Weed the Garden of Your Mind and Let Inspiration Grow

This started out as a rant a few days ago and I put it aside to think about for awhile. There is so much negative in the world, and I have decided not to contribute to it, but instead share some of what inspires me! 

For starters, I have this desire to know as much as possible - to always be learning and finding new ways to enrich my life and the quality of life around me. I had the habit of subscribing to every website and blog that I was interested in and it has snowballed. So, when I say that I had 1600 emails in the inbox of one of my email accounts, you know that this has been an energy drain on me - every time I went to check email, it would overwhelm me. So after a good amount of time deleting what I didn't need, archiving what I do need and unsubscribing from many of the lists, websites, etc. that I was getting mail from....I feel much better. 

Intrusions into my life from all directions, overwhelming me. 

Interesting that I had "invited" this.

So, in an effort to simplify this information overload, I am unsubscribed from everything that I can read on my own somewhere else.  I don't need an email that tells me to go to a website or blog that I already read frequently and enjoy. I also unsubscribed from every place that tagged me when I was shopping for the holidays, any kind of alert from Facebook, Linked-in, etc. I took back the control of going to these sites when I feel like reading instead of being daily bombarded with things demanding my attention. 

Other than family, I kept a few that contribute to my mental well-being and I wanted to share here a brief list of what I read most days, or when I have a chance to catch up...

Zen Habits with Leo Babauta - such a peaceful, practical and comforting site to read in the chaos of life. I've read several of Leo's books and have found a direction of simplifying that resonates with me. Sometimes I am in the middle of a stressful day and go to his site and just click on the word Breathe and read:

Breathe.

If you feel overwhelmed, breathe. 

It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, 

or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. 

It will bring you back to the present.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. 

It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

Breathe, and enjoy each moment of this life. 

They're too fleeting and few to waste.

The Minimalists "Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus write about living a meaningful life with less stuff" I find these guys to be super encouraging in their approach to living life with less things and with more meaningful experiences. They also have several books that I have read and that speak to the minimalist in me.

Rowdy Kittens:  I have already written about how much I appreciate Tammy Strobel and love her book "You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap)".  She consistently shares beautiful things about her life and it is very encouraging. The tiny home, living minimally, etc. are all a bonus to the beautiful way that she photographs the world.


ISO Splash / ISO Furry / ISO Give  - When I need a dose of beautiful images and cute furry pet faces, I go to this website and view the work of Ramon Nayar.  All you have to do is look at the images to see that his view of the world and the way he captures the love between animals and owners is very special. Then read some of the reviews and recommendations and you will have a glimpse into the energy of dedication and quality that Ramon brings to his work and to the lives of the people around him. I have known him for eight years to be exactly this caliber of person and it's so encouraging to see him thriving and doing what he loves. (edit:  See Ramon interviewed here:  Naperville Community Television.)

From his website:  As with all specialties of ISO Splash Photograph & Design, ISO Furry is committed to spreading awareness about related issues, such as pet adoption and volunteering with companion pets to make the world a better place. 

Life Unshelved -  I read this blog because it is written by one of my dearest friends and - because my children are grown adults - I enjoy reading the stories of her little ones, and reliving my own memories of my children when they were young. We also have so many things in common: gardening, cooking, canning, and lately we have each started a writing project and promised to be support and editor, sounding board or whatever is needed. Meg is an invaluable treasure to me.

Choosing Voluntary Simplicity - This is where I go for practicals of living life with a garden and wood cooktop stove. Shirley shares her desire to live simply and live a life of quality with great heaping doses of very practical and useful advice in recipes, projects, etc.  

***

In addition to these sites, I have a list of blogs that I read, and can't list all of them here.  I really enjoy reading them. I have chosen them each for different reasons, but what it comes down to in the end is that these people contribute to my life in a positive way. They mean something to me and take up a valuable space that I am willing to give them. I am a better person because of their influence in my world.

