At the beginning of 2015, I shared
some goals that I wanted to work towards to become a better me. Mindfulness was the term I used. Checking in on myself two months later, how
am I doing with that?
Not bad. Could do better.
Lately, I’ve felt the need to
disconnect a lot more than usual to consider the 'could do better'. Oh I’m
not going into hiding or retreating to my own island (though, if there is any
time I would like to be on an island, it is now…brrrr). I think this feeling to disconnect comes
along with my realization that I may not be as mindful as I thought I was. Or that improving my level of mindfulness was as easy
as I thought it would be.
Ironically, one of the things
that is helping me with this goal was discovered by being connected - on
Facebook. Yup. I came across a page called BecomingMinimalist. And it’s really changing the
way I think, consume, and prioritize what’s most important. The author, Joshua Becker, writes very
thoughtful and purposeful articles that really get to the core of clutter,
space, consumerism, the things that hold us back, etc.
Like the island analogy, I’m
not throwing away all of my possessions.
This is not a revolutionary change I’ve embarked upon, but more of an
evolutionary change. I've been scrutinizing more closely the things I have, why I have them, and why
I keep them if not using/wearing them. I
wrote about Medals4Mettle recently, which is just one awesome outcome of my
recent attitude shift on 'stuff'. It all started with a statement I read in one of Joshua’s articles that went something
like if you’re looking for more containers
to hold your stuff, you might have too
much stuff. Hmmmm….
Tonight, I piled all of my
running clothes on the bed and it sure was a big pile. Some race shirts never worn. Some others worn beyond their life. One pile to Salvation Army and one pile to
the garbage.
 |
| Off to Salvation Army bin! |
So what did I get out of this
and the medal effort? Lots!!
- I feel more organized. Clutter, whether dusty collectibles or extra clothes, feels like noise to me.
- I now have a smaller pile of running clothes that actually fits in my drawer. And, it’s all clothing I wear to run, without being buried by clothing I don’t wear. With that said, I can find everything I need when I need it. Simple as that.
- I no longer have duplicate finisher medals just collecting dust and buried by newer medals.
- Spending the hours organizing this pile and organizing medals has meant I’m not mindlessly perusing the internet. Oh don’t get me wrong, I still do that too. But mindfulness is not achieved by doing that. I’m a work in progress for sure.
- Someone else can get some use out of the clothing and medals I no longer need or use (or in some cases, ever used!).
- I feel inspired and energized to tackle another project!
In addition to the great
feeling of having cleaned or organized something, I also find myself thinking
differently about how and when I add stuff to our household. Not naturally a big shopper, I don’t feel as
impacted by potentially not shopping as often.
But the notion of ‘less is more’ has resonated with me more than ever
these days. I just don’t want to spend
time washing/drying/folding/ironing a bunch of clothes I barely/never wear. I’d rather spend that time writing or reading
or just….being.
