Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy, Health, and Creativity (10 page)
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Authors: Genevieve Parker Hill
CHAPTER TEN
So what are you going to do with your life now that you’ve emptied it of burdensome clutter and created new space, both in your home and in your schedule? Perhaps you already know exactly what you're going to do with your newfound space. Or maybe you don’t, and you're having some unexpected feelings of fear. The empty space can be downright terrifying, like a black hole, or an endless void. Acknowledge the fear; admit it. Fear is often a signpost that you should run far away from a hungry predator or threatening enemy (or punch it in the face). It can also signal that you're doing something powerful, new, and positive in your life. The animal brain that makes up part of each human brain likes the safety and comfort of the known. When we are in uncharted territory, that part of our brain can kick in and tell us to hurry back to comfortsville. But in this case, we just listen to what our brain is telling us, and then respond “
Thanks, but I’m going to stay here and get used to this new territory.”
Sometimes, we will feel terrified because we’ve been avoiding the bigger question
s in life, such as “
What am I going to do with the rest of my life
?” Clutter can be a distraction from your true purpose. Once the extra stuff is out of your life, the fear may be telling you to quickly get some clutter back in your home, your schedule, or your brain so that you can avoid facing the big questions.
Instead of recluttering, fill the void with what you're truly meant to do in your life. How are you going to let your fresh new attitude and creativity add zest to your days? Your answer will depend on your purpose, the deep inner understanding of why you're here that only you can discover. Perhaps you’ve already discovered your purpose; if so, minimalist living can help you live out your purpose more fully now that you have the time and space to do so.
Eckhart Tolle writes that if we identify with our things, then it’s going to be difficult – likely impossible – to remove them from our lives. For example, most of us identify with our bodies. We, in some sense, are our bodies. No one willingly relinquishes an arm or a leg. Identifying with our possessions isn’t that much different. In a way, it’s insane to identify with our things. We are not our stuff. Yet in our culture, it’s remarkably easy to begin to associate our belongings with our identity. We need to stop allowing things to define us, and instead, allow our purpose to define who we are.
If you aren't sure of your purpose,
aren’t certain of the reason why you're here and how you will contribute to your community and the world, then minimalist living can help you uncover it. Once you’ve simplified your life, you're free to use the tools that can help you discover your purpose. These tools are what Martha Beck calls “spiritual technologies.” These are proven methods to help you connect with the universe, God, your subconscious mind, inner knowing, or whatever you call that which connects us all. Some of these tools include meditation, following your heart, prayer, self-care, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness. Each of us must follow a unique path to find our purpose. Purpose is irremovably entwined with spirituality. You may find your purpose through the spiritual tools that appeal to you in combination with external factors such as life opportunities that arise, people who come into your life, and simply the power of serendipity. Being open to finding your purpose by setting an intention to do so and then living your life receptive to your heart’s deepest desires is a great way to start. Pursue a spiritual path to connect to your purpose.
When I say “spiritual,” know that I’m referring to matters of the heart and soul. I’m talking about anything in life that makes you feel whole, fulfilled, and connected to your fellow human beings and to the universe. For one person, a spiritual experience could be camping by a pristine mountain lake. For another, it could be worshipping with others in a church. I’m not necessarily referring to anything religious unless that is where you find your connection with your own soul and those of others.
To ‘own’ something -- what does it really mean? What does it mean to make something ‘mine’? [...] Many people don't realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that nothing ever had anything to do with who they are. In the proximity of death, the whole concept of ownership stands revealed as ultimately meaningless.
[...]’Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ Jesus said, ‘for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.’ What does ‘poor in spirit’ mean? No inner baggage, no identifications. Not with things, nor with any mental concepts that have a sense of self in them. And what is the ‘kingdom of heaven’? The simple but profound joy of Being that is there when you let go of identifications and so become ‘poor in spirit.’ –
Eckhart Tolle,
A New Earth.
Tolle emphasizes presence (“Being”) and also a disassociation of our identity from our belongings. We are taught to find our joy in being, not in what we own.
We are not (necessarily) going to go so far as to say the best way to live is to give away
all
our stuff. The best way for you to live is in the way that you choose.
Your life will be enriched
when you start acting from a deep inner purpose informed by your spirituality. We’re focusing: we’re thinking more about our belongings and we’re taking action so that what we have is helping us, not hurting us spiritually. When we bring our attention to anything, our level of awareness and consciousness increases and this allows us to make better choices about that thing. For example, you’ve often heard the advice that if you're trying to watch your diet, you should write down what you're eating. In a similar way, when we are focusing on our true purpose, we are less likely to consume mindlessly.
This can become a spiritual practice. If we allow it to, it can make us feel more grateful about our life. For example, if instead of watching a TV commercial and desiring the product that we see, we instead look around our home and see the things that bring us so much joy, that are so useful to our lives, and that help us live our purpose. We now have a positive emotion of gratitude instead of a false, artificially created desire for something that we don’t need and that will only clutter up our house. The physical lightness that comes from editing our
collection of stuff becomes a spiritual lightness. Think about the lightheartedness you have when you begin a journey. You leave your home with only a bag or two. You feel a sense of optimism because in a way, you’re as free as you’ll ever be. You can have that feeling of freedom all the time if you cultivate gratitude for what you do have and a minimalist’s approach to acquisition.
Here’s the heart of the message of this book: it’s not any one thing that has precious value; it’s your intangible connection to the thing that is precious. Your unique set of memories, values, and lessons learned through your experiences, relationships, and yes, through your stuff, over the course of your life are what’s important. Use these experience
s and the way you have grown around them to make the world a better place.
