Minimalist living. Letting go of things that don't serve you, or don't serve you anymore.
Finding what sparks joy.
Identifying what adds value to your life and eliminating what doesn't.
Minimalism is a growing movement and becoming more and more popular.
Very understandably, because it can be a powerful voice against the society that for a large part is about acquiring more.
It's a way to take a step back and disconnect from all the noise and to focus on what it is
you want, what it is that makes you happy.
It helps us to easier spot moments of real pleasure and the subtle joys of life which are actually quite common and simple.
Without always being preoccupied with the thought of acquiring something new, buying something better, or earning more money.
Over the course of my minimalism journey, which started about seven years ago
I have come to let go of many things.
If you were to tell me back then how much I would say goodbye to in the coming years...
I would probably have felt a little uneasy.
What if I declutter something that I might need later? Won't I miss those items? Will my life become empty without them?
Having lots of positions can somehow make us feel safer.
We like to hang on to things, because they make us feel like whatever happens in the future...
we will have the right item to deal with it. If there ever comes a time when we need 20 different Tupperware bowls...
we will be ready for it.
We are prepared for everything and that makes us feel like we're in control.
But when you fast forward about 10 years, we will have accumulated so much stuff that our home is no longer a living space...
It's storage space.
What makes people so focused on creating safety?
What makes us want to prepare for the future and try to control life as strongly as we can?
Why do we grasp and hold onto things as if we are scared of what's to come?
Why do we fear change?
Always like this analogy from Alan Watts.
Imagine you are falling down a cliff. And while you're falling, you see this big hunk of rock that's falling right next to you.
And you cling to this rock, grabbing and holding on, as if it's going to do anything for you when you reach the bottom.
When actually this rock is not going to help you in any way at the end.
I sometimes think that this is the way people like to deal with their stuff. It's a safety net in an ever-changing world.
Impermanence is the philosophical concept of change.
It's often talked about in eastern wisdom and it basically explains that nothing lasts forever.
Because everything is subjected to change. Even things we perceive as stable...
unchanging and everlasting, are impermanent.
Even big skyscrapers will not last for eternity.
Everything will change. And while this change can be scary, when we learn to accept this and plunge into it...
it can also be a very powerful tool. And it can help us on our minimalism journey as well.
Change isn't just something we can accept and learn to deal with.
Impermanence can also be a beautiful reminder of what it means to be alive.
And when you realize that the world is always in flux, always changing, and that change is inevitable...
The power of impermanence can help you to stop trying to control everything.
To stop grasping and clinging to your possessions.
And through that, it can help us to let go of things that no longer make us happy.
Be it decluttering your home and getting rid of physical items, or less tangible things that we fear to let go of.
Impermanence can be scary to think about, but it can also be a good friend.
Consider a beautiful river with a strong current. The water is never the same. It's always changing and flowing.
Let's say someone asks you to catch some of that current and grab it and bring it to them.
So you show up with a bucket near the river you scoop out some water in your bucket. And the current is gone.
The water is still. The essence of what it meant for that beautiful river to be alive is gone.
As soon as we want things to stay the same...
we basically want them to stop living. Because life is change and change is life.
So how can this principle of impermanence help us on our minimalism journey?
During my process of decluttering, getting rid of things and letting go, I have often come across items that were difficult or challenging
for me to get rid of.
During these two years that I've been on YouTube...
I have also gotten many many questions from people about how to let go of this specific item, or that specific collection.
Now of course, minimalism doesn't mean letting go of things and living in a bare room with only the minimal things you need to survive.
It's perfectly okay to keep things that make you happy, or that you get a lot of use out of, or that hold special memories.
But for some people, it's hard even to say goodbye to stuff that's holding them back right now.
They want to get rid of it, but they're not comfortable giving it up.
Often, there is some sort of fear or guilt blocking their way.
And for most of these items, the power of impermanence can help us to realize and accept that nothing is forever.
Even our most treasured items are not going to last an eternity.
We don't need to hold on to everything or to prepare ourselves for an unknown future.
Because the fact that our future is unknown is also the very reason
that we are alive. That we live and breathe right now.
The same items that once served you, that ones had a great value, may also be items that are now holding you back.
That's okay and it is safe to let go of things that you feel in your gut
don't have a place for you in your future.
In a way, minimalism is the opposite of clinging.
Impermanence can help us to shed some of our doubts and fears and trust that everything is going to be all right.
