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Think back to the first time you did something – anything at all. Remember how awkward it felt the first time? The more you did it, the easier and smoother it became. That is the perfect way to describe the change to living simply as a minimalist versus living as a monster consumer. When you first begin your minimalist journey, it’s will not be as easy as it will eventually become once you adapt to living simply.
The benefits of living simply greatly outweigh living in a world where the focus is on getting the latest, greatest thing. Taking your focus off of your possessions removes a lot of what stresses us in day to day. First think about your life. How many times have you felt that you HAD to have the newest Ipad or Iphone? How about stretching to buy an expensive car when the car you currently have gets you everywhere you need to go? How about buying a designer purse or shoes when you already have 20 pairs of shoes and 20 purses?
Now think about it further with an expanded view of the world we live in. As far back as recorded time, wars have been started over things. In medieval times, fighting over salt to our modern times when the battles over energy never stop. One country believes their needs are greater for oil than another country’s needs. It might not seem like a lot to want another purse any more than one country wanting more resources over another country. There is a much bigger picture to look at. 
I am reading an amazing book that I would love to recommend by Eckhart Tolle. The title of the book is A New Earth. Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose.” The question that is asked in the book “Is humanity ready for a transformation of consciousness?” Mr. Tolle asks “Can we defy the gravitational pull of materialism and materiality and rise above the identification with form that keeps the ego in place and condemns them to imprisonment within their own personality?” That is a difficult question for most to answer as we routinely respond from ego. Almost everything we do is a direct response from OUR egos.
I am only at the beginning of the book but it is resonating deeply with me. We are living in a very dysfunctional world and if we do not face what is going on, we will be repeating mistakes that we should have learned from history. We are faced with a crisis that has never been seen before with climate change. So where am I going with all of this? Simply to share awareness that we can make different choices as humans. For me I am not attached to material things,. If more of us could become unattached from material things we might be able to collectively focus on getting to a place where we can make changes to better this world we live in.
So back to the beginning of this post. What does it mean to live simply? Living simply as a minimalist means to leave as small of a footprint as we possible can during our lifetime. Use only what we must use and return back what we do not use in a recyclable form. Listen without speaking. And most importantly, not acting from the point of view of me/ego. Simply being. When all is said and done, it will not be the things we remember, but the moments of our lives. If you’d like to try, I recommend our 30 day challenge. You can find it here: 30 Day Minimalist Challenge.
Blessings,
Denise
For tips on how to begin your decluttering journey, you can Start Here, or snag a copy of the 30 Day Challenge (our Minimalism and Decluttering eBook).
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