When I talk about minimalism and simplifying, living a life of quality and less stress - whatever you want to call it, ultimately, the things you fill your time and mind with will either hurt or help you. There is so much beauty and good around us and more than enough people who are expressing it through their vision, writing, photos, speech, and actions. It's up to us to find it and choose it over the negative.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment 

before starting to improve the world.

~ Anne Frank

Small Treasures: Being Prepared

In the past few weeks, we have had Hurricane Sandy, winter storm Athena and yesterday around noon a water main broke that resulted in water for the whole city of Worcester being shut off last night while they worked on it. 

Amazingly, they worked through the night and it is fixed!

With each of these events, we gathered our “emergency” supplies together and checked flashlights, etc., charged everything up to 100% and waited. We were fortunate with the hurricane and the winter storm. The worst thing that happened was a long wait and a walk for me to get home from work. The city had so many accidents that schedules were off and some buses didn’t run.

The most noticeable change, for me personally, was a sense of security in knowing that we were prepared for most anything that could happen. We have some extra bottled water and food that is easy to prepare. I have a routine that is pretty quick when the news of an impending storm breaks, so I can have things together without much effort and not be stressed. We have wood for the stove, so we will be warm and can cook and none of us works far from home, so walking if needed isn’t an issue. If we had to leave home for an evacuation or disaster situation, our paperwork and “Go Bags” are ready with a few days of necessities.

At one time I would have thought that all of this preparation wasn’t necessary, as many people in New England also thought before these last couple of years. I find the comfort of being clear minded and ready for most any situation keeps the panic, impulsiveness, and fear of last minute chaos away.

I am not a “doomsday prepper”, I don’t have any thoughts of doom at all in what we are doing. We are just prepared in case we need to be. A couple of extra cans of soup or a case of water here and there when we shop for groceries is not inconvenient and we will use it should an emergency not arise, or a job is lost, or pay is reduced while I am out of work unexpectedly for 7 weeks (as I was this past Summer).

What I value most about these situations is the ability to keep as close to a normal day as possible without stress and having the calmness to prevent injury or accident that can sometimes happen in a hasty scramble at the last minute. We have all seen the tragic effects of Katrina, Irene, Sandy and the many other tornadoes, etc. of the past few years and I think it is just smart to gather important photos and documents together in a safe place (digital files too, if possible) and be able to continue on with life in the midst of an emergency. Honestly, it’s good to have the information together anyway, because everyday situations come up that require it.

One of the most helpful ideas I have ever read – was to think through and prepare for the worst case scenario – which for us would be evacuation and having to leave our home. If you prepare at that level and have a plan, paperwork, photos, small treasures, in order. Then when a storm comes, it’s just a matter of keeping a positive attitude. There isn’t any additional work needed. It’s already done.  

In the case of a large disaster like what has happened in New Jersey and New York with Hurricane Sandy…the Go Bag and getting your family to safety really is the only thing you can do. This is an individual decision and there are many different guidelines online if you need help planning a bag.  However, if in that bag you have important paperwork like birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, financial information, etc. and you have copies of your favorite photos, some toiletries, a change of clothing, and some food and water, it won’t make the difficulty go away, but it will give you some comfort and strength in knowing that everything else can be replaced and what matters most is by your side. We each have a water proof bag with a few things in it that will get us through.

One thing that I thought of in planning is the small treasures that accumulate in our lives. One example for me is a little necklace I won for a story I wrote in 2^nd grade. It isn’t valuable to anyone but me, but I would take that with me. Photos of our family growing up would also be irreplaceable. Everyone’s small treasures are different. Something like this is a talisman to memories….which really are the treasures you keep with you. For children, a favorite blanket and toy keep something familiar, And for pets, a copy of rabies certificates and tags, as well as the things that will comfort them in a new place or during a power outage, etc. If you are prepared, once you and your family are safe, a little bit of home to comfort you will be necessary to gather the strength to rebuild.

The tie in, for me, to minimalism, living simply and with less, so loudly speaks to me here. I could easily gather the things of value to me and leave if I had to.  Once my family and dog are safe, there would be no thing in that house that I would die for.

