Extreme Minimalism?

 

I began downsizing possession in the 1990's and then discovered the whole minimalism movement.  I've been hooked ever since and now have my possessions pared down to a level that I'm overall happy with.

However.  Recently I was reading a detective novel in which the detectives do a search of a supect's apartment.  They find he owns almost nothing - one plate, on fork, one spoon, one cup, a few clotting items (all exactly the same), a mattress on the floor and so on.

I'm not going to go that route - I do occasionally have guests, I'm too old to be getting up and down from the floor, I have things that I'm fond of,  I like a bit of variety in my clothing.

But, in reading about it I have to say I found the idea of living that way very appealing.  Just the absolute minimum.    It's not realistic for me, I probably wouldn't be happy if I tried it - but the appeal is definitely there.

Miss Minimalist recently did a post on Instagram where she posed the question of what we would take with us if there was an emergency and we had to grab one bag's worth of stuff and leave our home.  (Have I posted about this before??).  In any case, this thought produced a similar reaction.  The idea of walking out with one bag does make me happy.  (And yes, I have thought about what would go in that bag!)

I'm Not Worse. Or Am I?

I've cancelled trips in recent history, and I avoid dealing with people and situations whenever possible.  I thought for a while that my not liking or avoiding things was getting worse as I aged.  But I've come to realize that I probably don't have any more travel anxiety or social anxiety that I did when I was younger.  

That difference now is that I'm not willing to put the effort in, to extend myself, to deal with the situation.  I don't care as much about the "shoulds", or "it will be good for you", or "you don't want to let yourself miss such and such".  

But no, really, it's also that I don't have the confidence that I can deal with situations.  So maybe it's not just being willing to deal with things, it's a lack of trust in myself to be able to deal with things that might come up.

A Moment

 

Last night as I was just settling in to bed I suddenly felt this wave of contentment.  Not a huge thing, just a sudden and quiet feeling that "it" was all right.  I don't quite know what that "it" was - my life, that evening, just those few moments.  Whatever it was, it was a lovely feeling.  I don't know what brought it on - I'd had a pleasant day (lunch with a friend, a walk in the nice weather) but nothing really unusual-  but whatever it was, it was special and I'm really grateful for it.