It may sound trivial, even cliché or stupid, but life itself is seen with a bit more perspective once you reach a certain age. I know, I know… I sound like a lecture you might get from your mother or father, but paradoxically, it was only after turning 32 that I was able to see more clearly how all the things that used to matter to me do not really matter that much. As a teenager, I worried too much about being attractive, beautiful, some kind of symbol of validation and worth for boys my age. I did not pay enough attention to educating myself or focusing on what truly mattered. I was just another girl pretending to be something she was not.
It was the passage of time, and nothing else, that changed that anxious way of trying to find myself in the world. Something like the step the Stoics describe in order to find true wisdom, only with the ability to be mentally, but also materially, in a place where nothing really matters anymore. And I am not talking about a negative or unhealthy mental state, not at all. What has made my life more whole and infinitely calmer, and therefore more authentic, is focusing on what I can actually change, rather than on what I cannot.
The less I know about things that do not interest me, the more genuinely happy I am. Even in artistic aspects, like understanding photography, concepts such as minimalism help to understand other things. Space, clarity, and essence are some of the things that make me feel real with myself. I spent too many years of my life fighting against myself, belittling and diminishing myself for the sake of others, and quite simply, no one pleases me anymore. And that is not arrogance or superiority.
I do not promote myself as better than anyone. But I have learned that in many moments of life, in this very existence that connects us all, that brings us together in a shared space, the best option is to pretend a little less. I insist, it is not conformism, it is wisdom. Walter White and Logan Roy, two famous, fictional, iconic characters, what were they chasing? And where did they end up? Exactly, in the same place, the grave. It is the ultimate equalizer. Anxiety, sacrifices, and terrible life choices, all in vain, all wasted. As strange as it may sound, saying less is more can be better than you think.
I have found a new place where I hope to feel open, comfortable, and honestly myself with all of you. There are few places where I can be like this. That is why blogging has surpassed all barriers. People need communication, expression, freedom, creativity. All of it under a certain order and harmony. If you do not believe me, take a look at PeakD, the most used frontend on HIVE, which combines efficiency with simple and intuitive software that makes all of us, users and authors, choose it without question. Why? Because it solves our needs for editing and expression in a simple and less chaotic way. You know, less is more. And no matter what others suggest, sometimes, the less you know, the better. Trust me.
All photographs and content used in this post are my own. Therefore, they have been used under my permission and are my property.