Day fourteen after getting rid of most of what we owned: I anticipated my daughters and I would find some complications to not having our “stuff”, but as intuitively known, that was not the case. The “visual chatter” of life has stopped; we are no longer distracted by “stuff”, “things”, meaningless artifacts to keep us from engaging or being mindful of each other’s presence or disposition. Now,there seems to be a heightened awareness of where we are on each other’s “emotional grid”.
We’ve taken more walks; I’m more aware of the girls’ coloring projects and what they mean to them, and how their drawings reflect their internal landscape, thoughts and feelings; they are more aware of me, and seem to be “pouncing” on me more; and my emotional quality of life has improved exponentially. I was just sharing with someone, “I feel as though I am on perpetual vacation.”
We have created at home furnished by our love, joy and emotional presence.
Removing unnecessary “stuff” (tangible and intangible) resulted in the feeling of “getting away”, that same feeling that comes with going on vacation to be removed from what distract us or keep us unaware of our wholeness or spiritual selves, and from connection. This almost seems like an “awakening”.
Doing some research on personal safety for the family in times of crisis, I came across a video, the 10-Minute Evacuation Challenge. When I first viewed the video to gain some practical information, I saw it on a deeper level, pointing to that decision-making process that happens in 10-minutes, which answers the important question, “What is really important?”
Seeing that video, helped in some way to get where we are today, enjoying Paradise (see image above) from our patio.
The problem isn’t materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone. Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the immediate gratification of sensory desires, we human beings have the capacity to experience happiness at a deeper level which, when achieved, can overwhelm unhappy experiences (Dalai Lama, per BeliefNet.com).
