From the square footage required to house the countless things advertised to satisfy my comforts and needs to the expensive car with the ultimate safety features and luxuries, society has lied to me about what will make me happy. It distorts my concept of self through advertisements about the trendy clothes I should wear to make me cool, sexy, and accepted. It fabricates unhealthy ideals about what to eat and whose company to keep. These lies have been whispered to me from birth. I have seen and heard them on television, the radio, in school, and even at church. Far too long I've enjoyed the drug of more and the false security of acceptance, which has made me exceptionally sick.
What do you do when you're ready to walk away from this fiction and those around you are not? I want less stuff and more time. I desire a life with minimal material possessions and a wealth of adventure, experience, and connection. I yearn to be in nature with natural things. I want more time to be with those I love. My dilemma is a desire to live a minimalist lifestyle with the self-inflicted constraints of decades of poor choices compounded by a degree of unwillingness from those I love to embrace simplicity. Is it possible to be a minimalist and live with others who do not share this value? Reality is that I live with others and cannot make unilateral mandates to clean house. My inability to move forward has frustrated me. Clearly, I need a strategy to simplify my own life, declutter my spaces, and reduce my consumption. Here's my game plan:
- First, I'll attempt to free up some time. I need to take inventory and decide what activities truly add value to my life and say no to those that do not. Politics and Facebook were obvious first choices of things to let go of, which I've been doing for months. Recent events made me aware of something else that can set me free. For years I've tried to fit in at work with people who do not see the world as I do. In fact, oftentimes they're inconsiderate of my views. I vow to no longer put effort into unproductive relationships. So far, it's been a waste of my time and an emotional drain. Instead, I'll put my energy into doing more of the work I've been taking home on weekends.
- Harder yet is letting go of hobbies. I really want to do it all, and there are so many activities I enjoy. The painful reality that I must give up a few less productive interests and limit my involvement in others has become clear. For example, I'm limiting myself to just one form of skiing, not three. Combining other activities (backpacking, fly fishing, and cycling) is another consideration because I don't have time to do all three. My new angle is to plan a couple of bikepacking adventures following the routes of wild rivers with accents of fishing in the evening and morning hours between stretches of riding.
- Next, I will continue to minimalize my possessions. The easier items to discard are already gone. (I'm flabbergasted about how much clothing I had.) Now, it's on to things with more attachments. My book and DVD collections are challenging to let go of for multiple reasons, but my fishing boat is a very big problem. In the end, though, I accept that I have too much stuff that's neither being used nor adding value to my life.
- Another project is to simplify one or two spaces in my home. I am claiming one room for my own personal sanctuary. It will be a place where I can escape, meditate, and practice yoga. Since I'm not forcing my ways on others, they should respect my right to have one peaceful place of my own.
- Paramount to becoming a minimalist and freeing up more time for experience is to reduce my consumption and save. Instead of accepting gifts and useless junk, I'll request gifts of money. When I've saved enough, I'll buy something that will truly add value to my life or set off on that adventure I've been dreaming of.
- Most important, I feel impressed to be an ambassador for minimalism. By practicing gratitude, being in a peaceful state of mind, and being obnoxiously happy, others are sure to see where the party is at and should want to join.
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