On Simplicity

I was reading through some of my first posts from the original Raw Summer back in 2007, and was reminded about how I’d dedicated my cleanse to not only my body, but to my surroundings as well. I’d proclaimed to get rid of excess stuff and simplify my belongings and life. How fitting to revisit now, as I transition to life on the road.

As mentioned briefly before, I am planning to be a farming intern this summer through WWOOF. Therefore, I am currently working on giving away, selling, and donating most of my “stuff”*. I am trying to pare down to the essentials. I feel like minimizing is a constant process in my life, evident by the fact that I write about it often and it always seems to be needing done again and again. I don’t consider myself a hoarder by any means, but tend to like pretty (though usually cheap or free) things like thrifty home decor. Nevertheless, it is stuff I will need to purge in order to travel as freely and easily as I desire. My friend gave me a great compliment by saying, “You are already pretty minimalist,” in response to my proclamation that I wanted to be. However, the more I learn, the more I develop the idea, the more I garner inspiration from others, the more I up the anti on my own simplicity goals.

So, once again, I find myself wanting to shed unnecessary “stuff” from my life as well as nourish my body more fully through raw foods and the avoidance of negative nutrition. And it is spring. Here in Richmond the wind is blowing and the flowers and trees are in full bloom. Nature seems to be damp and fuzzy. Soon, summer will begin my adventure of living off the land, learning to be more self-sufficient, experiencing real food production first hand, and listening to the stories from those who know it best.

I’ll finish this post by sharing some very inspiring quotations I came across today on simple and non-conformist living:

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Seth Godin, Tribes

“Life is indeed bloody short and no one is going to give you a gold star for playing it safe.” - Almost Fearless

* By “stuff” I mean clutter, excess, non-essentials, anything that makes me feel bad or obligated, or doesn’t serve me as a useful and productive item, anything I haven’t used in a long time, anything I’m keeping out of “sentimentality” but serves no purpose. “Stuff” is weight, baggage, guilt, and blockades to Freedom.