, and seeing what people are doing in Japan, how people are living the good life with what they’ve got in America or Australia or Korea. I suppose it sounds like a total paradox, but connecting with other mamas and creatives through the internet really helps me to live more simply, and disengage from the modern world.

Thank you Sara for sharing pieces of your world. Readers: you can visit Sara Tasker on Instagram @me_and_orla or on her blog.

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