I have had an interesting journey into the land of Minimalism. I have gone from being skeptical, then critical, to finally embracing it fully after a major health crisis.

In this post I describe my story and offer you my skills as a minimalist creative mentor!

When i first encountered Minimalism, I thought to myself:

But I wanted to give it a chance. The Minimalists critique the materialist culture of excess, and I am down with that critique.

I thought it was great that these guys with six figure incomes had decided to put the brakes on their excessive lifestyles and get rid of all their stuff.

When the Minimalists help middle class and wealthier people stop the cycle of excessive consumerism, these people really can watch their savings accounts grow. Its changed a lot of lives. Also a lot of those same people donate their unwanted items to charity. Both of these things are very cool.

But does Minimalism help low income and poor people?

When every single dime of my paychecks was going to the basics: Mortgage, food, car, trash, sewer, water, heat, electricity, taxes, and phone...

I couldn't see how if I got rid of my tub full of re-used yogurt container “tupperware”, my cabinet full of peanut butter and salsa jar “glasses,” or reduced my pile of 10-year old towels, how on earth that would help me find more abundance in my life, when most of my furniture and home furnishings were things I either upcycled, found on a curb, or were given to me for free?

I have been on and off food stamps my whole life. And not because I am lazy. I have been SCRAMBLING and fighting to find financial stability.

I have put myself through school, I have often worked multiple jobs, all while raising a kid. And going to the food bank. And so on. I am an expert scrimper and saver and I can stretch a meal very far. I obsess over my budget.

My financial problem has nothing to do with my stuff.. it is because the cost of living outpaces the income I earn.

I have never been a big consumerist, and I don't feel real attached to my stuff. I held on to certain things because I never knew when I might need them, and I certainly did not have the money to buy them again if I got rid of them.

If I got rid of these things, its not like money would suddenly appear in my bank account.

Plus, I am an artist! I need to collect lots of weird things like paint, brushes, collage materials, notebooks.. And then theres all the art I have already made! I cant downsize that! That’s like taking away my creativity!

But like a cartoon character, hitting my head was the path to enlightement!

Ok I never want to have this happen to me again, but its true that this changed my life.

In May 2016, I fell out of my bed in my sleep, or maybe I got up in the night and stood up too fast and fainted, I really dont know. But because I had concussions in the past, this incident lead to 8 months of recovery for me. I had sensory issues that made it hard to walk, stand, run…even stirring a pot of soup would make me incredibly dizzy, and I would have to go lay down. :( Lights were too bright and sound was too loud. I couldn't listen to music, dance, or go on long walks. I could think, and I was still me, but I was severely limited in my capacity. I was just very very tired, for months. For the first month or so, I also had trouble remembering words, and so even speech and conversation were draining. Even though I could still think and process things almost normally, I had to rebuild certain cognitive tasks up like a weak muscle that was out of shape.

This soft mushy brain allowed for a connection to something spiritual, though

But at the same time, I had a beautiful spiritual experience, where I understood who I was in like one flash of insight. I saw, as if from above, my creativity and uniqueness as my gift, and I didn’t want to take it for granted any more. I wanted my life back so I could enjoy the gifts I had been given.

Here is a drawing I made about this, at that time:

My mind is already very visual, and during this time, thinking was like watching an amazing multidimensional movie in my brain at all times. I thought more in pictures than in words. This part was actually cool. My friends said I seemed like I was on mushrooms.... for weeks. I couldn't stop talking about all the beautiful messages I was receiving.

But there was an imbalance

The only trouble was, I couldn't create much because I was tired all the time, and the amount of effort it took to set up an art project was too much for me. I became very depressed, because I could see my potential, but I could not act on it. I tried to make the best of it, and did creative things whenever I could. I bought an iPad during this time (with some money that came as part of another long story), and it was so helpful because I could lay in bed and create drawings, videos and music.

(another drawing I made during this time)

I was really spacy. If I set my keys down in a different place, I would instantly forget where they were. Misplacing items made me very stressed due to how much energy it took to find them again. If I was only going to have one or two hours out of bed in a day, I did not want to spend those hours looking for lost things and cleaning!

Even the visual sight of coffee tables, trinkets, books, papers..colors... All of that data coming at my brain was visually overwhelming. I wanted to get rid of everything!

(Here is a self portrait I made with pencil on paper at that time)

A friend helped by moving a whole bunch of my stuff into an outdoor storage closet for me. This cleared space for me to feel less overwhelmed.

Thankfully I have recovered for the most part. I still have issues when I am tired. My ears ring, and light can feel bright, and I get kind of groggier feeling when I am tired than I used to. Sometimes my legs get shaky still if I stand in one place for too long. I have always struggled with anxiety and like I mentioned in another post, PTSD, but sometimes I wonder if this injury has influenced my anxiety levels or not. On one hand, I have not had any panic attacks in over a year, but on the other it seems like sensory overload brings anxiety on. Who knows though. Brains are so complex.

Other than that, I have been given a second chance to life. And I am very, very thankful. I can dance, listen to music, run, and generally goof off like I used to. Its so wonderful. The portal to my creativity is a little harder to reach than it was when my brain was all soggy, but I am much more fully aware/ appreciative of it now, and I think I have better access than I did before I hit my head.

Fast forward to the Minimalism part already!

When I recovered from this long illness, I still wanted to simplify dramatically, to help me manage my tiredness and overwhelm from my job at the time, and to just reduce the clutter in my life. I began downsizing all my stuff, beginning with that closet. Now its been about two years, and I am still working on minimizing my stuff, little by little.

So far, I feel like I have a good handle on my clothes, kitchen, and books. Those have been drastically downsized, and I feel great about it. I am still working on helping my son get rid of clothes and old toys. My final frontier has been my art studio. I have reduced my collection of supplies to about half, but I already feel like I could do this again.

No one path is the only path, but they all can lead to the same place

I don’t see Minimalism as THE solution to end greed on the planet. I don't see it as something that can fix poverty. But I do see it as a very beneficial way to live a fuller life in the moment, a life that isn't hindered and clogged up by so much stuff.

My path to myself includes my work with others...

I am building a private practice and consulting business currently, to help artists and activists. My overarching interest is in community mental wellness. My driving questions are:

How can individuals become healthier in their relationships with communities?
How can communities support the autonomy of individuals in a way that
is healthy for all?
How can groups avoid toxic patterns from the greater culture?
How can individuals avoid bringing their trauma and behavior patterns into their efforts of shifting the culture to a better paradigm?

I am a movement activist. I am interested in sustainable, healthy movements. I support individuals with a mind on the greater good. I contribute to projects for social good because I know how they benefit individuals. Steemit and blockchain tech is the movement I am the most obsessed with currently. The Peace Liberty and Abundance movement also appeals to me greatly. And, Minimalism is a movement which addresses better living. No single movement has all the answers in my estimation. And that's how I have stopped being disappointed when I run into the limitations of any one movement. I am interested looking at the things within these movements that contribute to a better life, and seeing how we can all use them as tools that suit our own needs.

I will write about all of this more in the future!! :)

Xo

Dflo