Recently, I have started to wonder about my life. I have started to question my wants, needs, actions, reactions, emotions and desires. I have started to see behaviours that I don’t like and have decided that because of this changes need to be made to how I live my life.
the trigger
Greed…I moved to Japan with my husband, this was just after Brexit. We needed to change yen to sterling before we came here and I (both of us really) became a little obsessed watching the rates. I got greedy. One day I tried to change money, only to be told that there was no sterling left. The rate got worse for us, which meant a difference of around £200 less. Now this is a fair amount, but not one to get annoyed over because I didn’t manage to get it. But annoyed I got. This was greed rearing its ugly head and I didn’t like it. On a different occasion, we went to a book shop. They had the book my husband wanted but not the books I had wanted. The result? I was in a terrible mood, acting like a spoilt brat. What kind of a reaction is that to have? It’s not the sort of person I want to be. I didn’t even desperately need the books and after consideration, probably won’t buy them.
Waste…As mentioned, we have just moved to Japan and we needed to get rid of a LOT of stuff. We donated and recycled as much as we could but we also had to throw away a fair amount as well. When sorting through our belongings I seriously wondered why we had bought some of the items we had; why we hadn’t used them; why we thought we ever needed them. As a result, I realise I need to think more carefully when making purchases. Is it something I need, something I want, something to entertain me for an hour, something to just give me a thrill when buying or is it actually something I need? I want to question my motives and to do this without having to prompt myself. With regards to the items I do have, rather than save them for the special occasion that never comes, I need to use them, take care of them and treat them well.
my intentions
I want to live a more ‘meaningful and simple’ life. Words that are banded out quite often recently. What I mean is, I don’t want money and possessions to be the things that matter the most to me. I want to enjoy my life and try to live in the moment. It won’t be easy because even though I am quite careful, the above few examples have highlighted that I am susceptible to the adverts and images I see on a daily basis, showing me items that I can’t live without or the lifestyle that I need to lead. I tend to worry about the future and the past. Whilst it is good to be conscious that time is happening, it shouldn’t restrict me enjoying my life, worrying about what has been or what’s to come. I know from experience this doesn’t do much good. I don’t want to be jealous of others – this is a big one. This is one of the most important things for me. Don’t be jealous of what others have and what they’ve done. I have done lots too and I have a pretty decent life. I need to appreciate this!
how will I do it?
- Be less materialistic and not think/believe I need things to make my life better
- Try not to buy clothes, books, stationery or makeup – the biggest offenders
- Stop eating out as much and in turn learn to be a more proficient cook
- Consider the packaging on items and try not to buy something with unnecessary packaging
- To enjoy life and be a good, kind and considerate person
- To use what I have already
- To enjoy nature more – there is true beauty in the natural world
I will probably think of more later on but that’s fine. It doesn’t need to be a perfect list and I expect and encourage it to evolve over time. There is no deadline for me to achieve this, I am not setting a specific timeframe. I am excited to document my journey on this blog and I hope that you enjoy seeing the changes too.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I promise future posts won’t be this text heavy but I needed to record my intentions to be able to read over them in the future and the remind myself of the goals I have set. Also to hopefully see how far I’ve come.
I hope you can join me on my journey.
Thank you for reading,
emily