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This week a man in his 60’s who has been working tirelessly since his 20’s complained that he wanted to have more time, travel less for work and spend more time at home enjoying his free time.
So I asked him if he would be willing to slow down his pace of life? DECREASE, LIVE MINIMALISTICALLY, SPEND LESS, GIVE UP certain comforts?
And the answer is NO… Almost always no. We want free time, to eat in expensive restaurants, to have a state-of-the-art phone and TV, all existing movie apps (FILMIN, NETFLIX, DISNEY, HBO, etc.), to travel and stay in a hotel of at least 4 stars… To have a car no more than two years old.
To live this way, most of us, we have to work hard and long hours. Usually in a big city or near a big city. So HAVING FREE TIME and HAVING ALL KINDS OF COMFORTS, is for me incompatible in most cases.
So you… What would you be willing to give up POSSESSING to have more free time? What would you be willing to do to pursue the way of life you desire?
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I am going to leave you two definitions of MINIMALISM:
RAE
minimalism
https://dle.rae.es/minimalismo
PALEOBULL BLOG
“Minimalism is a lifestyle that seeks to achieve happiness and freedom through material detachment.”
https://paleobull.com/blogs/estilo-paleo/minimalismo-estilo-vida
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In the end I believe that life and the way we live is a matter of PRIORITIES. Living according to your values and a scale of priorities is the basis of happiness. And there are many people happy with a house, car, gadgets and luxury vacations. And that’s perfect, if that’s how they want to live.
On the other hand, there are many others who want to live differently…
CARS
For example: I am not a person who gives excessive importance to cars. I need it to take me from one place to another and for it to be minimally safe. When I lived in the city I used to travel by bicycle, now I can’t, but our cars are more than 10 years old and we are considering instead of having two, to look for a more sustainable and economical transport such as an electric bike for short trips.
TRAVEL
We love to travel, but instead of spending a week or 10 days a year in an all-inclusive resort, we try to look for more economical options so we can spend a month on vacation and the weekends we can. Campgrounds, friends’ houses and many more options that we haven’t explored yet like SURF COACHING or HOUSE SITTING.
RESTAURANTS
Do you like a good meal? I love to eat well, but I don’t need to go to an ESTRELLA MICHELIN or SOLES REPSOL restaurant to be happy. Without going any further, last week in a chat with friends, one of them told me that some of his friends, after receiving an important award, had taken a plane to Bilbao and had spent about 3000 euros per head on dinner. Or without going any further, the cutlery at weddings, I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject… But right now 200 euros per guest, nobody can take it away from you. And the amount of food that is thrown away at weddings is so sad… These are of course extreme examples. But these are two real examples that I’ve experienced firsthand in the last two weeks.
Personally it almost makes me happier, to go to a store with artisan and local products, take a tablecloth and have a picnic on the beach with the sunset or a lunch on the mountain surrounded by trees and the “silence” of the mountain.
What are you willing to GIVE UP to LIVE differently?
To renounce material belongings to enjoy time without time, long talks with friends or family, mates or beers on the beach while watching the waves break. Alone or accompanied, because sometimes we also need time to be alone and to reflect and enjoy ourselves.
Natalia Laudelino
