Make Room
The pursuit of more perverts each and every one of us, regardless of how morally superior we may feel compared to the other souls in our conscious existence. We all have an urge for better and bigger and not achieving or acquiring this often creates distress the we bury deep inside the sanctums of our self-created identities. That said, the acquisition of the non-material brings with it very few negatives. We all like to believe we want better health, stronger relationships and more profound experiences in our lives. A moment of deep conversation with a trusted friend almost always yields a net positive in the thick ledger of a life well lived. But the pursuit of these globally important elements can be incredibly frustrating when we have succumbed to a dark culture which encourages consumption and glorifies wild material riches. The past 2 years of isolation have left us brewing in our own insecurities and fears making the pursuit of the material even more potent and intoxicating. The price of all symbols of excess: boats, connected fitness devices, alcohol have all gone up as our corporate puppet masters understand the weaknesses of the human condition. This is our call to arms. The thick suffocating feeling bearing down on our chests while thoughts of material inadequacy seep in through our vulnerable skulls should signal a time for divesting and cleansing, not accumulating. What we invite into our lives needs room and space to flourish and both of these come in short supply. What are you will to give up in order to begin the steps of procuring the essentials to a purposeful life?
How much room do you currently have in your life? Almost every soul I interact with acknowledges the benefits of investing ones valuable time into fitness, a hobby, their friendships or even sleep. Acknowledgment and actions are not synonymous. If this were true we would not be living in a society starved of nutrients but engorged with food, a society with 10 bedroom homes but a sea of blood shot eyes from a never ending stream of useless visual reality porn from our cherished glowing boxes. Are you still watching? Even Netflix thinks you’re wasting your life.
As a coach I see how crammed people’s lives are every day. Most of the time, even the suggestion of adding a basic skill to someone’s day that has little to no downside like meditation, breath work or cooking a meal at home is met with resistance. As soon as I propose adding 15–30min a day to someone’s schedule the excuses begin forming as I see their feverish search for validating their own neglect.
Our lives have become a constant drum of low quality inputs. Endless timelines of useless content, opinions packaged as news and the creation of manicured lives that mask the loneliness on the other side of the glass.
To live the life you want you need to make room, clean out your closet. Do you want to create meaningful friendships? How will that be possible if you never stick your neck out to actually connect with friends, opting to instead use smiling emoticons. Want to eat healthier? How will that be possible if you don’t take the time to make room in your home for healthy foods or give yourself enough time to listen to your body?
In order to capitalize on any opportunity or even those brief flashes of motivation you must have the room in your life to seize these moments. The pursuit of a good life always creates waste, a buildup of what we though was essential but now only contributes to our own feeling of suffocation. Take a moment to reflect on the calluses you have added to your soul. The rise of minimalism does not just symbolize a visual aesthetic of a perfectly thought out homes. It can in fact be the framework we use to clear room for all of us to be more human and pursue the meaningful. Allow yourself this opportunity, make room.
