For a while now, I’ve been talking about embracing minimalism as a lifestyle, and applying it to every area of my life. I even made a public declaration in January 2014 about how this was going to play out.
Since then, I’ve had some successes and quite a few failures. Turns out I am much more attached to my shoes/bags/wallets/jewelry/books/clothing than I originally thought, so the struggle has been so real.
Enter Mr. Harvey.
In March of 2015, I married Richard, the personification of a minimalist, even though he doesn’t consider himself one. I shared my plans with Richard and committed to executing on them. I wanted less debt, less weight, less hangups, and less stuff. I wanted more joy, good health, peace of mind, and faith. Turns out, my husband is one of those people that expect you to do what you say you are going to do. Cue the arguments.
“What do you mean I need to get rid of this stuff?” (Wrote about that, too.) So while I said again and again how much I wanted to live a life of less but better, what I did, said something else altogether.
I like to speak in terms of if/then, a testament to my life as web geek. My husband has adopted this habit and has been asking me questions about my expressed goals, including:
- If you want to be debt free, then why are you buying another — insert frivolous purchase of choice –?
- If you want to lose weight, then why are you eating gelato at 10 p.m.?
Someone once told me that marriage will show you who you are; I can honestly say I need to be much better.
I have a friend who at the beginning of each year chooses a word or phrase as her theme, and then uses that word or phrase to guide her actions for the coming year. I have seen her achieve great success with this practice, so I am adopting it as well.
My word/theme for 2016 is integrity. I will ask myself at every turn if my words and actions are contributing to me being a person of integrity. Am I taking daily action to live  a life of less, but better? If the answer is yes, then good on me, if the answer is no, then I will do better. There is no try, because, Yoda.
I expect a lot of resistance and even resentment, mainly from myself. Change is difficult, even when it is necessary and for the good. Right now, I feel like a caterpillar shedding its skin. I heard there is magic within the chrysalis. I believe a beautiful butterfly will emerge in the end. Meanwhile, I suffer from crippling claustrophobia. Fix it, Jesus.
Here I go! Pray for me, y’all.