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This year is moving quickly. I feel time passing much faster than I would prefer it to. Each month has felt like a new start with a lot up ahead and this one is the same. The ending of July marked my 9th wedding anniversary. The beginning of August is marked by a nearly full calendar, which is already serving as a reminder to slow down, revisit my plans, and simplify. I have noticed a pull to get all the things done I have wanted to do, but also wanting to find a healthy balance of rest. Here’s what that has been looking like… Simplifying has been my word of the year so far. This word came out of a season in which after months of deliberation due to circumstances outside of our control, my husband and I decided to move after finding mold in our apartment earlier this year. (The mold was unrelated to the LA fires, but we only discovered it after doing environmental testing to assess the constitution of the smoke that entered our unit!). The move itself was minor in terms of distance to the neighboring town, and the actual living space would be about the same. However, the old place had more storage than you would ever need and we filled it up over the years (as one does). The new place has significantly less storage - we knew this before moving in, but also knew it would mean significantly downsizing our possessions to make the space work for us. While it has been a profound privilege to be able to sift through items and have the choice of what to keep or replace in contrast to our friends and neighbors who lost everything in the fires, it has still been an exercise in simplifying in a way I never have had to do before. With less space comes the increased need for intentionality with every item kept. And yet, after months of purging, it seems like there is still a continuous stream of items found that can be donated or gifted for another purpose. I have become hyper-focused on simplifying what items are kept and working to only keep the things that have more than one purpose, much like the items at the campsite pictured above. Rather than throwing away what I no longer wanted or needed, I was looking for somewhere local to re-home items. One of the unexpected opportunities that have come out of the Eaton Fire was learning about Buy Nothing Groups. These groups serve as spaces to give items no longer needed or ask for items that are needed. The purpose is to be generous with people in your immediate community to foster connections and reduce the environmental impact of consuming and throwing away. Everything is given or asked for free, this is not a marketplace. The joy these interactions have brought me both as a gifter and receiver have been meaningful in ways I could not have expected. I have also noticed a sense of freedom in having less possessions to manage and upkeep. There is more physical space in my home, which feels closely correlated to having more emotional space internally. The openness that has resulted from reducing what I have in my home has made me curious about the parallels in our emotional, mental, and logistical spaces. How much more emotional room would we have if we were regularly processing our thoughts and feelings? Giving those thoughts and feelings space to breath, seen from all angles, and then either released or planted appropriately in our minds? How much more relief might we feel if our calendars weren’t so full with tasks and to-do’s? How might more blank space in the schedule open room for restorative rest or creative play? How might we show up with more energy and capacity if our commitments were reduced and we could do less, better? Simplifying is a privilege. In essence, it means that there are more resources available than what is needed and there is an opportunity to part with some of those items. It is not lost on me that this is not everyone’s story perhaps in this season or ever. But, perhaps, the concept of simplifying could apply in micro-moments where you allow yourself the freedom to quiet your mind, draw your focus into the present moment, and be still. Making room to simplify your internal world within the context of your own mind. Maybe today, we could start there. Journaling prompts for reflection: Is there any aspect of your life that you feel could benefit from simplifying? What is it and what about that aspect is currently feeling too full? Do you ever notice yourself crowding your home with items, your mind with thoughts, your heart with unprocessed emotions? What would you imagine drives the need to fill space? How do you imagine you might feel if you were more mindful of simplifying? How might your external and internal environment change? What emotions arise for you when you consider parting with unneeded items in your home? How do you know when you are becoming overwhelmed by possessions or anything else that feels like “too much”? How would you describe your relationship to material possessions? How do you feel about that relationship? Can you imagine a scenario where that relationship looked different? What does simplifying mean to you?
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