Love People, Use Things
This past year has taught us if nothing else, our things tend to get in the way of what’s truly essential.1*
The things we buy to add value and meaning to our lives quickly became irrelevant.
We have entered a new world and no matter how hard we try the old world isn’t coming back… but do we want it to?
How do we navigate through this new normal?
This new world where material things are looked at for exactly what it is, just stuff.
Retail therapy may have worked in the past for a minute but will it now? considering all we’ve been through.
Of course, it’s nice to show off on Instagram but when you were in your house lonely for a year, did Instagram make you feel better?
Maybe it made you feel better but sometimes it made me feel worse.
What about those new shoes, did they comfort you when you had COVID-19 and you were scared you’d lose your life because so many have?
Those new shoes I got stared at me, untethered every second for the two weeks I had it.
How long will new shoes be new?
How many times can you wash and wear a shirt before it loses its initial intent of happiness that newness brings?
The truth is, things are nice to have and look at but things get old.
We learned that family is what matters, peace of mind is what’s important and Joy is what we should be searching for because happiness is based on something happening.
The comfort, serenity, and tranquility of where we lay our heads down is essential.
How do we continue to focus on what really matters?
How do we continue to Love People and Use Things when there is no mandate demanding we stay in our homes.
Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that we are in a crisis, the good news is that we are in a crisis.
A crisis exists as the intersection of danger and opportunity. 2*
If we are honest, the world we lived In before was beginning to suffocate us.
Everyone, in their own way, was trying to “ keep up with the Kardashians” no shade to them but that is their life, their path, and their thoughts displayed out loud.
The one thing we can never say about them is that they don’t value their family.
Let’s be real though, what attracts us to them is not their family values, although it’s an added plus, what makes us so intrigued is their things!
Do you know how I know?
Because when Kim showed her house and it was plain and not as extravagant as you’d expect the home of Kanye and Kim Kardashian West to look, she was dragged.
People were saying things like:
“with all that money you cant decorate your house?” and “ Kanye’s in the sunken place”
Comments like that show us where we were as a culture.
When she explained her reasoning for having a minimalist home, she got some praises but it wasn’t magnified as it should have been.
Her explanation acknowledged how busy, cluttered areas of your life can affect your mental health and a willingness to let go is one of life’s most mature virtues.3*
The crisis of the pandemic gave us an opportunity to reevaluate our priorities and really concentrate on the true essentials of life.
When I heard Kim’s explanation, it made me wonder if I could do that.
If I could be so determined to have peace of mind that in my own way, I’d become a minimalist.
The question I asked myself was, how can I adapt minimalist ways that will work for me?
At the time, the answers to that question seemed hard to find because I was not in the mental space to even attempt to tackle that battle.
I needed my things around me. I had to keep people around me regardless of how they treated me.
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I believe the pandemic helped me gain peace of mind.
It helped me eliminate a lot of ways, people, places, and habits that were no longer serving me.
I gained new habits and fell in love with old habits that died due to a busy lifestyle, like reading.
I thought I had it handled, that the life I’ve built for myself in the last year was the right path to becoming the best version of me.
They say remain a student, when you feel you know everything with nothing left to learn, you’re headed for destruction.
I see now what that saying means.
I came across a book that has truly touched my heart in the best way possible.
Love People Use Things, by Joshua Fields Milburn & Ryan Nicodemus better known as “ The Minimalists”, has added a road to my life that I thought was too complicated to go down.
They have made it so simple yet detailed you have no choice but to try it.
They have dedicated their lives to decluttering their lives and the lives of others to make room for the real essentials of life.
Their Netflix documentary is a visual gift for anyone seeking to live a more fulfilled and meaningful life but they have written something beyond a how-to book.
I’ve found that the best way for me to learn is to find someone who has successfully obtained what I am searching for and study the path they took.
If it seems obtainable, I take the lessons from their life and tailor them to my life experience.
The way The Minimalist has opened up to us about their life experiences and teach us how to capture the same serene yet practical life experience is truly beautiful.
This book is a step-by-step answer to the question I asked myself years ago and I’m so grateful I’ve found it. Personally, I hate going around the corner to get next door!
It comes out July 13, 2021, and trust me you have to treat it like we use to treat Jordan releases on a Saturday!
” The pandemic magnified this reality and demonstrated a crucial lesson: our things tend to get in the way of what’s truly essential- our relationship” Love People Use Things, Preface. Page 3.
Joshua Fields Millburn explains the Chinese translation for crisis ” weiji” ( Wei, meaning danger) (Ji, meaning opportunity) ” a crisis exists at the intersection of danger and opportunity. Love People Use Things, Preface. Page 5.
” This means we must be responsible about the new material possessions we bring into our lives today- we must choose carefully. And we must be equally careful when those things become obsolete, because a willingness to let go is one of life’s most mature virtues.” Love People Use Things, an introduction to living with less. Page 11.
-May 14,2021
