I confess, I used to have so much stuff… Little buildups of clutter and attachments that took up a lot of space. They sprawled beyond the physical and encroached my mental and emotional spaces leaving very little room for me. As a result, I began a quest. To simplify, minimize, detach. I became a diligent student of the Buddhist teaching of non-attachment, meditating on it and contemplating, being mindful about staying neutral and resolute. Letting go.

I began with things that no longer served me, stuff that obstructed the path to all my dreams of breathing a natural life. The list was long and included such impossible things as unresolved emotional baggage, internal stuff that needed to be acknowledged and claimed before it had any chance of being released. And then there was my cushy, complacent life and home in the city, its contents, complexities and a mountain of obligations disguised as luxuries. All of which I deemed to be unnecessary and restricting my personal expression and expansion.

Fast forward a little, to the time when the spaces in and around me cleared up enough for me to stretch out a little and breathe easier. That’s when I began to roll. When I let go of the apartment a couple of suitcases and a cardboard box of treasured items were all that remained of my stuff. Without a single doubt in my mind I knew I was done practicing where I was. The time had come for me to move on.

With butterflies in my tummy I was eager to spread my wings and try them out. To soar. To take off and lift myself up and away from a way of life that was all too familiar, a place where the things I owned began owning me. I stood at the edge of freedom pondering. Diving into the unknown never appealed to me as much as it did at that particular moment in time. Courage that I never knew existed in me kept showing up in all my decisions. For the first time in my life fear and doubt took a back seat and were silenced.

There was an urge to roam the world. Live lightly. Even if just for a short while. No planning. No expectation of any outcome. In a pure leap of faith I drifted for two and a half years and was happier than ever with nothing but my two besties, my man and our boy, by my side, living out of suitcases, road-tripping, journeying, traveling the world together. I discovered I didn’t need much to be happy. Life certainly is better with less. With no attachments.

Fast forward to today, and I find myself living on an island that’s on the UNESCO world natural heritage list. The majority of the island is within the borders of a national park. Yes, it’s so damn gorgeous here, and I’m still baffled as to how it happened. Home is a remote half acre plot surrounded by trees that came with a stationed travel trailer from the 90’s. It reminds me of me. How it used to be so tired and run-down, how we breathed life back into it and it feels incredible again.

I’ve finally unpacked. Everything of what little we own. I have no intention of filling the ample storage spaces with any additional material possessions. My mantra is no more stuff. Life has become the definition of simplicity. My family, this tiny house and the natural, wild land they’re on are all I need to welcome joy into everyday, it’s where my heart is. Right here, right now is all that exists.

Today, I focus on beauty, studying plants, making soil, growing food, foraging wild edibles, creating plant-based recipes, nourishing our bodies and souls, healing the land and lending a hand. Seeing the vision of the world in its purest perfection and abundance, focusing on it. Life has begun emanating it. I still practice non-attachment and I’m learning and laughing a great deal along the way. There’s so much space for more, wide open physical, mental and emotional space. And yet my heart is full.

If anything, I’ve come to understand that there is so much beauty and depth in simplicity. It teaches contentedness. Non-attachment is minimalism. Minimalism is not about having less, it’s about making room for what matters.

•••

Photo: our trailer living-room wall and some of the contents of that box of treasured items I packed: our artwork and collection of Lemurian seed and other crystals, gifts to each other; and our initials (in no particular order). It’s just who we are