Again, I find myself faced with the question of whether or not I want to work my whole life to just have more possessions when it seems that in the big picture of life, only the small treasures really matter...

One Woman's Story

There are so many websites and blogs that I regularly visit and read. One of my favorites is www.rowdykittens.com/blog  My first introduction to Tammy Strobel was while watching an episode of  Peak Moment where she and her husband Logan were interviewed because they had downsized their lives, sold their cars, and were living more simply with a dream of building and living in a Tiny House. 

In the year since I first watched that episode - I have watched every episode of Peak Moment and have been introduced to a world of people living deliberately, making greener choices, being aware of the cause and effect of every action we take in life. A community of people that I can relate to even if I am not geographically near them.

Also, I found that Tammy’s name came up in many of the places I visited on-line, and that the story continued after that video and they had built their Tiny House. This week her new book comes out “You Can Buy Happiness –And It’s Cheap”. I ordered it early and have already read through once and I loved it!  When I read it, I could hear her speaking in the calm and confident voice that I have heard so many times in the past year. I am reading it through a second time now and doing the micro exercises and journaling at the end of each chapter. 

We have had a Winter with our Wood Cooktop, many experiments  growing different plants and flowers in our garden and when I sprained my ankle and was out of work for 7 weeks, I read everything I could find on-line. Several things resulted from my stay at home.  I changed. What I want from life, what I value, my perspective and my needs.  Everything changed or came into clearer focus. I will be sharing more about these things in later posts.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with debt, career, keeping track of and maintaining your stuff, or feel like you are on a treadmill and you can’t get off – I would recommend reading this book.

The whole cycle and excess of consuming and spending isn’t necessary and that there is a way out. Even if I can't see the end of the paring down, donating and living with less just yet, I am working toward a simpler life filled only with what I need and more time and energy for the people and activities that add value to my life and to the world around me.

What I know after reading this book – is that there is hope, space and peace to be found.

And I can make small changes every day toward that end. 

Thank you, Tammy, for your story and for sharing the journey. 

How do you eat? A driving lesson...

We don't have a car.
I have never had my license.
I have no desire to drive.
Rob has his license.
Rob has never lost his license.
There is no secret story behind this decision.
Rob can drive, and does when we need to. (rental)
Mostly we walk.  We don't like driving.

We do like hiking, walking, meeting new people, saving money, etc.

We walk or take the bus to work and because we don't have a car payment, insurance, and gas to pay for we have extra money to pay someone else for their time (and gas).

I know it has been difficult for people to see the reasons, but lately, it seems more and more people understand our choice and they are choosing to sell their cars and opt for public transportation instead.  Undriving is one of these groups.

I have also been reading about Minimalism here: The Minimalists and Becoming Minimalist  and living with less - and I see now that we will never own a car. It's okay. We live within walking distance of our jobs and near bus routes. When we need to get somewhere - we pay someone who already drives (for their job) and support the local economy by hiring them.

"How do you eat?" is my favorite question from someone who found out we didn't have a car. We have our food delivered through Peapod right now. It is quite amazing how much money you can save when you don't get to the store to be marketed to. In the future, I would like to be part of the Massachusetts food co-op and get what can't be grown in our garden from them.

This is all a great adventure and the best thing about it - we can be creative! Today all of this works and tomorrow it may not, but we will find another way if that happens. Why reinvent the wheel when so many people work so hard at providing access to quality, local food? I don't need to make cheese and butcher my own meats - we have so many great farms in this state that we can support for the things we cannot do for ourselves.

Each day is a step forward and a change for the better. However, better (for us), does not include more. In fact, even though I am just at the beginning of this gardening, sustainable, paring down life...the value is so clear...

Without a lot of stuff, without a car, without a huge house...I can sit quite happily in my garden and watch things grow...this is one thing that I know for sure speaks to my soul.

What speaks to your soul?

Mammoth Sunflower