The first was that I started doing yoga. I only began doing it on a whim and a vague notion that I should be doing some sort of fitness activity since I lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle, moving from bed to car to office chair and back again for the majority of my days, except when traveling. A year of practicing yoga brought more movement into my life, but to my surprise, it also led me to a more mindful and healthy path: I completely stopped smoking without really planning to (because all the ujjayi breathing during practice doesn't feel good if you've smoked, even if it's just one ciggie), I appreciate healthy food so much more (although I still love my crispy pata and chicharon), and I've noticed that I've gained a more positive outlook in general.
The second thing was that I became interested in Marie Kondo's KonMari method of decluttering (more on this in a future blog post). I must admit that I wasn't too enthused at first when my sister told me about it. Why would I want to get rid of all my fabulous stuff? But then she started giving me some of the clothes that didn't spark joy for her anymore, and I sold the rest to raise funds for our company scholarship program for bright kids from underserved communities (another topic for a future blog post). I also began clearing out some of my own things to sell for the fundraiser, and kept on thinking, as I picked up one decade-old item after another "Does this spark joy?" Sure, most of my clothes still fit me even if I've had them for over ten years, but was that reason enough to keep them? Surely not, if I hadn't worn them in the past year. And so I started tidying up too, in Marie Kondo fashion, kind of.
Lastly, I watched the documentary films "The True Cost" and "The Minimalists" this year. The first one focuses on the fashion industry and the negative impact that our mindless consumption of fast fashion has on our planet and on its poorest workers. I immediately stopped shopping after watching The True Cost -- and for people who know me, they know that's a big deal, because I love fashion. The second film, The Minimalists, shows how a bunch of people have pared down their stuff, their houses, their habits, to lead a simpler life. What they showed and talked about made a lot of sense for me. For example, a friend showed me an article about Marie Kondo's apartment the other day, and Marie Kondo said her kitchen drawer only contains one Global brand prep knife, like so:
So with all of these thoughts and with the new year coming up, I've decided to embark on a new project of decluttering my apartment and my life. There are things that I'm already doing to lead a simpler life, which I'm also going to share here, but I'll be doing the majority of my simplifying activities in the next few months, and I hope to continue it in the years to come. And I'm documenting all of it in this blog.
Why The Edit Down? This is a term I encountered working with production crews on television commercials, in the course of my marketing work. It's about shooting hours and hours of footage, reviewing all of it closely, marking and picking out what looks good and what works, and finally editing it down to thirty precious seconds of film deemed worthy enough to communicate the intended message to the target audience, in hopes that it sparks something in them. And that's what I intend to do: I'm editing down my life, my stuff, my work, and my relationships to create the space and time for only the things, experiences, and people I feel strongly about.
I hope reading about my journey helps you in some way. :)
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