Minimalism…Really?
Minimalist. What is that, really? A minimalist is a person who has the ability to live on the bare necessity and still be happy. It does not mean you do not spend money, because as Master Minimalist Peter Lawrence stated…he eats organic foods and that can be very expensive. However, you do find ways to preserve your resources. This is a practice that I like, and I am currently reading more about. I want to walk in my room and breathe air, and feel a sense of freedom. However, I have felt congestion because I have so much frivolous stuff…
Minimalist. What is that, really? A minimalist is a person who has the ability to live on the bare necessity and still be happy. It does not mean you do not spend money, because as Master Minimalist Peter Lawrence stated…he eats organic foods and that can be very expensive. However, you do find ways to preserve your resources. This is a practice that I like, and I am currently reading more about. I want to walk in my room and breathe air, and feel a sense of freedom. However, I have felt congestion because I have so much frivolous stuff…
“Bag Lady…you going to hurt yourself, carrying all those bags like that…all you need to hold onto… is you…is you…is you…one day he gonna say you crowding my space…one day he gonna say you crowding my space…”
Erykah Badu had a minimalist message in that song. She even said if you have too much stuff or clutter, you will run people off. I don’t want to do that, I want to be clear so that I can live my life positively…with myself and others. I know that I have been looking for a lifestyle change, trying different things so that I can head in the right direction on my own.
What does water got to do with it?
I am currently doing a water fast to renew me spiritually, emotional, mentally, politically, and physically. A couple of days ago, I did eat during the evening. Yet, I got back up and I have been researching the raw vegan diet and all its health benefits. This morning, I even made my grandmother and cousin a cilantro orange-honey natural juice. Therefore, I can help my granny get good nutrients while she fights off cancer, and play with different recipes. By the time I get off my fast, I will already know how to make some good raw food.
This is all a part of my transition into a minimalist living…Eating what the earth provides, the bare minimal that includes fruits, nuts, and seeds…and in my case honey…And the water fast will make sure my body is as pure as it can be before I eat a real green leaf.
Space Please!
In order to make a physical space, that was stress-free, I got rid of my bed in my room, because it was just too big. I replaced it with a futon in the other room, now I can adjust it anytime I want for more space. I got rid of a large black dresser, to create more freedom for me to jump and twirl in front of my mirror. I am still in search of objects that I can remove. But my dream wall that has all my inspirations and goals that I would like to accomplish in this lifetime, will stay the same. My room seems like a paradise now, and because I have a futon, my bedroom is also the alternative living room space for my family to come in and receive some positive energy and just relax.
How did I become a clutter bug?
I never grew up rich. I did not have the luxury of a mom or father coming to pick me up from school. There was the bus, metro link, and my best pro wings from payless. I always wanted more. More clothes, more money, more accessories, more hair, more friends, more men, and more success…So when I got money, I got more stuff, just like Dick Gregory who added a steak habit to his life until he realized he did not need to eat all that stuff. I forgot about the little things that made me happy for free. For example, reading books…My mom was always reading books…She liked those mid-century love stories. You know the ones that had the sexy vixen and the hunk, but she was also well versed, reading Toni Morrison The Bluest Eye and understanding Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enough. Momma Caesar taught my brother and me an appreciation for music. I will always be old school listening to Stevie Wonder in my truck. Writing poetry, stories, songs, plays, monologues and more-I get it from my momma. A lady that did not have a lot of material possessions, but her soul was rich with things to give her children, talent. A talent that one day would sustain them. My brother is currently pursuing a Hip-Hop producing career in St. Louis, Missouri and I have just started blogging seriously last month. My words are all I have to offer to the world…But my words can change the world.
Transforming…Transforms…Transformer…
So why do I feel I need a million shoes, dresses, earrings, and other perishable items. Why do I feel I need to be extremely wealthy to get all the material things and status I ever wanted? Why do I feel so attached to objects that just clutter my room and make it hard for me to think? It is time for me to change. If I plan on living off my talent, then just like a plant that needs to grow-I need space. I need a sort of emptiness that will allow my imagination to draw. At this point if I do not do something, I will have an intense writer’s block and even the image of my soul mother Alice Walker could not save me!
After seeing the video of Paul Lawrence and how he included the minimalist lifestyle into his world. I started to think, this is exactly what I needed to do. Clutter just makes you frustrated. Sometimes you have to add things in your life, but this time I will be taking away a lot of items or thinking how can I make it functional. Asking myself, “Are they useful to me now, or is the memory causing me to keep something that needs to be given away?”
