Since my divorce in 2007 I have been on a slow journey in removing excess from my life. A lot of it has been out of necessity.
I left with very little other than my clothes, laptop, and books and was perfectly fine with it. (A minimalist by accident)
That experience began to teach me that a lot of what I had was not truly needed. I guess you could say I was a minimalist on training wheels. In late 2007 I read the 4-hour Work Week and further made me want to get to the point of having just want I want and need in my life.
The Art of Being Minimalist
A few weeks ago, I read a little eBook by Everett Bogues named The Art of Becoming a Minimalist that gave me a blueprint to what I want to be able to do moving forward. I looked around after I read it and was amazed at how much stuff I had accumulated in the last couple of years.
I went on to post on my facebook that I was going to become a Minimalist and got a few joking replies about giving up my laptop and car. My interpretation on becoming a minimalist is not to remove everything and move to the woods.
The way I interpret Minimalism is to eliminate that which brings me no value. My laptop? Well, that’s my livelihood.
Livelihood=value 🙂
The best example I have of the application of Minimalism is my book collection. I looked around and realized I hadn’t touched most of them in years. What if I sold them?
Better yet, what if I offered anyone to check them out, decide what they liked, and then I sold the rest? Someone else gets some value out of them.
Some of the books I own have changed my life. A couple helped shift my reality and get me where I am now. Yet, they bring me no value sitting on my bookshelf.
Right now, as I type this, I have about a hundred books in my car ready to go to Half-Price Books and sell them. I am one step closer to becoming a minimalist. 🙂
My Goal With Minimalism
I want to travel more and meet people in other cities and all over the world. I want to be able to pack up and move in a moment’s notice. The things I have lugged around the last several years have weighed me down and have limited me.
As you well know, I study improv and salsa here in Dallas. Yet, I have this vision in which I will go to any major city and plug into their salsa and improv communities. That will really make me happy!
In my journey to do what I love and follow my passions, I think of this as Phase 2 of my re-birth. I want to get back to the point where I can find peace where ever I may find myself. And also create havoc and fun as well.
