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Like many things in life, the simplicity journey isn't a straight line, but rather a spiral upwards. There is progress, relapse, some answers and more questions. Sometimes we wonder if we are fit for this quest, if it is even possible. In these situations, the most important is to remember to do your best, whatever your best is today.
Ever since simplicity and minimalism have become a focus of many magazines, blogs and consultants, more and more of us go down that quest. Which is great! I remember when I first discovered this movement, there were a couple of big ones like Zen Habits, Dominique Loreau's book l'Art de la Simplicité, and when it comes to wardrobe simplicity, there was the spearhead Dead Fleurette and a few of her friends.
Now we have dozens of blogs focused on many different aspects of simplicity, from style to slow to motherhood, many followed Leo Babauta's lead and made minimalism consulting their main activity. In France at least, a lot of magazines flourished on the topic "Simple Things", "Flow", "Happinez" (many of them seem to exist since a long time in the Netherlands too. Maybe some of you Dutch readers can confirm).
And that's a great thing. Anyone who wants to start simplifying their life now has heaps of content, models, ideas to pick from and find what suits them best. However, I sometimes wonder if it doesn't put some pressure on us adventurers on this simplicity quest.
Images of perfect simplicity
I am probably unvoluntarily guilty of this myself as a simplicity blogger - more content and models also mean a lot of images from people's simple life, which may sound perfect from the outside. From Kinfolk-like tumblr, pinterest or instagram feeds to ideal Kondo-fied homes, we sometimes feel we are not doing well enough.This is natural - both to show the best of us when we talk about simplicity and to sometimes feel we fall short.
I can only talk about myself here, but one of the goals of this blog is to inspire you to follow a simple path, share my own experience and maybe help you find your way. My word is only one among many, but it can be one of these ideas to pick from as you choose your own way. Even though I also share my moments of doubt, I only show a part of my life here, the part that can help you on your journey.
And it is normal to feel like we are falling short sometimes too. With so many sources for inspirations, we sometimes feel we are not doing enough, not worth the label "simplicity" on our lives. And that may be discouraging.
Do Your Best
My answer to that is : do your best. This isn't my invention, "do your best" is actually the fourth Agreement of don Miguel Ruiz. The essence of it is: just keep doing your best. Sometimes it won't be much as you are swamped under the workload or personal issues and end up impulse buying an item. And sometimes, in the midst of a calm week-end, you'll have an epiphany and make fulgurant progress.This is a normal process too, and even simplicity bloggers like myself have these moments of doubt. To me, the key is to be convinced that you are doing your best. And if you aren't, then it is time to set some objectives and take action that will make you feel like you are doing your best.
Sometimes it is a six month shopping fast, and sometimes it is buying 5 items on sale instead of 10. The whole point of "doing your best" is that it is personal, it depends on where you start from, what your life circumstances allow you to do today, your own possibilities and limitations.
Sometimes, self indulgence is a part of the simplicity journey, for it is so easy in this society to be hard on ourselves. Go easy, find your own tune, and do your best. You'll see that this will help you progress further than any ambitious goal that isn't in line with your life circumstances.
So well put, as always. I think it takes a while to find your own way into simpler living and define what it means for you. How many possession you need, and then realising that the whole journey is not at all about possessions. I do think that simplicity blogs can help to discover what this may be but, as you say, in the end it is up to us to do our best.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this thoughtful comment, I wholeheartedly agree! Simplicity often starts with objects and paring down, until at one point we come to realize the material aspects of it don't really matter and it becomes a very personal journey of self discovery, creation, mindfulness and life purpose, in a way. I agree that simplicity blogs and other outlets can help get started or find motivation, but in the end it is a very personal journey :)
DeleteCompletely. Well said. I wonder if you'd share the sort of two steps forward, one step back journey you might have had? Like what did you struggle with or understand as your process? I like the idea of a spiral in that it's gradually getting better, but not necessarily linear and without regressions. I feel that way about my adaptation of a healthier diet/exercise routine, particularly, but I can see how that would be the case with minimalism too.
