I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS TWO PHILOSOPHYES THAT I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT: MINIMALISM AND THE SLOW LIVING REVOLUTION.
THE FACT THAT I ACCIDENTALLY FOUND THESE TWO MOVEMENTS VIA AN HASHTAG MIGHT BE CONSIDERED BY MANY A COINCIDENCE, WHILE OTHERS MIGHT CALL IT FATE, PERSONALLY, I THINK IT’S SERENDIPITY.
SO… WHAT IS MINIMALISM?
I DID SOME RESEARCHES AND I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS ANSWERS AND I GUESS IT’S BECAUSE THERE ARE NUMEROUS WAYS TO BE A MINIMALIST, IT CAN BE AS RADICAL AS OWNING ONLY 100 OBJECTS AND LIVING IN A TINY HOUSE OR IT CAN BE JUST SOMETHING YOU “ADD” TO YOU EVERY DAY LIFE ( KIND OF IRONIC SINCE YOU ADD TO YOUR LIFE BY SUBTRACTING … ) THE DEFINITION THAT MOST RESONATED WITH ME IS THAT MINIMALISM IS ABOUT SIMPLICITY.
TO ME IT CAN BE AS EASY AS ASKING YOURSELF “DO I NEED THIS?”
IT’S EASY BUT ACTUALLY REVOLUTIONARY.
DO I NEED THIS FABOLOUS PAIR OF SHOES? (WHO ARE YOU KIDDING, YES YOU NEED IT ! GO FUCKING BUY IT!!!)
DO I NEED THIS PERSON IN MY LIFE? DOES THIS PERSON ADD TO MY LIFE ?
(AND BY ADD OF COURSE I DON’T MEAN ANYTHING MATERIAL BUT, DOES THIS PERSON HELP ME IN MY PERSONAL GROWTH? DOES THIS PERSON BRING JOY OR LAUGHTER OR POSITIVE ENERGY TO MY MIND? OR DOES THIS PERSON ONLY COMPLAIN OR CRITICISE? PLEASE BE AWARE YOUR MIND IS NOT A BIN AND NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE ALLOWED TO PUT THEIR TRASH IN IT)
SLOW LIVING REVOLUTION:
THIS IS ALSO A COMPLEX MULTI-FACETED SUBJECT, I ACTUALLY DISCOVERED JUST TODAY THAT IT ALL STARTED IN ITALY (MY COUNTRY) WITH THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT AND FROM THERE STEMMED THE SLOW CITIES MOVEMENT, THERE ARE ABOUT 75 SLOW CITIES IN ITALY AND NUMEROUS OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD ( 17 IN POLAND, 11 IN SOUTH KOREA AND… 2 IN THE USA, JUST SAYING… ) THE CONCEPT OF SLOW CITIES IS RELATIVELY EASY: THEY USE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES RATHER THAN MAKE THEM MORE COMPLICATED, THEY HAVE TO RESPECT THE TRADITIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RESOURCES, ONE OF THE MAJOR EXPONENTS OF THIS CONCEPT IS CARLO PETRINI WHO IS THE MIND BEHIND THE SLOW FOOD PROJECT.
BESIDE THE SLOW FOOD AND SLOW CITIES MOVEMENT THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED SLOW LIVING REVOLUTION. LIVING SLOW DOESN’T MEAN TO BE LAZY OR NOT TO HAVE GOALS BUT IT MEANS, AS AUTHOR AND MAIN EXPONENT CARL HONORE PUT IT, LIVING AT THE RIGHT PACE.
I THINK IN THE PAST YEAR, AFTER MY THIRD CANCER DIAGNOSES ( I HAVE BEEN IN COMPLETE REMISSION SINCE LAST OCTOBER, BUT MY LIFE HAS DRASTICALLY CHANGED AS I AM NOW LIVING TAKING LOTS OF PILLS AND MEDICINES ) I MOVED TOWARD THOSE PHILOSOPHIES WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT, AND IT HAS HELP ME A LOT.
OF COURSE GOING THROUGH SUCH BIG ADVERSITIES FORCES YOU TO PRIORITIZE, YOU FIND YOURSELF WITH INCREASINGLY LESS AND LESS PHISICAL ENERGY BUT MORE AND MORE ENTHUSIASM TOWARDS LIFE, THIS MEANS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO, WHO YOU REALLY WANT TO MEET, AND LET GO OF ALL THOSE EVENTS, ACTIVITIES, PEOPLE, YOU WERE ONCE MEETING JUST BECAUSE ( I AM SORRY TO TELL YOU: JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE STUCK ON THE COUCH WITH YOUR SPOUSE OR, EVEN WORSE, WITH YOURSELF )
IT STARTED WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE DECLUTTERING AND EVENTS DECLUTTERING ( I USED TO BE A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT AND NOW I DARE YOU TO FIND ME ANYWHERE PAST 10 PM AND IF YOU DO SO IT MEANS IT’S SOMETHING KIND OF SPECIAL OR THAT I AM HAVING A BLAST!) AND AFTER A WHILE I ALSO STARTED TO SELL SOME OF MY (TOO) MANY BAGS&SHOES WITH REWARDS BOTH ECONOMICAL AND SPIRITUAL IN A WAY, LET ME BE HONEST THOUGH AND SAY THAT I STARTED WHEN MY HUSBAND MOVED IN WITH ME AND I REALIZED THAT I HAD NO SPACE FOR HIS STUFF, BUT I WANTED HIM TO FEEL AS WELCOME IN WHAT WAS NOW OUR HOME AS HE WAS (AND STILL IS!) WELCOME IN MY LIFE, NOW OURS.
DECLUTTERING FELT REALLY GOOD AND I WANT TO DO MORE AND MORE OF IT, WITHOUT EXAGERRATING OF COURSE…
IF YOU COULD EVER SAW MY MAKE UP AREA ( NOT BAG, NOT BAGS BUT AREA) AND THE NUMBER OF SKIN CARE PRODUCTS I OWN YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND I COULD NEVER OWN 100 OBJECTS NOR LESS, BUT I DO NOT THINK THAT IS THE POINT… TO ME THE POINT IS: SCHEDULE TIME FOR NAPS, AND JUST LAYING DOWN, SCHEDULE TIME TO THINK AND WONDER, SCHEDULE TIME TO WATCH A CAKE BAKING IN THE OVEN, AND LET GO OF ALL OF THAT DOESN’T SERVE A PURPOSE IN YOUR LIFE.
