I am not a minimalist but I believe my future self is a minimalist. Not a tiny home kind of minimalist, more of a relaxed, slower paced kind of life minimalist. I dream of having less, less stress, less worry and less struggle. I want life to be easier and maybe that means simpler. Simpler to me means more energy, more fun and more time to spend on things that are important.
How am I working on simplifying my life? I think about downsizing and decluttering and I do get this done on a fairly regular basis. I could always do more. (less thinking about it and more doing it) I love to work on goals and changing things around and making my space work better for me.
It’s about re-assessing my needs, getting rid of the old and making way for the new. I can let go of things that no longer fit for me in my life. This includes emotional and physical clutter.
Being mindful and having an awareness of what is happening around me is so important in being able to know what I want to focus on. What do I choose to spend my time, energy and money on? I am very conscious about purchases and what I want to bring into my home. I prefer to give and get more consumable items as gifts. (ie: chocolate, other food items, natural bath products, candles, experiences and/or a visit with a friend or family member).
My friend just recently celebrated her 70th birthday and invited 11 of her friends to join her with some morning yoga, a kayak trip, and lunch. It was such an awesome day!!
We were doing a kayak meditation here.
When I think of what I want more of in my life, it helps me to think about what I no longer want. It also helps me to focus on my goals and pushes me to move forward towards more of what I know I want.
How do you know what you want for your life? How does minimalism fit into your life?
I have so much admiration for the way your friend celebrated her 70th birthday. I aspire to be that active at 60!
I know Janet. She is an amazing woman. She is also a yoga teacher and I am starting back with her tomorrow night. Excited to get back on the mat!!
I love how you make it a point to say you’re working on getting rid of emotional clutter too. It’s more than just the physical stuff!
Saying you’re not already a minimalist implies that you have a specific goal in mind: X amount of clutter + Y amount of worries = Minimalist. Goals are great, and necessary, but I think there’s a problem with the term “minimalist” in that it means so many different things to different people. This is encouraging to some, and discouraging to others. Meanwhile, I, too, could do with less thinking and more doing!
I think its true that there are a lot of ways to look at minimalism. I work with vulnerable populations and they often live in that world of scarcity “I don’t have what I need, what if I need this someday, I will save this for someone who needs it, etc. They honestly don’t have the money to be a minimalist. Actually I think this is a great idea for a blog post. Thanks for your comment.
Hi Kim! I love this post! We are on the exact same path! You said this beautifully and I felt like you were talking about my life! I’m letting go of so much right now physically, mentally, spiritually, and making way for the new less cluttered and overwhelmed version of myself to come on in! I’m going to be sharing this post on my blog in the near future! I’ll link to it! Bravo!
Hi Autumn,
Thank you so much. It is good to know we are on the same path. It can be challenging to let go and to know it is the right thing for us to do whether it is physically, mentally, spiritually. It is a work in process. Thank you so much for sharing this on your blog. WOW!! I really appreciate that.