Simplicity: the road that leads to home

    With the big move recently, I have had simplicity on the brain. I guess you don't really know how much stuff you really have until you're trying to put it all into tiny boxes to drag it across town. 

     Growing up, I was always very protective over my things and I liked to collect little nik-naks because being the youngest of 3, you didn't always get to keep things to yourself. So I became attached to many silly things and I just couldn't bring myself to let any of it go. Slowly, I learned to throw things away or donate things, but I still had a lot of things. It wasn't until I became a mission-minded individual that I made the big shift. With the big shift, came a nagging urge to get rid of everything. In those moments of madness, I'm sure I could've given away all of my belongings happily. 

     There's something about getting rid of old junk that feels so liberating. Almost like clearing your mind. If I have too much stuff then my mind is cluttered and I get flustered by it all. It's a wonderful feeling to downsize your load. and If I didn't have obligations and responsibilities, I could sell my load and move away forever. and when I downsize, it's as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can finally breathe. and in the midst of confusion, simplicity seems to be the only road that leads me home.

     I can tell that I'm in that moment of madness because as I unload things from boxes, I say to myself, more often then not, "I don't really need this. why did I bring this with me?" The truth is, in a year and a half, I'll have to downsize again for college, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I guess I just don't see the reason for having so much stuff. I don't need anything. simplifying is the best way to make things less complicated and if you look around, this world ha gotten pretty complicated. kids and adults alike want more and more useless stuff. I wish they'd see that none of it matters in this life. What matters is relationships with others. love matters. giving matters. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:

"Live simply, so others may simply live."

    so here's to lightening your load. here's to moving on.

 and here's to living simply because in a time of confusion, 

simplicity is the only road that leads to home.

-emily