Minimalism

2020 began like most every other year. I had prepared a list of monthly goals/challenges for the year (not resolutions) and was ready to make this MY YEAR of finally healing and getting back to life. Yes, there were more surgeries ahead, but I was determined to wrap it all up by the end of the year. I also wanted to accomplish some personal goals along the way – to feel accomplished but also keep myself busy while recovering.

I invited my BFF to participate in the monthly goal challenges with me, starting with a cute 30-day “clean up your house/life” challenge thing I found on Pinterest. We felt so accomplished! Make your bed. Organize your sock drawer. Destash your purse. We were winning at life! These were little things but they were setting the tone for much larger things to come.

From there, it moved into the 30-day Minimalist Game and adding more friends. I did it with my entire family one month.

From there, I launched into listening to The Minimalists podcasts and then exploring the idea of minimalism as a whole. What I came to realize was that minimalism wasn’t so much about getting rid of stuff or pushing myself to live with as little as possible, but rather it was a tool for mindfulness, and a tool to see what was really important in my life.

In our consumer world, it is easy to surround ourselves with stuff, stuff our lives with stuff, bury ourSELVES in stuff, barricading our true selves from what really matters, often the hard stuff. We even seek out “retail therapy” when stressed. Minimalism for me was a tool to strip that away, piece by piece.

The physical act of cleaning out the pantry, minimizing my wardrobe, simplifying my surroundings – and involving the family in doing the same – opened my eyes to facing the real life issues buried under it all, and realizing it was time to clean up ALL of the parts of my life.

I had a very clear sense that in addressing my whole self, I would finally heal my physical body. I had to look at history – old family stuff, shame, guilt, communication, understanding, reconciling heavy loads of incongruency and relationships that were deemed irreconcilable.

A whole lot of yucky stuff.

Minimalism = mindfulness = clarity

Minimalism Is Not

I have continued to work through our home and life in this manner, completing two rounds of the Minimalist Game with a group of friends now. Beyond the game, it is a daily practice, and with each piece tossed, my mental load is lighter and sparklier. I don’t know that my home will ever be the paragon of minimalism or magazine-worthy, but my mind and soul sure are.

Minimalism has proven to be a mindset of freedom.

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