Making Room for Better
There’s a
phenomenon I’ve noticed that is so common I casually call it the “law of making space.” I’ve noticed that if you have space for more, you’ll acquire stuff to fill that space. I mentioned this when I talked about how moving into a bigger house often means attracting things to fill all that extra room. Thrillingly, this seems to be a law we can apply to the spiritual world as well. If you create space, many more opportunities to fill that space will come to you then would if you had never made the space. Your job is to stay connected to your spirit so that you can recognize what will fill the space for your highest good. When we get in touch with our deepest heart’s desires through a spiritual practice, we know what we want. We can take action to be, do, and have what we desire, spiritually speaking. For example, if you desire to feel deeply connected to friends who nurture, support, and love you, first make space. This may mean spending less time with people who denigrate, criticize, or make you feel bad. There will always be a small space of loneliness or emptiness before the space is filled with something better. By taking a step in faith to make room, the higher quality you seek will come to you because there is room in your life. I had an acquaintance who was single for a long time and very much wanted to be married. But her refrain was, “At least I’m not with the wrong person. It’s better to be alone than in an unhealthy relationship.” She knew about the law of making space. She kept the “boyfriend spot,” open in her life for as long as it took. Now she’s been happily married for to Mr. Right for over a year.
I recently talked to a coaching client who was having trouble getting rid of some clothes. She no longer wore them, but they represented a time in her life when she felt independent, affluent, and attractive. She wanted to make space in her life
, but was afraid to lose the reminder of the powerful memories and emotions those clothes held. I helped her come up with other ways to remember the good times she had wearing those clothes, ways that will allow her to release the clothes to improve someone else’s life and make space in her closet. Once she clears her closet, there will be a season of emptiness. This is a natural lull before something better comes to her. Eventually new clothes – even better clothes – will come into her life. Yet even more exciting on a spiritual and energetic level is that she now has room for a new spiritual season of her life to begin. She’ll be clothed in even more joy. By letting go of the good, she’ll experience the great.
Appeal to your intuition and spirit about areas of your life in which decluttering may have spiritual benefits. I hope this is a fruitful area for you to realize a deeper connection to joy and light.
A Fresh Start
Minimalist living is really just a starting point for authentic living. We need open spaces – blank canvases – upon which we can occupy ourselves more deeply with the art of living. Minimalism is intentional life design. By removing distractions, obstacles, and buildup, we live life as we truly desire, with the values that we select, not those selected for us by convention, copywriters or trend setters. Today my hope is that
this book has helped and inspired you to create more open space to play in – space that invigorates your health, sets you on a path of purpose and sparks inner healing and joy for you.
A Next Step
My next step
challenge to you is to go to
Amazon.com
and leave an honest review of this book. This is a chance for you to publicly say what the book inspired you to do – and to stick to your word and DO IT, since we know that when we publicly announce something, we are more likely to follow through. In addition, leaving a review will help other people decide if this is the right book for them to read as they start their journey to a life with more simplicity and freedom.
I also invite you to sign up for updates on my website,
www.PackingLust.com
, so that I can email you when I offer free book giveaways. That way if you’d like to share this book with friends, you can simply tell them when the next free Kindle download day is since you’ll be on the first-to-know list.
Resources on Minimalist Living
I don’t want to make this section too complicated, since this book
is about keeping things simple. I’ll simply list a few essentials for further learning on your minimalism journey. Bon voyage!
Recommended Blogs and Websites
PackingLust
.com
– Sign up on my blog for updates. Once you sign up, you’ll be on the VIP list to get an email about when I give away free books. So if you’d like to share this book with a friend, sign up so you can tell him or her when my next free Kindle download day is. Also, e
xplore my website for additional free resources on minimalist living. You can also get in touch to ask questions or get coaching on living simply or especially tough decluttering cases.
Facebook.com/mnmlstlvng
– “Like” the Minimalist Living Facebook page to join a community of like-minded people pursuing a simpler life. I share great resources and inspiration on minimalist living here.
Zenhabits.net
– Leo Babauta writes about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, and find happiness. He also has another blog that’s even more minimalist at mnmlist.com.
TheMinimalists.com
– Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus write about living a meaningful life with less stuff for their audience of more than 100,000 monthly readers. They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CBS, USA Today, NBC, and many more outlets.
MissMinimalist.com
– Author Francine Jay writes, “by writing about minimalism, I hope to promote it as a lifestyle alternative. I want others who are dissatisfied with consumer culture to know they’re not alone. I think it would be wonderful — for ourselves, for the Earth, and its other inhabitants—if we all learned to live with a little bit less.”
ZeroWasteHome.blogspot.com
–
Bea Johnson writes about the happier, more fulfilling lifestyle she and her family began enjoying when they downsized their home and began living a zero waste lifestyle. She provides helpful tips on the blog on how to “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot (and only in that order).”
TheMinimalistMom.com
–
Rachel Jonat writes about her family’s journey to living with only what they need, and how her family paid of $60,000 in debt in one year, partly through embracing a minimalist lifestyle.
BeMoreWithLess.com
–
Courtney Carver writes about simplifying to live a life with more joy and less stress. Her site’s archive is extensive and free.
Further Reading on Minimalism, Decluttering, and Simple Living
Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!
By Laura Wittmann
Simplify
by Joshua Becker
Unstuff Your Life!
By Andrew J. Mellen
You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too
by Tammy Strobel
Minimalism for Grandparents: Decluttering for Health, Happiness, and Connection in the Golden Years
by Genevieve Parker Hill