Option 1: What inspired you to simplify your life for personal growth? My family! I can't walk by the house and see my children suffer while I spend my money on expensive clothing. I want to see my kids go to school and get educated. Even if I had the money to live in luxury, God knows that I can't watch my family suffer because of that. To keep the family productive and creative, I learned, unlearned and taught everyone how to manage the available materials to get a maximum yield from it all. I taught my kids not to be shallow in thinking. They should think about the future. With one seed of potato, we have harvested more than two buckets of potatoes and are still counting till December. It was one of my sons that introduced me to Hive; he recommended it to me, and since then, I have tried my best to engage in its weekly activities. Family is the first thing, and I refuse to be a parent who would watch his or her kid grow up without the skills of management. It must begin as a lifestyle, and I preach the lifestyle that I live. Option 2: What advice would you give to your younger self about letting go of physical and emotional things and experiences? This is a profound question, I must say, but I will answer this by saying this to myself: I have conquered scarcity by choosing abundance in non-material things. I learnt that wealth is not about my own physical possessions such as money, cars, houses, and clothes. It is about finding inner strength, and peace of mind. It is me believing in me that I can do this. It is about me pushing me. I will conquer my lack of a rigid foundation by becoming my own. Without a dad, I will be the source of my own income and stability. I will invest in building my own values, my own structure, and my own definition of a good life till I grow up. I can only conquer emotional clutter by prioritizing peace over worry, letting go of physical things rather than accumulating refuse, or, let me say, physical things that clutter. I will tell myself, "Girl, you have to get these emotional weights, perhaps the sense of lack, the 'what ifs' that pop up at every decision-making period." I will know that I have become "complete" when I am healed internally and I have chosen to focus on the present and the future by forgetting about my past, my dad... the fact that I don't have a dad, etc. I would never accept the thought of "I come from less, so I will have less." I will identify myself not from a place of lack, but from a place of empowerment. I will I identify my self as a minimalist because minimalism is about making room for everything that matters. I will empty those physical and emotional noise so that I can make room for my own thoughts, rules and ideology. I know that I will survive even when circumstances make me feel like I wouldn't. Option 3: How has downsizing and decluttering helped you to shift focus from the materialistic side of life to a life of fulfilment and purpose? All that "stuff" represented unfinished business, past regrets ("my dad died so I would not be educated"), and future obligations ("When will I get educated... How do I survive without a dad?"). I left that aside and looked for a shift. Now, the shift came by removing the clutter and eliminating those background noises while sticking to how I could get to my destination. After removing those background noises or distractions, I had a calm and happy focus. It isn't a void; it's a canvas. It is like a "white space" where my own thoughts and breath are heard by me without alterations. I got more room to ask the important questions: "What do I actually value? What brings me joy? What is the way forward? Should I buy these clothes and sell them to get this price to manage this and that?" I began to trade plantain, and finally, I became a teacher. I fought it, and I conquered by the blood of the lamb and the words of my testimony. Hallelujah.