ReplyDeleteI can think of something, I'd need to pick an example that is appropriate to publish online and simple enough for readers to be able to take something away from it.
DeleteIn the meantime, I can think of very basic examples like realizing after some months or years that the shelves are getting cluttered again little by little (I have been invaded by books recently, depiste my past efforts to keep my possessions streamlined). On a more spiritual/growth topic, ever since I picked up writing fiction again (which I consider to be a direct result of my simplicity journey), I've had ups and downs, like sports and healthy eating. Moments when I doubted my capacity to write something good, moments when I had no time to write... Not sure if it helps :)
I learned a new word from you today--fulgurant!
ReplyDeleteHappy 2016 Florie!
Happy 2016 to you too! Haha, now that you mention it, I'm not even sure it's a proper English word. Might be some case of Frenchifying my vocabulary :)
DeleteAs a Dutch reader, I can confirm we have quite a few magazines dedicated to 'better living' (like Flow and Happinez). My problem with those magazines are, that they preach one thing (simplicity, wholesome living, etc), but advertise something else, like: you'll only be able to live a happy life, if you buy x,y and z. Some blogs are also going in that direction, showing a curated life, made possible by advertisers.
ReplyDeleteIt's sometimes hard to define your own 'best', when you see all these beautiful lives other people live.
Yes, this is an impression I've also felt about these magazines. They've just been out in France for a year or so, Simple Things, Flow, Happinez, and I read from the editorial details that they were initially Dutch publications. Some articles are really interesting, thy've been interviewing really inspiring people like Matthieu Ricard, Dominique Loreau, Pierre Rabhi. And on the other hand, they advertise "simple and authentic" home decorations with purchase options, "ethical shopping" pages and expensive country retreats. It kind of does send a mixed message indeed. I guess that's where this whole simplicity/minimalism thing becomes complex in our consumerist society: in the end all these concepts are reduced to a list of things to buy in order to "be a minimalist" and it kind of misses the point... As you say it can even be counterproductive to see all these simple curated environments as models of simplicity.
DeleteGood post.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note I agree with korakel. From Belgium I can also confirm that Happinez etc. have existed in the Dutch language for quite some time. But I don't necessarily think those magazines are good motors of progress towards simplicity. Happinez for example is owned by a big concern that is just trying to cater to another niche audience. I personally feel it throws a lot of things together (some of which I'm into, a lot of which I'm not) like mindfulness, esoterics, fair trade, and general lifestyle ... I'm a bit put-off by the neo-designer-hippie vibe that it gives off, promoting for example super expensive wellness retreats in destinations that have so much more to their cultures than pleasing tired westerners ... My personal quest for simplicity is very much tied to freeing myself from this web of corporate interest that has my identity pinned down as a consumer, and I don't believe a corporate owned ad-sponsored magazine is going to help with that. I feel that blogs by their nature are much better suited to this task :).
I completely agree with you on these magazines. I couldn't really put it into words but you have done it beautifully. In teh particular case of Happinez I do admit I've been put off by the new age design of the pages without even going deeper into the content of the magazine.
Deleteand in any case, these magazines are about selling copies, and I'm a bit disappointed that in the end,they resemble more like beauty and other women magazines which are just huge pieces of advertisment for a number of brands and trends, telling us what to look like and what to buy. there are some more interesting mags out there, actual journalism, editors who care more about the content and interest of the magazine than of how to please advertisers, and that's too bad that the simplicity movement hasn't bveen able to follow that example.
In the end I agree with you, I don't see how seeing all these "simple items" to buy really helps realizing how futile this whole thing is and how to find our own way. But well, if advertisers wanted us to find our own way, that would be public knowledge. As Dan Gilbert says, "a shopping mall full of zen monks isn't going to be particularly profitable" :)