Minimalism is bliss. Minimalism is peace. Minimalism is control.
I embraced the art of minimalism at a point in my life when everything seemed like a mess. I've shared this story a couple of times, so I won't want to bore you with the gritty details. However, those were times I struggled to just get through a day with so much mental luggage. If you've ever felt buried under physical, emotional or mental “stuff”, you can relate to the exhaustion it brings.
I didn't embrace minimalism all at once. It took time to unravel. Slowly I watched tweaks ripple through certain parts of my life, each one lightening the load a little bit more.
One aspect where minimalism profoundly impacted me was how conscious I became of my choices, my energy, my surroundings. To reiterate, there was a time when I carried everything all at once. I walked with so much luggage, some of it not impacting my life in any meaningful way. This didn't just breed mental stress but physical fatigue too. Imagine feeling bone-tired without indulging in any strenuous physical activity. It was truly a messy experience.
Eventually, after I embraced minimalism a few years later, the fog slowly lifted. I became hyper-aware of the things I poured my effort into. This shift helped me delegate properly and invest the right amount of energy into what truly required it. Around the same time, prioritization became one of my favorite things to do.
Alongside my knack for prioritization, I discovered the delegation square where tasks are easily broken down. If the task is important and urgent, I do it immediately, if the task is important but not urgent, I set a time to do it later, if the task is urgent but not important, I delegate it and when the task is not urgent and not important, it gets dumped.
Embracing minimalism has never been about deprivation but reclamation. By shedding the superfluous, I've gained conscious control over my time, energy and joy.
One thing I would have loved to hear when I newly embraced minimalism would have been “go with the flow”. Overachievers may want to hack minimalism right from the first day they embrace the path forgetting that minimalism isn't a destination but a process.
This is why I'd tell anyone new to art to go with the flow. You shouldn't try to force things nor copy other minimalist's way of living verbatim. The important thing is that you stay true to yourself and keep things simple.
Everyday, I still incorporate minimalism into my daily activities and this has been such a great experience. I'd like to end by sayng that the minimalist lifestyle is meant to be experienced and not just hearsay.
This post is made in response to the #kiss prompt for the week which can be found here. Do well to drop your thoughtful entries.
Images used belong to me and were taken with my mobile device, except stated otherwise.
