I write a lot about my way of life and the reasons why I choose to live as I do. From a very young age, I think I had a good idea of what was important in making me happy. As all of us do, we want to feel loved and safe. My parents were never well off, when I was growing up, they always just made enough. I would watch some of my friends with their new clothes and new things, and yes I would be a little envious.
For sure, I would have liked to have gotten some of the things they got. But as I got older and especially when I began to spend more time away from my family, what I really wanted, was to have a home that I felt safe in. A home where I felt really loved and that is not something you can buy.
As I look back over my life, I can see how my struggles, are what made me so determined to live as I do. To see through the veil.
I grew up with a very healthy mistrust of society and its norms. I could see, how much people were ( and still are) being influenced to live a certain way, so as to fit into certain stereotypes, certain roles. To be focused more on their own personal growth, rather than growing together as a community. You live like that and everyone turns a blind eye to what is going on behind closed doors. So it's easier for abuse to continue.
I don't have so many memories of being a child, those times were difficult for me and I buried them deep. I'm still dealing with the emotions that got locked down with them, but I don't need to relive the experiences. But the one thing that helped me get through those times, was my love for nature, the amount of time that I spend outdoors, climbing trees and roaming the countryside.
Nature is where I felt safe, it was my safe haven. I spend hours outdoors. Making friends with the animals and forging bonds with the trees. My bedroom was full of beautiful pieces of wood and stones, I surrounded myself with them. It's something I still do in my housetruck, even though I spend most of my time outside.
Nature has all the jewels I need and they are all here in abundance.
For sure they are certain things that I like to have, my juicer, my blender, my books. But these things, are what keep me healthy. They are important for my well being. I very rarely, would get something that I want, instead I focus on what I need.
I want a simple life. One where the focus is on really living, where I feel free. Things, tend to tie you down, they can weight heavily on you. The most important things in my life, are my family, nature and my community. Being able to nurture and support each of them and find ways in which I can aid in their growth, as well as my own, that's what really matters to me.
And like I have said before, it's my life experiences that have enriched my
life, that have empowered me. My life is full, of the things that matter the most to me.
This is my response to the latest Kiss writing prompt from the wonderful Minimalist Community. We were asked to share our Journey, one of our earliest memories that led us to choose a Minimalist lifestyle. I honestly, could not imagine living any other way, I just know that this is my path and in following it, I am being true to myself.
It wasn't like I woke up one morning and decided to change the way I was living, I just always have been this way. Seeking a life that is full of wonderful experiences and encounters. Which led me to travel a lot and there is no space for lots of things in your life, when you travel. Living simply is the way for me.
