The Life Of Less (Is It Really More?)
A couple of years ago I started embracing the idea of minimalism - in essence less is more. Coincidentally I was also getting into yoga (teaching) and the transition from a decade of corporate life to a yogi lifestyle includes a change in my wardrobe. To my horror I had bought so much of everything (bags, shoes, clothes) that I realised I had no use for them in my new job as a teacher.
It made me realised how I was living my life as a consumer. I was consuming too much stuff that didn't bring me joy (ok maybe a short-lived one) and little fulfillment. Anyway the bigger punch came when I went to Mysore, India (for yoga) for a month with a luggage full of 'essentials'. Then it hit me. If all I needed was in one suitcase, what are the other stuff doing back home. This reinforced the importance of minimalism even more for me.
Fast forward to two days ago, my BSchool accountability partner introduced me to the concept or rather the book Essentialism : The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It opened my eyes to less is more but better! Ironically with the current COVID-19 Circuit Breaker (partial lock-down), the Government has introduced the concept of daily essentials, i.e., people are only allowed to go out to get things or services that are a MUST in their daily lives. Basically food and daily necessities to stay alive.
This got me thinking even harder and questioned myself deeper. What we think are essentials clearly differs from one person to another. A radio DJ lamenting having to paint her own nails, a young working adult whining about not being able to get her favourite bubble tea, young children disappointed not being able to visit their favourite ice cream shops and apparently you have to let your hair grow out for the next six weeks! Now obviously this instance is an unusual one but still I can't help to ponder what matters most in a pandemic and have I been focusing on the right thing (direction) in my life (before all this?).
While in my minimalism pathway I have been focusing more on owning less stuff, essentialism, on the hand, got me to think on a more emotional state of being. Am I doing what I love? Am I overcommitting myself to stuff out of obligations? Am I a people pleaser? Am I consuming more than giving? Am I doing too much, too little?
As the noise outside of us continues to get louder telling us what we must do, need to do, have to do, essentialism makes us question what is truly necessary and essential to create a purposeful and meaningful life worth living. Essentialism isn't about taking away more nor adding more, it is simply a way of living.
It made me realised how I was living my life as a consumer. I was consuming too much stuff that didn't bring me joy (ok maybe a short-lived one) and little fulfillment. Anyway the bigger punch came when I went to Mysore, India (for yoga) for a month with a luggage full of 'essentials'. Then it hit me. If all I needed was in one suitcase, what are the other stuff doing back home. This reinforced the importance of minimalism even more for me.
Fast forward to two days ago, my BSchool accountability partner introduced me to the concept or rather the book Essentialism : The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It opened my eyes to less is more but better! Ironically with the current COVID-19 Circuit Breaker (partial lock-down), the Government has introduced the concept of daily essentials, i.e., people are only allowed to go out to get things or services that are a MUST in their daily lives. Basically food and daily necessities to stay alive.
This got me thinking even harder and questioned myself deeper. What we think are essentials clearly differs from one person to another. A radio DJ lamenting having to paint her own nails, a young working adult whining about not being able to get her favourite bubble tea, young children disappointed not being able to visit their favourite ice cream shops and apparently you have to let your hair grow out for the next six weeks! Now obviously this instance is an unusual one but still I can't help to ponder what matters most in a pandemic and have I been focusing on the right thing (direction) in my life (before all this?).
While in my minimalism pathway I have been focusing more on owning less stuff, essentialism, on the hand, got me to think on a more emotional state of being. Am I doing what I love? Am I overcommitting myself to stuff out of obligations? Am I a people pleaser? Am I consuming more than giving? Am I doing too much, too little?
As the noise outside of us continues to get louder telling us what we must do, need to do, have to do, essentialism makes us question what is truly necessary and essential to create a purposeful and meaningful life worth living. Essentialism isn't about taking away more nor adding more, it is simply a way of living.
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