Films – Becoming more Tee

Minimalism

Every item is useful and brings me joy.

I have been watching “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things” on Netflix. A very timely viewing experience!

I have been decluttering. Getting rid of things so that I can move from a three bedroomed house into a caravan with ease and tranquility. It will be quite a large caravan admittedly. But it will contain all that I own. And there will be three of us living there plus a dog, two cats and a hamster. I found the first trawl through the house relatively easy. It is a joy to rid myself of things that have not seen the light of day for years or have just been sitting on a shelf unloved and unappreciated. I enjoy giving items to friends or donating them to charity shops because they will be used. I am looking forward to having a space which is clutter free and attractive to the eye. A calm space. A space which houses beautiful, joyful and useful things.

However – I am getting to the tough part now. The part where real decisions have to be made. To the part where I have to be a little bit ruthless. How many pairs of jeans do I NEED? I am making the decision to have 10 books (I have a kindle) – 5 are chosen; how do I make a decision about the rest? How many plates, glasses, saucepans? What do I do with my pictures which are precious to me but difficult to hang in a caravan which has less wall space anyway? What about that ornament that was a present from a friend?

Sometimes (but not very often and only for a few seconds), I wonder why I am doing it. The caravan will be quite big. The caravan will have storage space. There can be a few things out on the sides. However, I know that it is important to do this. I do not need all of those things to feel happy. A calm, tranquil place with space and clutter free will make me feel more at peace. I do not want to continue to be attached to things. I feel that minimalism fits well with Buddhism. It’s about living mindfully. Not having and buying lots of things just for the sake of it, just to feel (temporarily) happy. It’s about being free to live a more meaningful and ethical life. It doesn’t mean that I cannot live comfortably. It doesn’t mean that I cannot have lovely, beautiful things. I want my home to be comfortable to live in and to visit. I want to make my home beautiful and pleasing to the eye. It just means that I will try not to have more than I need to be and feel comfortable.

So I will continue making the difficult decisions knowing that, in the end, they will be relatively simple.

Bohemian Rhapsody, Brighton and more

I had such a lovely day yesterday. Going into Brighton with my girls – was so wonderful to see them laugh and smile. I saw their pictures of their afternoon later – they had much needed fun. They went off to do their own thing whilst I met up with a friend.

My friend – a new friend. I hope that I will continue to get to know her and that she will be in my life for a long long while. A warm, beautiful, courageous, intelligent woman. She makes me think. She makes me laugh. I can’t imagine ever being bored in her company.

Then just a simple evening – Chinese and a film with two people with whom I feel so comfortable. Two women who I have known for ages – both with their own problems but still they care. Still they laugh. Still they continue to move forward.

Bohemian Rhapsody brought back so many memories of my teens and twenties. I remembered the deep depressing so frightening emergence of aids. The homophobia. But I also remembered the joy that Queen brought to so many people’s lives. Live Aid – never to be forgotten.

And last but definitely not least. My Dad had a consultant’s appointment yesterday. My brother went with him. After the scare he gave us ( a few days to live) all looks just a bit more hopeful. We never know what will happen but it looks like he has got more time. More time just to relax and just be with my Mum without the responsibility of being her 24 hour carer.

A good day.

Brief interlude

Yes – I have just watched this film – “The Face of Love”. Yes it was sad… Yes it was soppy. It wasn’t the best film ever made! But it was strangely uplifting.

And maybe I could have spent my time doing something more productive… more mindful… But I enjoyed just sitting here curled up on the settee with Pretzel drinking sparkling water.