In conclusion, a minimalist raw-vegan lifestyle is an affirmation that I am enough…Unlike when I was younger and I was singing the American anthem Britney Spears style, “Gimme, Gimme, More, Gimme More, Gimme More, More”, I have consciously switched to India Arie’s tune, “It’s the little things…” ©NEEMA
Please check out Paul Lawrence awesome youtube video on minimalism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4E8nXcrTk
Erykah Badu had a minimalist message in that song. She even said if you have too much stuff or clutter, you will run people off. I don’t want to do that, I want to be clear so that I can live my life positively…with myself and others. I know that I have been looking for a lifestyle change, trying different things so that I can head in the right direction on my own.
What does water got to do with it?
I am currently doing a water fast to renew me spiritually, emotional, mentally, politically, and physically. A couple of days ago, I did eat during the evening. Yet, I got back up and I have been researching the raw vegan diet and all its health benefits. This morning, I even made my grandmother and cousin a cilantro orange-honey natural juice. Therefore, I can help my granny get good nutrients while she fights off cancer, and play with different recipes. By the time I get off my fast, I will already know how to make some good raw food.
This is all a part of my transition into a minimalist living…Eating what the earth provides, the bare minimal that includes fruits, nuts, and seeds…and in my case honey…And the water fast will make sure my body is as pure as it can be before I eat a real green leaf.
Space Please!
In order to make a physical space, that was stress-free, I got rid of my bed in my room, because it was just too big. I replaced it with a futon in the other room, now I can adjust it anytime I want for more space. I got rid of a large black dresser, to create more freedom for me to jump and twirl in front of my mirror. I am still in search of objects that I can remove. But my dream wall that has all my inspirations and goals that I would like to accomplish in this lifetime, will stay the same. My room seems like a paradise now, and because I have a futon, my bedroom is also the alternative living room space for my family to come in and receive some positive energy and just relax.
How did I become a clutter bug?
I never grew up rich. I did not have the luxury of a mom or father coming to pick me up from school. There was the bus, metro link, and my best pro wings from payless. I always wanted more. More clothes, more money, more accessories, more hair, more friends, more men, and more success…So when I got money, I got more stuff, just like Dick Gregory who added a steak habit to his life until he realized he did not need to eat all that stuff. I forgot about the little things that made me happy for free. For example, reading books…My mom was always reading books…She liked those mid-century love stories. You know the ones that had the sexy vixen and the hunk, but she was also well versed, reading Toni Morrison The Bluest Eye and understanding Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enough. Momma Caesar taught my brother and me an appreciation for music. I will always be old school listening to Stevie Wonder in my truck. Writing poetry, stories, songs, plays, monologues and more-I get it from my momma. A lady that did not have a lot of material possessions, but her soul was rich with things to give her children, talent. A talent that one day would sustain them. My brother is currently pursuing a Hip-Hop producing career in St. Louis, Missouri and I have just started blogging seriously last month. My words are all I have to offer to the world…But my words can change the world.
Transforming…Transforms…Transformer…
So why do I feel I need a million shoes, dresses, earrings, and other perishable items. Why do I feel I need to be extremely wealthy to get all the material things and status I ever wanted? Why do I feel so attached to objects that just clutter my room and make it hard for me to think? It is time for me to change. If I plan on living off my talent, then just like a plant that needs to grow-I need space. I need a sort of emptiness that will allow my imagination to draw. At this point if I do not do something, I will have an intense writer’s block and even the image of my soul mother Alice Walker could not save me!
After seeing the video of Paul Lawrence and how he included the minimalist lifestyle into his world. I started to think, this is exactly what I needed to do. Clutter just makes you frustrated. Sometimes you have to add things in your life, but this time I will be taking away a lot of items or thinking how can I make it functional. Asking myself, “Are they useful to me now, or is the memory causing me to keep something that needs to be given away?”
In conclusion, a minimalist raw-vegan lifestyle is an affirmation that I am enough…Unlike when I was younger and I was singing the American anthem Britney Spears style, “Gimme, Gimme, More, Gimme More, Gimme More, More”, I have consciously switched to India Arie’s tune, “It’s the little things…” ©NEEMA
Please check out Paul Lawrence awesome youtube video on minimalism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4E8nXcrTk
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