Minimalism. I love the idea of it. In my mind it is fresh, clean cut, beautiful and simple, like clean white folded towels. But, when you think about it, it is so much more than that. It is hard, it is uncomfortable, it is sad, it is tears, it is yearning, it is at a certain point lacking. Only once you get past all of those things does it become fresh, clean cut, beautiful and simple.I have had it on my mind a lot over the past few years, but more specifically over the past few months. My Man loves it and it echoes through him to his core. He lives for it. And, he is truly good at it. Right now, there is this minimalist movement kind of going on. Living with less stuff, tiny homes, quality products, etc. People are sick of junk and space and blah. I share the same feelings and always have. But, what is minimalism truly? My Man watched some video about a man saying we need to change the way we think. Pessimism is easy, and it is the first route our mind will always take. Through practice, we need to re-train our thought process tracks. Instead of having our brain train consistently stopping at every con it can, have it glide on through all of those and find the one stop that will breed positive thoughts and then actions. We need to let go. And that is what minimalism is, being able to let go.
We have moved a lot, and started quite a few businesses that didn't even really start and had a few jobs, etc. and so on. We have had LIFE. It's nothing out of the normal. We have had to budget the heck out of each paycheck. And, we have done good. We are debt free, have multiple savings accounts and we have assets. So even through the security of our semi- insecure entrepreneurial life-style, I feel insecure. Not in My Man's ability to provide, but in my ability to let go.
Back to the night My Man was talking to me about that video. He was reflecting on how we need to really act on that. We need to change how we think---especially when it come to loss.
We cannot count on ANYONE or ANYTHING in this life. EVERY SINGLE THING WE HAVE CAN BE TAKEN AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. You think you can count on income? You can't. You think you can count on a home? You can't. You think you can count on friends? Well, you can't. Family? You can't. Food? You can't. Transportation? You can't. People all around us lose these things every single day, and they suffer immensely. So, of course, I find myself having an extremely hard time enjoying life and even wanting anything. I don't want to love, because I don't want that love to get taken away or leave. Heck, I don't even want to buy a beautiful picture to hang on my home's wall so that I can never experience the sadness in losing it if it were to break or get lost. BIG TIME PROBLEMS WITH MY PESSIMISM and anxiety. How can you enjoy a life that you don't live? So what does this all come down to? God. Because it always does.
God is my only constant, and whether anyone admits it or not, He is everyone's only constant. Because if you don't have Him, what do you have? My worst fear is losing my children, losing my husband, losing my family. It is a dreaded fear I have to encounter every day in my pessimistic mind. But, they aren't mine to lose. I would have to be okay if my child were to get lost, abducted, died. Same if my husband were. You can say, "yeah, but those chances are so small of that ever hapening." Because you know what? They are. Maybe it won't happen, and maybe in that small chance it will happen (because it happens to so many people). But, that is not the point. The point is to choose to confront it. YES. Think about it. What if it did happen? The whole point is acknowledging God, and that no matter what happens, you will be okay, with Him on your side. Anyone could take most of anything that they want from you at any moment in time. How would you live if the most important thing you chose to love was lost? In hate? Sadness? Misery? God gave us life to learn a multitude of things. How to love, how to obey, how to work, how to enjoy, how to endure, how to pursue. I want all of that. So I choose God. I choose to have Him with me every day ever single second. Because He is the only thing I can love so hard, and not have any person in the WORLD take that away from me. And the best part is that He will always love me back.
So minimalism, at it's core, is nothing except God. How minimalist are you? Where is God in your life?
That's not a rhetorical question. Comment and tell me your thoughts. And, hopefully this post was at least semi-fluid! Ha!
