During my early to mid-twenties, there were unforeseen hardships that came into my life one after another. It was devastating not just for me but also my family. Looking back, I’m grateful that it happened in my twenties and that I was able to fall and come back up. It was an eye opening experience, and it definitely gave me a new outlook on life. It made me humble and gave me a chance to rethink everything about my life.
Getting used to the new norm wasn’t an overnight process. I started to read about everything. One thing I discovered was simple living or some would call minimalism. I thought it was an intriguing concept, but didn’t think it would be feasible. Especially for someone like me who has to buy something whenever I step my foot out the door. I don’t want to put label on my current lifestyle, but I can say that I’ve improved on my shopping habits. But mentally I know it wasn’t all about shopping and collecting shoes. In fact, it was a learning experience for being content with what I still have whether it’s health, people, and stuff.
When you’re not content you want to fill that emptiness with someone new or something that you think is better. We often work hard to buy the things that we can barely afford, and unconsciously loop into that cycle of “what’s next?” We’re constantly looking to have more and more. In reality these are all the burdens that we’re slowly putting on ourselves. We need to remind ourselves that life isn’t always smooth and often times the more burdens we have in our lives, the easier they could drown us during difficult times.
Being content with what you have and where you’re in life doesn’t mean you should accept the unpleasant things that are happening in your life or not having any desire. However, when life is going well for us, we often tend to forget to be grateful, and we forget that what we have right now can all go away easily. Recently, there were volcano eruptions in Hawaii and Guatemala, homes, family, pets, and lives were lost for those who were affected. We don’t realize how easily everything we have today can all be taken away tomorrow until we lose them. Minimalism goes beyond just decluttering and shopping habit, it’s a lifestyle and mentality of living in the present and discover true happiness.
My prayers go out to victims of recent volcano eruptions. Have a safe and magical summer!
*All photos are mine