Self awareness
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Why I’m Experimenting With Extreme Minimalism
This morning, I’m feeling giddy with excitement, inspiration, and curiosity. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. Perhaps being over 3 weeks sober has something to do with it. That, and the extreme(ish) minimalist experiment I’m about to undertake. After a Saturday intentionally binging my favourite videogames (which I’d been looking forward to for days), I feel mentally refreshed. Specifically, I feel ready to act on the serious life questions I’ve been asking myself and journalling about for the past couple of months: It’s questions like these that have lead to me questioning my relationship with alcohol (which I’ve now severed), and my relationship with the stuff I…
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How I Kicked Writer’s Doubt in the Ass (With Minimalism As My Weapon)
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. As a child in the early nineties, my parents bought me a typewriter with tall keys you had to fight to make the letters print on the paper. I loved practicing writing on that thing, and the feedback from the keys felt glorious. There was nothing quite like manually turning the paper and seeing the paper rise with words as I typed up a storm. Later, they bought me an electronic one where you could install a tippex ink ribbon to undo mistakes. Because the keyboard worked just like a laptop keyboard, there…
- autism, busyness, Decluttering, Health, mental health, Mindfulness, minimalism, productivity, Self awareness, self care, Simplicity, Slow living
Doing Nothing and Letting Go of the Guilt
Doing Nothing and Letting Go of the Guilt photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash When it comes to minimalism most people assume it’s all about decluttering and living with little. But what if I told you that it’s also about doing little? In today’s world it seems as if everyone is busy and rushed. So many times when I’ve asked colleagues what their plans are for the weekend, it’s about fulfilling a jam-packed schedule. Even the ones who say they plan to relax tell me the next week that they’ve actually ‘been really busy’, and there’s a knowing smile, a ‘me too’, and ‘it never stops does it?’, from…
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The Meaning of Stuff – Starting from Scratch
Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash During the Easter holiday I decided to take on some decluttering which I’d been putting off for ages. Life got in the way and by the time I got some much-needed time off work, I noticed that things had built up around me. Impulse purchases I made to deal with the grief of losing my dad, and stuff that even as a minimalist I hadn’t been able to let go of for years. To give you an update on my life situation, my mum has moved out and currently, our home is undergoing huge renovations including plastering, ceiling skimming, installing new electrical points, ripping…
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The Truth About Grief and Loss
Warning: potential grief triggers! Grief is a touchy subject. Not only is it a deeply personal and unique journey for everyone, it’s hard to confront and to talk about. It’s hard to read about too. But since I’ve been through my fair share of loss, the latest being my dad, I’m going to talk about it right here right now. I know it’s hard just reading about loss because I’ve spent countless hours over the years looking up a ‘cure’ to take away the gut-wrenching heartache, only to realise time and again that all there is is time and whatever beliefs and experiences we hold. There is no secret cure…