Take Good Care of You Wellness
  • Home
  • Blog
    • A Good Place to Begin
  • Book
    • Book Me
  • Offerings
    • Wellness Coaching >
      • Coaching Plans and Testimonials >
        • FAQ
      • Food Mentoring >
        • How it Works
  • About
    • Background
  • Local
    • Authentic Indian Cuisine >
      • Spices-Especias
      • Ayurveda >
        • Ayurveda Quiz
  • Español
    • Sobre
    • Cocina Autentica de la India >
      • Spices-Especias
      • Ayurveda >
        • Ayurveda Cuestionario
    • Asesoría en Alimentación >
      • Como Funciona
    • Queso Gourmet y Artesanal
    • Carne local de libre pastoreo
    • Contacto
  • Contact

"Do you think you could adapt a minimalist lifestyle?"

6/21/2018

4 Comments

 
I have increasingly been receiving questions about living simply lately. When I changed my lifestyle over twenty years ago I was surprised to discover an actual movement based on the ideas and sensibilities I held, called Voluntary Simplicity. Now, Minimalism has taken hold as the trendy term.

I have some issues around the term, as it seems to hit some people as a a lifestyle change requiring unwanted discomfort, poverty, giving up of "stuff" overall perceived as a sacrifice. All of which has negative connotations and seems to be received sometimes as the hammer of justice telling people what they "should" and "must" do. Ouch.
This is not the motivation I wish for people's contemplations about and decisions to let go of their current lifestyles. Yes, I wish for people and western culture as a whole, to wake up and see the harm and disconnect caused by and at the root of the ways of living prescribed in our culture. And of course I would expect this to involve pain. Past that and underneath it, though, is a remembering and reclaiming of ways of living that honor and respect the earth and the natural life cycles and wisdom inherent in its design - of which we are a part. 

While the tearing away from previous decisions and their repercussions could be painful for various reasons, at some point, and hopefully from the start or early on, the vision and feeling of the life one is remembering and going towards, would be overall pleasant and at least inspiring and heart-felt.

Picture
by Gustavo R. Olmedo
If you are asking questions about minimalism from the perspective of it being a sacrifice and with resistance and worry - that signals to me that you are uncomfortable, in fear, contemplating a change of lifestyle for unhealthy reasons (such as “shoulds”) and perhaps are misunderstanding what it is really or optimally about.

My message and wish for you is, "Keep searching and looking within. Listen to your heart over your head."

And feel free to read my past (and future!) blog posts with reflections on what my consciously simple life looks like, its benefits and joys as well as challenges. May my words and life model for you one of infinite creative possibility and offer you encouragement and inspiration.

Blessings,
​Robin
* indicates required
4 Comments
Trish
6/22/2018 08:35:43 am

I loved this one....yes, I agree with your thoughts here...I have also changed my life to reflect what is most important to me, what brings me calm, centers me in what can at times be chaos in this world I live in. I don't make my decisions on the "shoulds" I can hear in my head, rather on the quietness in my heart. Thank you dear one

Reply
Robin link
7/13/2018 07:33:33 am

That's beautifully said, Trish: I don't make my decisions on the "shoulds" I can hear in my head, rather on the quietness in my heart.
I am glad for you and value your criteria: to reflect what is most important to me, what brings me calm, centers me in what can at times be chaos in this world I live in. Bravo.

Reply
george l jaquith
6/24/2018 01:22:50 pm

You may know from a previous discussion that I enjoy the www.Trans-America Journey (a travel BLOG), www.Savoring Servant (a committed Christian based blog on simplicity, service and nature) and http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com (from the wilds of Canada over ten years running)

Take Good Care of You echoes the same important themes. The term minimalism is often applied to yuppie types who are contrary to the collectionism of people like Nancy and I tended to be in years past. They treasure very spare furninghings and wall decorations. For those who have no economic worries, minimalism implies liberty and lightness of being. My early role model was Thoreau in Walden who for a year lived in a ten by twenty foot structure reducing life to the barest elements.

mucho paz y fe,
jake

Check out: www.seaandearth.blogspot.mx
"I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame that heals our soul, energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives. It is our connection to God and to each other." Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Desiderata with Barber´s Adagio for Strings www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2NwO5yxJVA

Reply
Robin link
7/13/2018 07:31:19 am

Thank you for reading, contemplating, and sharing your perspective and experience, Jake!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Robin Rainbow Gate

    I help people midlife and beyond to find their inner power, health and well being through slow, conscious living




    Categories

    All
    Empowerment
    Following Your Heart
    Health & Wellness
    Inspiration
    Living Simply
    Mexico
    Present Moment Awareness
    Self Love & Care
    What Happens When You Jump!

Home
Meet Robin
Credentials and Background 


Calling Yourself Home
Book
Courses
Retreats
Services
Wellness Coaching
Packages and Testimonials
Food Mentoring
How it Works
Authentic Indian Cuisine Classes
Creativity Groups
Modern Day Muse Groups
Warm Play Groups


Honorer of Stories
LifeWorks Videos
Rethinking Education Documentary
Rembrandt Draperies Documentary
Privacy
Terms
Disclaimer

Contact
Resources
Credits

Sign up here for
Take Good Care of You Wellness updates:


Creative Commons License
Take Good Care of You Wellness Website and Contents by Robin Rainbow Gate is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
  • Home
  • Blog
    • A Good Place to Begin
  • Book
    • Book Me
  • Offerings
    • Wellness Coaching >
      • Coaching Plans and Testimonials >
        • FAQ
      • Food Mentoring >
        • How it Works
  • About
    • Background
  • Local
    • Authentic Indian Cuisine >
      • Spices-Especias
      • Ayurveda >
        • Ayurveda Quiz
  • Español
    • Sobre
    • Cocina Autentica de la India >
      • Spices-Especias
      • Ayurveda >
        • Ayurveda Cuestionario
    • Asesoría en Alimentación >
      • Como Funciona
    • Queso Gourmet y Artesanal
    • Carne local de libre pastoreo
    • Contacto
  • Contact