Simplicity
In my previous note I mentioned that new objects came into my life because my loved one's child began to spend more time with us. It's a somewhat challenging situation for me to navigate. My preferred mode of living is extreme minimalism. I used to live without furniture, slept on a yoga mat, invited very few objects into my space. I did it partly for ecological reasons, but also for aesthetic and spiritual reasons. Practising extreme minimalism is my way of living with "lagom" amount of things. I felt happy, calm, and even euphoric. Moving in with my fellow human meant adopting minimalism rather than extreme minimalism. Gradually, over the months, we invited more objects into our space.
I can still practise my own consumption the way I choose. There are some principles that I live by. They include, for example, sufficiency, supporting local businesses, natural materials, durability. One of the most important principles is simplicity. I feel that in this autoethnography I mention simplicity very often. Perhaps it's a somewhat obscure word to use for consumption, as in my case it refers to everything from focusing on smaller number of things and goals in my life to ingredients in my personal care and colours of my clothing, to design of the objects I live with, to the food I choose.