Living Large with Less - Love Stack Conversation #8
For the Love of Open Spaces and Summer
It’s the summer solstice - the longest day of the year when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. Nature is in its full glory with flowers blooming, trees shading, and outdoor gatherings bringing us out into the evening.
The most expansive time of year, summer is alive with light, joy, and playfulness. Shakespeare characterizes the season with the mischief and magic of the fairies in Midsummer’s Night Dream. If summer were a human, I think it would be a child - sanguine as a butterfly flitting from one plant to another in pursuit of sweet nectar.
Since I was a child, I loved the warmth of summer and felt comforted in environments that had more space than stuff. Back then, I did not know it was minimalism or modernism; I just knew I liked it. And when we visited our Uncle David’s new house, I was introduced to the design of a modern home.
Inspired by it, wherever I went, I streamlined my space, my wardrobe, and my lifestyle with varying degrees of success. As children, my sister and I used to imagine that clothes in our closet were sad when we did not wear them. I have always loved to get rid of things I am not using and to acquire objects with clean, simple lines that complement each other.
It took until I entered the third act in life to realize the dream of living in a modern home. That’s when we downsized, which required scaling back our possessions and filling our home with furniture that matched its modern style. For me, with that move into a more open expansive space, I began living the minimalist dream!
Scaling back confirmed that when I have less, my life expands. Living large in a small house is a challenge that inspires me. Why is that my life expands when I have less? I think it comes down to the ways it supports the physical, soul, and mental aspects of being human.
The physical layout is practical. Our modern home has no basement and no attic - even if we wanted to accumulate - there is no room for stuff! The environment is my accomplice - providing external parameters that support my minimalist aim. Having less stuff means less to maintain and more time to appreciate what I do have. Everything we own requires a commitment to tend it or things deteriorate and become no longer useful. We may not be able to find things kept out of sight when we need them. Things do not serve us well when we do not serve them well. Life with more stuff than I can manage becomes in a way, unmanageable. It affects me that way; I feel uncomfortable when I have things that I am not taking care of. I'd rather have only what I can manage and use. Simplicity is a principle of minimalism.
It is balm for my soul. To be honest, clutter makes me nervous. It sends a signal like a blinking light, or beeping sound that there is work to be done. When I have less in a room, and everything has its place, what I do have stands out, it is visible. If I can see it, I can appreciate it. Stuff is not in conflict but rather in harmony, each object leaving room for the other. I have never appreciated more the art on my walls, the rugs, books, plants or other objects than in my current home. When I sit at my desk, my eye is undisturbed by too much stuff calling for my attention, competing for it. The effect is soothing. I feel calm in my home where there is enough to create warmth and beauty but not too much, avoiding visual overwhelm and basically, stress. Calm coherence is a principle of minimalism.
It enlivens my thinking. How can that be? When I see stuff wherever I look, with no open or negative space to encourage new thoughts, it fills me with what already is. I recycle old thoughts; they are unconsciously on repeat. Yet, I seek thoughts that are new and creative, not fixed and tied to what already exists. Einstein said that we cannot fix our problems with the level of thinking we were in when we created them. We need to have new thoughts to find new solutions, to progress and to evolve. It is the purpose of living. Life is about learning and growing. I write to develop those thoughts and am grateful to live in an environment that supports that purpose. There are few right angles in our home - it’s like a diamond. Novelty is a principle of minimalism.
The dream of a modern home is one I have carried since I was a child so I know it is in alignment with who I am. Holding onto that dream in spite of living in a city known for its old homes with few new builds and even fewer with modern designs; I developed a practice of not allowing circumstances flatten my dreams.
That’s a big lesson, which involved some unlearning. As a child, I thought fitting in, not having wants - basically, selflessness was the highest goal. But I now know that self-realization involves connecting to my own inner truth. When I am true to myself, I have more to give and to live my best life.
When in alignment with myself, results line up with my goals and dreams for the greater world. According to Rudolf Steiner, "you must first have a self before you can give it away." Knowing ourselves is key and nobody can do it for us - but others can support us.
Minimalism is trending at the moment, which might prompt people to compare themselves with the model. But there are many ways to be in relationship with the space in our homes and our possessions. There is not one size that fits all.
Collections and filled spaces are for some people - but minimalism is for me. I know it is my way because it makes me happy and relaxed. Even in the midst of a project with materials strewn over the table or when the grandchildren have taken every toy out of the basket, there is enough negative space in my home to lend a sense of order and calm.
Minimalism provides space for both things I plan to do as well as the unexpected that requires my attention. I often kid that I plan my spontaneity, but the truth is, when there is space for change, I can meet it. In my modern minimal home, there's room for uncertainty, spontaneity, and expansiveness.
In a moment of discomfort, instead of going toward distractions, which for me includes internet meandering and online shopping, when I have space, I am inclined to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and choose my response. There is no satisfaction filling the space with things I don't need. I value the negative space itself - allowing life to fill it.
Enough said. Even in communication, less can be more. I love editing my work to see if I can use less words to achieve greater clarity. I would rather encourage thought than try to convince anyone of a certain position.
If you are curious about your relationship to open space, you can conduct your own experiments. Bear in mind that your setting is a character in the story of your life and you are the author.
Perhaps you have been wanting to clean out your attic, a drawer, or your closet but don't know how to begin scaling back. Start small. Begin clearing out one drawer, shelf or area. Notice how it feels.
If it feels good, keep going.
I have found that living in a light-filled, open, and expansive home feels like the quality of summer year-round. And I love summer!
Here’s a simple closet cleaning hack.
Instead of going through my clothes to choose what I want to get rid of, I am going through them to see what I want to wear (including all seasons of the year), and laying them out on my bed. Then I take everything that’s left and put it in a plastic tub. The tub goes into my shed for a designated period (maybe up to a year) during which time I can remove anything I want to use from the tub. Afterwards, I take it out of my home and bring to donate or sell on consignment.
It’s easier to put aside what I want to wear and allowing the things I get rid of to be a consequence of that decision. Letting go does not mean things are not beautiful, or I didn’t like them at one time, it means I won’t wear them for whatever reason. Usefulness is the only criteria for choosing.
Something can be considered useful if I enjoy looking at it, or it reminds me of someone, or I will use it when I travel. It does not have to be used daily, but it does need to serve a purpose in my life, as it is, currently.
This simplifies the process. The process is aligned with the goal. Both are minimal. The same can apply for books, home decor and any other item occupying space in my home. Ask if it’s useful, if not, let it go.
Hope that helps. For me, it’s not easy to let go of clothes or art, I get attached to beauty, but beauty is secondary to usefulness. What good is beauty that is hiding in a closet or shed or drawer?
