“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Lao Tzu

I love this NYC apartment with its clean uncluttered design.

Some people’s lives are cluttered with possessions to the point where their possessions are taking over their life.

I’m a minimalist, so I don’t have lots of knickknacks, magazines, books and papers in my home. I’ve been a minimalist since sixteen years of age.

At sixteen years old, a friend of my grandmother’s died. He didn’t have any family or friends, except for my grandmother and my family. There was no one to contact about his death, so my older brother and I were elected to dispose of his belongings. This was my first experience with losing someone I knew.

As I sat there looking through his photo albums, clothing, books and knickknacks he had collected over the years, I felt very sad. All of these precious items he had for over eighty years. All of his belongings and items he treasured, were left behind with no one to continue his memories. Sadly, we emptied item after item into the trash. Furniture, clothing, books, kitchen items, and electronics went to the Salvation Army.

Since that day, I stopped hanging on to items that I felt were nonessential possessions in my life. This allows me to simplify my life and also allows me to live in the present. When it comes right down to it, the only important moment is the present moment.

If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present. Because choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment of today, it robs you of truly living.

Shine On