Wednesday February 22, 2017
Yesterday I met a new tenant in my building who moved to a studio apartment a few doors down. Let's call her Lisa - 30, caucasian, smart, pretty, slim, sweet, a social worker, and going through a divorce. She invited me to see her apartment which has basic furniture. I suggested that in time adding some plants, pictures etc. it will start to feel more like a home. Then Lisa told me she was a minimalist with no intention of buying things for the apartment.
What did this really mean to Ellie the psychic/therapist? Lisa is not going to live there very long, and feels lost though she is the one who wanted the divorce. As we talked I realized how deep her emotional problems were and suggested a therapist. She told me she had been in therapy for years and has never found herself. Not wanting to get caught up in her dramas, I excused myself and went home. I felt sad for her and others who suffer such a fate and never find themselves, constantly reinventing but most often remaining lost. I hope she finds what she is looking for ... but if she doesn't know what that is ... her life will remain minimal.
Back in my apartment I decided to look at Minimalism to create this blog. I know many people who are totally happy and balanced in that lifestyle, mostly men. As for me, I hate any type of clutter and scale down as often as I can, but as I have a home-office it's not always easy - besides I love the feeling of my favorite things around me. I am far from a packrat and I love things in perfect order. I could enjoy Minimalism if I lived away from home for a brief period of time knowing I could come home to the things that balance my energies and speak to me about who I am. As they say, home is where the heart is. The rest is just stuff.