Accidentally in Code

Tag: minimalism

  • Time For Change

    Time For Change

    the state itself becomes a super whatnot
    Credit: flickr / anafuentes

    At the end of last week, I wrote that it had been “a mixed week“. And then on Monday, things went and got crazier. I’m still waiting for the dust to settle so that I can figure out what is actually going on.

    A friend is in town for a while. Last time I saw him, he told me of his plan to get rid of all his belongings – after living out of a suitcase for a couple of months he’d released he didn’t need most of them. So we catch up, and he’s done it. Everything he owns fits in two suitcases, apparently. He has achieved the minimalist dream. I told him he should blog about it, but he said, no, it was boring because it was easy.

    So I ask him, when is he going to move? His response is what I find fascinating, and what I think he should blog about… he tells me that he got rid of all his stuff, and that was easy, but he’s not emotionally ready to leave.

    The stuff was just stuff, I guess. Purging yourself of it might change you, but – my friend is proof – that is may not.

    When I moved, I got rid of a lot of stuff. And when I arrived, I got rid of more. I got rid of stuff because I was ready to leave, and disposing of it made that easier. He was working backwards, if I get rid of stuff I’ll feel ready to leave.

    I think there are key points where it’s easier to move. On graduation, is often the example. You know the people who stay immediately after graduation, often seem to stay for a lot longer. After a breakup can be a good time to move, you’re unattached and making other changes in your life.

    My plan, for a while, has been to move back to Europe next year, maybe the year after. And recent events have made me see that a transition point is going to approach earlier than I thought – at the end of this year, even, in one scenario. I’m going to be doing a lot more travel, and it’s a question of, how long am I willing to do this for? How long will this be sustainable? In the scenarios that are visible, middle of next year is the latest for another transition point.

    I could stay here. But I know what I want my life to look like – and it’s an international adventure story. I’m looking out for transition points, because they are natural breaks, where it’s easier than usual to go and start a new adventure. It is hard to pack up your life. It is hard to hit reset and start over with everything. I know – I did it when I went to boarding school, when I moved to Scotland for university, in each stop in my time as an international hobo, when I moved to Ottawa, when I moved to KW. Picking a time when stuff is changing anyway makes it possible. Leaving when everything is settled and “fine” (even if not great) is more difficult because you know exactly what you are comparing to when you’re less than delighted to be living in a strange place and don’t know anyone.

    I suspect my next adventure may be set in Paris. I want to be closer to my family, and I want to speak fluent, and flawlessly accented French. That is not something that will happen in the middle of Ontario. Hell, I became more fluent in Ottawa but good things did not happen to my accent. But – I don’t know. I just see a transition point coming. When it is depends on what happens tomorrow, what happens in the next couple of weeks, and what happens in October. We’ll see.

     

  • Too Much Stuff

    Too Much Stuff

    empty room
    Credit: flickr / tozzer577

    I’ve been posting a few articles on Twitter about Minimalism lately. It was apt as I was trying to declutter in preparation for moving.

    Mostly, though, I post articles about how Minimalism is not necessarily The Way. The concept frustrates me – when I read about people with less than 100 items, I just think about how that cannot include a pair of skis.

    I could never get rid of my skis.

    My favorite article was this one, which points out – “if you’re fixated on owning less stuff, you’re still fixated on stuff”. So I’ve been aiming to be less attached to things, rather than having some arbitrary number of things that I think I “need”.

    Leaving, I had a rule, if someone likes it, I seriously evaluate living without it. And so I gave away a bookcase that I could probably have used (but now maybe I’ll evaluate the books I have and get rid of those I won’t read again), a training top, various kitchen implements, and a lot of my clothes. Including – some size 4 jeans I’d been hoarding in the hope that, I don’t know, I’d develop tuburculosis and not be able to eat for two months, and have some actual bone removed?

    Obviously, I wasn’t hoping for that, although that is probably the only way I’ll be a size 4 again (for those of you who don’t know me in person, I’m built curvy, and actively build a lot of muscle in order to manage the hyper-flexibility in my joints).

    So I got rid of them. And released myself from the unreachable standard that I’d been holding myself to. I had more energy and worked out more in the week following than I had in a while. I’m still in the gym more, and enjoying it more too. Rationally, I knew that size 4 was not a rational or reasonable goal for me. Getting rid of those jeans shouldn’t have made a difference – and yet, it did. It freed me from that expectation and allowed me to focus on recovering from my injuries; building more muscle, and increasing my fitness.

    Unpacking, I’m still finding things that I don’t need or want. I’m putting them in a box in an effort to create an ongoing, constant de-cluttering habit. But, the three pairs of skis propped against a wall (one x-country!) don’t bother me. I’m excited to hang my art. I’m keeping the items that add to my life, but letting go of the ones that I’ve mindlessly acquired. I’ve lived out of a suitcase, in  the same pair of jeans, the same few t-shirts. Even if it takes me longer to pack when I move, it’s nice to have my art on the walls, my clothes in my closet, a selection of shoes to choose from.

    Teri wrote a thoughtful post in response to a link I shared. It made me realize – that there’s the stuff that holds us back, whether by making it impossible to move, or by comparing us to a standard we set when we were 18 (in the case of those jeans). And there’s the stuff that sets us free – to hack, or in my case – to ski.