I recently watched a film called ‘Captain Fantastic’. If you haven’t seen it, please give it a go – it’s an amazing story about a family living ‘off grid’, essentially surviving in the wilderness, completely away from consumer society including technology. They made things out of wood and they did have capacity to travel to civilisation and sell them – but they only bought what they felt they needed, like books to educate themselves. The family had the fitness levels of elite athletes and their knowledge from the books was far reaching because there was nothing to distract them. Their connection to each other was incredibly strong – there was nothing they didn’t talk about at length. They had very little material things but they seemed to have so much more in other ways.
Are we in a present day paradox? We have more comforts and MORE in so many ways. But do we have LESS of what matters?
- We have time saving items such as a washing machine, a hair dryer and microwave, not to mention technology. Yet we seem so ill rested. One of the most common complaints seen at Dr’s surgeries is feeling exhausted. GPs have even coined an acronym for it: TATT (tired all the time).
- The self-help book industry is worth billions worldwide; yet we are less well mentally than ever (one in four of us is negatively affected).
- Social media has exploded – 38 billion WhatsApp messages are sent every day; yet 48% of people say they feel lonely.
- Over 600 million pounds is spent on Valentine’s Day; yet the majority of relationships don’t last and less people are getting married than ever.
We’ve walked on the Moon, been to Mars and back but can we start a conversation with the checkout person at the supermarket? Hug a stranger? Admit to each other that we’re struggling emotionally?
It feels like some humans ARE in the middle of a present-day paradox. It doesn’t matter what we achieve or accumulate – if it doesn’t add value and meaning to life, it’s worth nothing. The only way to address it is to become more conscious of what promotes true contentment. Living with intention is key. Picking and choosing how precious time is spent and energy expended in order to achieve balance.
And this is at the crux of the ethos at A Tidy Mind. The message is not just about looking at the possessions within your home. It’s about noticing what truly feeds your soul. Who or what do you come away from feeling energised? Likewise, what drains you?
Do your priorities match with where you concentrate the most time? They should. And if they don’t then you’re overdue a whole life tidy.
Thanks so much for reading!
A Tidy Mind xx