One of my favorite ways to reflect on impermanence is through the lesson of the Japanese cherry blossoms.
Every year during sakura season...
the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And people everywhere gather in parks to watch these beautiful trees in bloom.
People take time out of their life to enjoy this beauty. While the petals fall and the wind scatters them around...
we are reminded of impermanence.
Because these sakura trees are only blossoming about one or two weeks a year.
But the fact that this beauty is fleeting is not a sad thing.
In fact, it adds to its beauty and makes us appreciate it even more.
There is a famous Japanese haiku that translates to: When cherry blossoms scatter, no regrets.
It means that even though the cherry blossoms live for such a short period of time...
they fall to their death with no regrets. Offering beauty and loveliness to those around them.
Some people might take all this as being a message on nihilism, but I don't think it is. For example
impermanence is one of the most important concepts of Buddhism.
You can see it as something bad or something good.
But basically it's more of a neutral force that we are all subject to.
It teaches us to live in the moment and not let your expectation for the future limit your happiness now.
Just like people don't wish that cherry blossoms would bloom forever, but rather choose to relish in their beauty right now.
When they hear the word minimalism people often think it's about going to the extreme.
It's about getting rid of almost all your positions and living out of a backpack or sitting on the floor without
furniture. Or even creating that beautiful aesthetic you see on Pinterest.
When I talk with people about minimalism who don't know me very well yet, they often think I'm intentionally making my life more difficult.
Why would you be so strict with yourself? Why would you deprive yourself of the joys of shopping?
Why are you being so frugal, aren't you alive right now?
Shouldn't you enjoy your life rather than being strict and following these minimalism rules?
I understand these are questions a lot. To an outsider who's never thought deeply about minimalism
I get why it would seem this way. But for me, and maybe for you too, this is not the case at all.
In fact, minimalist living allows me to enjoy my life more.
I feel more abundant than ever. Even though I don't have many fancy things. Our
apartment is beautiful, but it's only a one-bedroom apartment.
We don't own a car. I never buy expensive jewelry.
I don't care about getting a fancy gift for my boyfriend on our anniversary.
Something else that's impacting my life very strongly, is something that I could never have done if it wasn't for minimalism.
After working a nine-to-five office job for about six years after graduating, and
climbing the corporate ladder to becoming a project manager in a big company...
I decided to quit my job and do something that I love. If I had continued my career the way that it was going...
chances are I would have gotten even a better job. With a higher salary. And by the time I would have been 40...
who knows what my life would have looked like. But there was a problem. Even though these promotions were things
I was working hard for for years, always striving to get to where I was, I wasn't happy in my job.
In fact, even though I had never even considered this to be possible...
I felt so out of place that I couldn't believe that this was where I wound up.
Now I'm not trying to bash working in an office here, because I know for a lot of people it's very fun.
They feel good doing it and they're even making good money.
But for me...
I was often tired and frustrated. And I remember feeling badly almost every day.
Trying to get projects off the ground and then finding out that there was some office politics going on.
People were trying to influence or crash the projects. And this is only one example
but I think you get the point.
Working as a project manager was not something I could see myself doing for a long time without it costing me my happiness.
Because I'm living a minimalist lifestyle, and because we have been living below our means...
I was able to get out of this corporate world, quit my job, and get to where I am now.
Where I'm doing what I love every single day.
Being a youtuber with a still relatively small channel...
this would not have been possible if our living expenses had been higher.
But because of minimalism, I was able to take this leap pretty early on and pour my heart and soul into this channel.
Impermanence teaches us that nothing lasts forever. And that it's OK to change our perspective on things. Yes
I had been working hard to move forward in my career.
But that doesn't mean that my career should last forever. And should stay in the same path forever.
It's ok to notice what's going on to change and evolve and grow.
To stop grasping and clinging to what you think you should do. When something is it making you happy...
it's ok to let it go and go a different direction.
Be it with material things, but even with careers, friendships, old and toxic ideas, or goals you had for your life.
I am someone who is very persistent, and I don't quit things easily.
I try my ultimate best and give it my all. But when all that isn't enough to make something work
I think it's okay to quit, to let go and move on.
Even though the thought of impermanence can be scary, what lessons can you learn from it?
How could it help you on your journey of minimalism, or simple living, or cultivating a happy healthy life?
I'd love to hear what you think in the comments down below.
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I'd love to see you again next week. Let's talk down into comments and have a lovely day.
