Building a Life of Your Own Design
My wife and I have been deliberately downsizing our possessions since selling our craftsman-style bungalow in 2015 and moving into a smaller living space. Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has helped us tremendously in this effort.
We recently watched a wonderful documentary called, Minimalism that only further fueled our fire. Our goal is to minimize our possessions (and our budget) so we can afford to live a life of more personal freedom while we’re still young enough to travel.
It's not all about shedding possessions but getting rid of the right ones. One thing that author Marie Kondo stresses time and time again in her book is each item you own should spark some kind of joy in you. This concept alone makes you reevaluate your relationship with your “stuff”. Determining what brings you joy is a litmus test to make it easier to decide what adds true value to your life and what you can live without.
Lately, I’m noticing there is growing list of Steemit memorabilia that I’ve decided to hang onto as a memento of the incredible experience I've had here. There are, of course, the pictures on my phone from SteemFest that I’ve saved. I’ve also kept the wristband in my passport wallet, my Steemit scarf and t-shirt, and then there’s this…
I was thrilled when a box recently arrived in the mail from Newport Beach, California. I’ve been “patiently” waiting for this because the moment I saw it I knew that it would spark joy for years to come.
To add to my growing list of SteemFest memorabilia, this is the newest piece.. A SteemFest Commemorative Print created by @fairytalelife. Mine is number 20 out of the print-run of 100.
The detail and quality are amazing, the pictures really don't do it justice.
Each time I look at this print I’m reminded of the possibilities, the excitement, the friendships, and fun that we all experienced during that weekend in Amsterdam. I can’t wait to find just the right frame for this print but for now it’s resting on a shelf where I can see it as a reminder that all things are possible.
SteemFest and my time on this platform in general have taught me that we don’t have to live lives of quiet desperation. We don't have to work at jobs that we don’t enjoy and don’t add value to our lives. We don’t have to share our time with people who bring us negativity. Our only true limits are the ones we impose on ourselves.
I’m discovering in my middle years that life is much shorter than I thought it was when I was younger. So much of what happens in this world is beyond our control. Unfortunately, in this world we live in, it’s impossible to separate life’s fragility from its beauty.
One thing that is well within our control are our choices. We can strive to live a meaningful life of our own conscious design -- this effort is truly more of a path than it is a destination. Life is so much better when we surround ourselves with people and things that ignite a spark of inner joy. This is what brought me to this platform and I'll stay as long as I feel it.
I am certain I'll spend the rest of my days continuing to build a life of my own conscious design, one choice (and one post) at a time, there is no other way.
For those of you who are interested, there are still some of these prints left. They can be found at the following link on Peerhub – SteemFest Commemorative Print.
I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work, my handmade poetry chapbook, Emancipation, is for sale on Peerhub for a limited time.
You inspired me to write a companion article:
Never Throw Anything Out
That's awesome, @stan! I'll be reading that today. Thanks!
Wow, Eric. You made my day. Thank you so much, my friend. I am so happy you have it.
I'm glad, Johanna! It will be treasured!
The prints are amazing, and so is your life journey.
My husband and I had downsized (not really by choice), but our life caromed into a wonderful new direction and we're more focused than ever to achieve our dreams/ambitions.
One of the things I did to downsize was scan boxes and boxes of photos & albums and save them onto various flash drives and disks. They're more mobile that way and easy to share with other family members. The hardest part was shredding photos. (I kept the really old ones of my great-grandparents because they lasted this long.)
In essence, if it's been in a box and I haven't seen, touched, or missed an item in over a year, it's GONE.
I've scanned my kids artwork from school. Took detailed pictures of their crafts. Then I asked the kids if they wanted to keep it. If yes, they take it home. If not, it goes in the bin. I'm not interested in accumulating more STUFF. It's not an easy process but I'm less cluttered and moving is so much easier!
Thank you! You're so right, @merej99! It was a tough process at first to get rid of things but after a while it became freeing to me. Photos are probably the toughest. I still have lots of those from my childhood that I'll likely keep. Thanks for your comment!
Wow! Beautiful written. I read it twice. I'm also on a similar path. I'm rediscovering myself in many aspects of life and it's a fantastic and joyful journey. Turning my mindset to positive and surrounding myself with the right persons helped me a lot. It truly is possible to shape your own path if you want it.
I'm interested in the documentary. I'm going to keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks so much, man! I highly recommend the documentary. The two guys who produced it are a bit on the extreme side. They also have a podcast that's pretty decent. I appreciate your kind words @exyle! Have a good week. I hope the Mrs. is feeling better!
We accumulate so many things over the years and not many people spend time to go through the "inventory" to get rid of things. i do is occasionally but there are always things you cannot bear to get rid of and there will be new love items. haha..., that's probably how we accumulate
For me it was the fact I was too sentimental or I thought I'd need to use the item at some point in the future. That rarely happens in my case though.
There're 2 kinds of people. One who keeps everything due to reasons you mentioned and one who throws everything. I assume most home have 2 types (LOL) just because my wife and I have the same discussion every other week.
😂
Thanks funny and true @ace108! Opposites attract! : )
You're welcome. In many cases, agree that's true
"It's not all about shedding possessions but getting rid of the right ones."
^^^This is such a great point...and one that many people overlook. Minimalism has taught me to really consider what is truly valuable in my life. Having more with less.
Thanks, @darwinruiz! I've focused on making sure what I do own is high quality and can be repaired vs. thrown away.
Very timely. I just wrote my own post related to minimalism. I still need to read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". Isn't one of the tips in there to take a picture of something that has sentimental value before throwing it out? That way you still have the memories associated with it and don't feel the need to keep it around.
I think I do remember that tip, @vir! It's a great idea!
This was a nice read, and the print by @fairytalelife looks really good.
Thank you!
Thank you for this nice and uplifting post.
I am reminded of the Thai word and attitude towards life; SANUK that loosely translated means that if something is worth doing it is worth having fun doing it.
Love the concept of Sanuk @lakshmi! There can never be enough fun in life can there? Thanks!
That print is beautiful! It's exciting to see the value and impact steem-powered motivations, goals, memories and possessions. Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you, @voronoi! ;)
You're welcome @voronoi! It sure is! This will likely be the last SteemFest memento I buy. I hope all is well!