Simplicity and Abundance

I lead a very small life. Don't have much stuff, don't have that many people in my life, don't have a lot of ambitions. But the stuff that I do have, and the people who are in my life, and the small dreams that I have, I treasure. They keep me breathing every single day.

About a year and several days ago, I got off the plane, with only a suitcase, a backpack, and a laptop bag, without anyone to pick me up at the airport. I was starting a new life, in a place where I knew only 2 people. I didn't have a job. I didn't have a place to stay. I was only booked in a hotel for 3 days. But I did have a lot of trust and this unshakable certainty that the universe was good and that it will show me where to go.

Show me it did. Lead me by the hand, it did.

And now as I look back on the year that has passed, I have nothing but gratitude. It was a year of many beginnings and endings, and it necessitated that I grow up... fast. No other way to do it. Pull yourself up from your bootstraps girl. This ain't a pity party. I ended a relationship with someone I thought I'd be spending the rest of my life with. It was a sudden shock, and it knocked me off my comfortable path.

When I got my stuff back from him, I was amazed at how much clutter I've let accumulate in my life. So much stuff. And I knew immediately what I had to do... I had to give them all away. I probably kept 3 percent of my things. The clothes, the books, the cds, the little things here and there... gave them all away. I wanted to start over, without the memories, without the thousand little things that reminded me of my past. I was surprised at how freeing it was to let all the stuff go. I found that somehow I wasn't attached to them. Emptying my hands, I felt incredibly light.

And so when the time came for me to move, I didn't really have much. Travel light they say, and that was what I did. You'd be surprised at how little you really need.

Now, I'm still keeping my life as simple as I can. And I've found that living in a small space really helps me clear out my clutter. Keep only what is important to you, only that which means something, which makes your life better. Give the rest away or don't get them to begin with.

Most of all, this is what I've learned: surround yourself with love, with stuff that remind you of the people you love, with photographs and memories of laughter and family. Keep things near you that remind you of your journey, of paths taken and paths still left unexplored. They will keep you grounded when times get rough.

And the thing is... I feel much more abundant now that I'm living with my "almost" bare essentials (not quite there yet, still have some clutter left to clear out). My heart feels full somehow.

I have everything I need.