The past several months, my emotional roller coaster has dipped into overwhelm and stress almost as often as I’ve dipped into my jar of cookies. But more than sugar, positive affirmations, or gratitudes, the thing that’s helped me most has been minimalism.
Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself a minimalist by any stretch of the word, but I do believe that the more complex anything becomes, the easier it is to get lost in the minutia.
Minimalism, as a philosophy, lifestyle, or mindset, has helped me reduce the potency of my feelings of overwhelm, and I’ve done it without throwing everything away.
COVID-19 have given me the opportunity to assess what I’ve held onto and why. But I’m not just talking about my gluttonous collection of half written notebooks or my tattered teddy bears. I’m also talking about judgement, fear, and frustration.
In its most tangible form, minimalism is about our stuff. It’s about making sure that what we hold onto is either necessary or adds value. In applying this same concept to our minds, we can experience profound feelings of satisfaction that are much greater than the joy we feel when we look at a freshly organized closet.
Working towards becoming a mental-minimalist has probably been one of the most profound things I’ve ever tried to work towards, and during this pandemic, it’s been a lifesaver. Over the past two decades, focusing on mental-minimalism, I’ve experienced truly life changing shifts in my overwhelm.
Minimalism can be misinterpreted to be ‘all about the stuff,’ which is how I perceived it as a young adult. In part, I was right.
Decluttering our physical space is only one piece of the process, and there’s no one ‘correct’ way of doing it. But decluttering our possessions is only the beginning of the journey.
As a 19 year old, I traveled to Nepal for four months and lived a very simple lifestyle, akin to what you would think of as a camping trip. I had my basic essentials, occasional access to bathing, traveled mostly by foot, and slept in a sleeping bag. All my worldly possessions could fit into one duffle and one backpack (yes, even my sleeping bag fit into the duffel).
It was the most free, and the most stifled I’d ever felt. You see, I may have had very few tangible possessions with me – a poster child of a minimalist (and all before the movement even became popular) – but what I brought with me was a different sort of clutter. Mental and emotional clutter.
Returning to my home in the states, after such simple living conditions for so many months, I opened my closet and was appalled. Why did I need 6 different kinds of sweatshirts? Is there really a need for me to have 7 pairs of shoes? I tore into my belongings (this was before Marie Kondo folks) and discarded 5 large garbage bags of clothes and other things. I couldn’t fit everything I kept into one duffel and one backpack, but I could breathe a little easier.
The affects of my newly organized surroundings left me high for a while, but it wasn’t long until I discovered the internal clutter – the stowaways – that were still with me. Guilt, fear, and anger still weighed me down and had me feeling like I had to get rid of more tangible stuff!
But here’s the thing: I could get rid of everything I owned, except the clothes on my back, and I’d still have my negative feelings to contend with. Until that has been decluttered, the work continues.
Removing the physical excess in our lives might be the “gateway” behavior towards becoming a minimalist, but eventually we have to go within and do the truly transformative decluttering that will have lasting impact.
I should warn you though: choosing this route isn’t quick or easy. It’s a forever process and it’s okay to take breaks.
My auntie used to say that she was a ‘flexitarian’ meaning that some days she was vegan, other days she’d eat steak. I’ve always remembered that because it was such a profound life lesson. Life presents us with different chapters in which one way of doing things makes sense… until it doesn’t. The trick is to know when to shift.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed these days, minimalism, in its most flexible of terms, just might help you feel more at peace with what is. Just don’t forget to throw out those closed mindsets and negative habits along with your stash of hotel soaps and twist ties.
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