Minimalism is an idea that seems to speak my language. It has shown me how to purposefully strip away the excess, to simplify. In my experiments with minimalism, it has taught me how to search for what is valuable amongst the clutter scattered amongst the various areas of my life. And this not only applies to physical possessions, but also to who “you” are. The person at the core, the essential you.
I am aware that the idea of “finding yourself” can become cliché and somewhat useless. With the conversation mostly vague in nature. But I still firmly believe that there is a great need and value in uncovering and living within a life that is essentially you. A life that makes time for and celebrates, both the purposeful passions and built in idiosyncrasies. And what I do know, is this person is not easily discovered in a world filled with endless distractions. This person must be searched for.
Solitude
The start of the search begins in solitude. And I venture to say that solitude is the only place to start. A place where “you” cannot be avoided. With the initial steps of getting comfortable in the counter-cultural nature of solitude and silence. By concentrating more than a few passing moments of your time to being in solitude. You must cultivate a habit of solitude and learn to enjoy it. Finding a place of your own within it. A place where over time you etch “I was here”.
In this place you will find that the other voices telling you who to be, are silenced for another voice to be heard. In the silence of solitude, the inner voice of you can be listened to. In these moments of solitude, there is no goal. Only to let what is beneath rise to the top. What has been pushed down, now given the opportunity to speak.
“When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death—ourselves.” – Eda LeShan
Self-reflection
Within the place of solitude, you position yourself to see who you have been, who you are, and who you want to be. But with this new view you must choose to do more than just observe. You must examine what you see. To self-reflect on what is found in those moments of solitude.
With self-reflection you will find that it is both painful and powerful. It can show you the side of yourself that is hid from others in quiet shame. The very person you may have passionately vowed to never become. The person which hinders from seeking self-reflection itself. But if you choose to face this side of yourself, and the pain that it may bring. Only then can you also see a glimpse of what you can become.
Without these moments to glance at your life from this exact view, a place of self-reflection, you will be unable to move on from who you are. It is only from a place of solitude and the solemn action of self-reflection that you can take the steps towards your essential self.
“Self-reflection entail asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining where you want to take your life in the future.” – Robert L. Rosen
Experiment
As the search of discovering more of yourself leads you through the act of self-reflection. It will be revealed that who you are is not set in stone. It is fluid and wanting to be created. Like a puzzle with pieces waiting to be put together. Certain pieces may seem to fit themselves with ease. Others may fit for a season, then one day find themselves moved to find a slightly simpler fit. And lastly there will be pieces that appear, with frustration, to have no joining piece within the framework of you.
But as you attempt to make sense of your life and what seems more messy than meaningful at times. You must see that life is not pieced together through a series of pass/fail tests, but rather a group of existential experiments. Where what you do with the results is more important than the results themselves. With the only failed experiments being the ones not attempted, and the most successful ones those you choose to learn from.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Others
Lastly, life would be a great tragedy to find oneself and to become a version that is essentially you, only to experience it alone. Along this journey you may seek to find yourself, but the purpose is not for yourself alone. For one of the greatest treasures in life is to share it with others. To share both who you are and who you are becoming. We may journey to find what lies within us, but we will only see it best when we let others shine a light upon which we discover. We must choose to “be” with others to fully see who we have become.
So as you journey along, do not forget to also share in the journeys of others. To help them along their own path which they find themselves on. You will discover that the essential version of you can only be truly enjoyed and experienced, when the difference of who you have become is felt by others around you. When the need in others is met by what you have found in yourself, in these moments, then you will find why the essential you must be found.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein
Life, keep it simple and live it
Joshua
PC: Lawless Capture