January 1st, 2020
My morning routine consists of making coffee and sitting at my desk to watch morning routine videos. Most of the youtubers I watch identify their channels with the concept of minimalism. I cannot express in words the profound joy I experience watching these videos. I am thrilled to be part of any community that embraces minimalism because it has totally changed my life for the better. In fact, no other system, tool, or lifestyle choice has impacted me so completely and helped me cultivate a deeply meaningful life more than minimalism. It is simply my savior. I am super excited to find my own tribe of like-minded people on the internet and I am so grateful for my little corner of youtube.
The minimalism community on youtube is small but growing every day. I have been watching these videos daily for the last few years, taking notes and learning new perspectives. Recently, I noticed an underlying theme. I’m not quite sure how to categorize it except to say that it is very “external”. This theme consists of taking care of things in life that exist outside yourself such as: your house, car, bedroom, garage, or phone. A seedling idea began to form in my head regarding this theme. My story mainly takes place within the internal. People are offering incredible advice and life hacks yet they are not going "deep" enough. Perhaps I could actually offer something valuable to this community by sharing my own minimalism journey! A journey that goes waaaaay beyond just decluttering!
The minimalism community on youtube is small but growing every day. I have been watching these videos daily for the last few years, taking notes and learning new perspectives. Recently, I noticed an underlying theme. I’m not quite sure how to categorize it except to say that it is very “external”. This theme consists of taking care of things in life that exist outside yourself such as: your house, car, bedroom, garage, or phone. A seedling idea began to form in my head regarding this theme. My story mainly takes place within the internal. People are offering incredible advice and life hacks yet they are not going "deep" enough. Perhaps I could actually offer something valuable to this community by sharing my own minimalism journey! A journey that goes waaaaay beyond just decluttering!
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My first step towards becoming a minimalist began in high school when I became obsessed with Beat Literature. What sparked my interest in these books was the concept of rebellion. These writers were serious rebels. Reading their works gave me a better understanding of myself since I had those tendencies starting at a very young age. I do not follow rules. I never ever have in my entire life. I do not conform. I do not recognize authority based on tradition, rank or title. As a result of this, I grew up to be an anarchist, atheist, trad goth who decided she did not want to be a mother. With my iron will and a little help from my heroes like Henry Rollins and Bill Hicks, I carved myself out of stone and chose not to follow the herd in pursuit of the imaginary "American Dream".
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In the early 2000’s I had a depressing “a-ha” moment regarding the greatest time suckage of all time: television. I read somewhere that sitcoms used to last for 32 minutes in the 80’s, but recently had been cut to only 28 minutes. That is four extra minutes of advertising that I would have to suffer through. This really bothered me. So I started pressing the mute button any time a commercial came on tv. Watching commercials without sound seemed to act as a catalyst towards a new way of thinking about the world. I could truly see how stupid and manipulative and greedy these advertisements were. Eventually I got so disgusted I stopped watching sitcoms. Then I pretty much stopped watching television and chose to focus on movies and documentaries instead.
Then the great chaotic migration began. There is no single reason WHY I moved this much, but let's just say I spent the next ten years moving from apartment to apartment, all over the city of Oakland, CA. I moved approximately every two years. A break-up from a long-term relationship, death in the family, rent too high, neighborhood too sketchy...these and many more are the random reasons I moved so damn much. I do not believe I have what others call a "wandering spirit," there were simply circumstances in my life that kept prompting me to move. During one of these moves I tearfully parted with my personal library of over 3,000 books. I KNOW! 'Tis a lot! But I had been an academic library technician for years and a bookworm my whole life, and this collection meant the world to me. I got rid of my entire collection for one reason: I was completely exhausted emotionally and physically. I simply could not pack them all up again one more time. I was done. After they were gone, I realized two things:
1. I felt light as a feather in mind, body, and soul. I did not miss my books at all.
2. My identity (ego) was completely tied up in my book collection.
I wasn't keeping my books so I could access them at a later date, I was keeping them so when people came to my apartment they would know I am an "academic". This is not my fantasy self, but exactly who I am. But the question is: why did I care so much about showing off my book collection? Why am I cramping my apartment with tons and tons of books for other people to see? These questions opened up a HUGE self-inquiry quest that eventually evolved into a profound shift in lifestyle, perspective, and daily habits.
A few years later during my digital travels, I stumbled upon a life-changing blog called Zen Habits. WOW! Props to my man Leo Babauta and his amazing blog! After that it was a domino effect. Leo's blog led me to books about simplifying, Zen, decluttering, essentialism, and of course (my favorite) minimalism. Those books led me to other blogs, websites and eventually to my home away from home: the minimalist community on youtube. And that is my origin story.
Today in 2020, I identify as a minimalist and I want to share my knowledge with the world. I hope you will accompany me on this journey towards a more meaningful life.
Then the great chaotic migration began. There is no single reason WHY I moved this much, but let's just say I spent the next ten years moving from apartment to apartment, all over the city of Oakland, CA. I moved approximately every two years. A break-up from a long-term relationship, death in the family, rent too high, neighborhood too sketchy...these and many more are the random reasons I moved so damn much. I do not believe I have what others call a "wandering spirit," there were simply circumstances in my life that kept prompting me to move. During one of these moves I tearfully parted with my personal library of over 3,000 books. I KNOW! 'Tis a lot! But I had been an academic library technician for years and a bookworm my whole life, and this collection meant the world to me. I got rid of my entire collection for one reason: I was completely exhausted emotionally and physically. I simply could not pack them all up again one more time. I was done. After they were gone, I realized two things:
1. I felt light as a feather in mind, body, and soul. I did not miss my books at all.
2. My identity (ego) was completely tied up in my book collection.
I wasn't keeping my books so I could access them at a later date, I was keeping them so when people came to my apartment they would know I am an "academic". This is not my fantasy self, but exactly who I am. But the question is: why did I care so much about showing off my book collection? Why am I cramping my apartment with tons and tons of books for other people to see? These questions opened up a HUGE self-inquiry quest that eventually evolved into a profound shift in lifestyle, perspective, and daily habits.
A few years later during my digital travels, I stumbled upon a life-changing blog called Zen Habits. WOW! Props to my man Leo Babauta and his amazing blog! After that it was a domino effect. Leo's blog led me to books about simplifying, Zen, decluttering, essentialism, and of course (my favorite) minimalism. Those books led me to other blogs, websites and eventually to my home away from home: the minimalist community on youtube. And that is my origin story.
Today in 2020, I identify as a minimalist and I want to share my knowledge with the world. I hope you will accompany me on this journey towards a more meaningful life.
