BarryMorris.net ~ Live More with Less

Moving Out of My Home in 30 Minutes

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The following is an excerpt from a wonderful book I’m reading on my Kindle. It’s called Goodbye, Things – The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki.

I can move out of my home in thirty minutes.

This spring, I moved into a new apartment. I didn’t do any packing beforehand and yet it only took thirty minutes to take everything out of my home, including the time it took to remove the light fixtures and unplug the washing machine. That’s how long it might take a person who needs time to decide what to wear before they leave their home. But in my minimalist style, I no longer need a lot of time to pack up my possessions. I’m able to move anywhere I like with the same casualness as stepping out for coffee.

While some might find this possibility absurd or impossible, I find it to be exhilarating.

The ability to move about the world at will and on a moment’s—or a 30 minute—notice is one of most exciting choices I think anyone could ever make. It represents a degree of freedom that I’m not certain I’ll ever attain, but one that I’m continually aiming toward.

The closest I’ve ever come was traveling for three weeks via planes, trains, and yes, automobiles across the US and back on a solo journey where I only used a Swiss Gear 20-liter backpack. It held everything I needed. 

While I might not be able to move to a new home in 30 minutes, I find it a worthy objective on my lifelong journey to live more with less.

My 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Challenge to Boost Weight Loss

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Steve Roy, FitDadNation.com

Steve Roy and I have been online friends for a few years. We began our online friendship back in 2013 after I was laid off from a corporate job and joined a mastermind group that Steve was heading up.

Steve runs FitDadNation.com, a website for middle-aged dads that offers personal training products and services and advice about being a better dad.  [Read more…] about My 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Challenge to Boost Weight Loss

Are You Being Authentic or Just Faking it?

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I can only answer for myself, of course, but I experience meaning when I’m totally honest and transparent. 

I’m honest and transparent with:

  • my son, Jay, about his future and mine
  • my girlfriend, Karen, about what I’m feeling and thinking
  • my boss, Kevin, about what I’m uncomfortable with and where I think we can improve
  • myself, about what’s important in the very brief life I’m living

Authenticity

For me, honesty and transparency are the cues that signal whether or not a person is used to being authentic. Being authentic—that reflection of our truest self without any pretending—is a mode of behavior that we are hopefully encouraged to observe in our upbringing by responsible adults who are, in fact, themselves authentic. 

When I think of ways I can be authentic, in addition to examples of honesty and transparency above, I think of the following:

  • I can write posts to this blog that are a reflection of my experience rather than a preachy exhortation 
  • I can make smart choices regarding my nutrition, finances, and relationships
  • I can answer questions posed to me with honesty and transparency
  • I can speak only when I have something valid to communicate
  • I can hold a view that is open to that of others instead of blocking those opinions with which I disagree
  • I can hold an honest and transparent intention in all my communication
  • I can initiate actions that reflect such intentions
  • I can make my livelihood in a manner that doesn’t bring harm to anyone
  • I can incorporate mindful mode of listening when interacting with others
  • I can undergird and support all that I do with a regular practice of meditation 

What can you do to become more authentic?

Five Black Shirts – An Experiment in Minimalist Attire

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Why yes, that is me….why do you ask? (Apologies to Mr. Handsome.)  😉

Life Experiments

I’ve conducted several life experiments over the years and I enjoy the process of designing and carrying them out. I always learn more about myself in the process.

Like the time I decided to examine every belief I ever held in order to arrive at what I actually could believe in. 

In that experiment, that I chronicled in my book The Practical Buddhist, I determined that my old beliefs—ideas or traditions that relied on me to buy into another’s version of truth or reality—weren’t valid. Today, I live without any beliefs and feel I am much better off for having conducted the experiment.

When it comes to living with less, I’ve experimented with having only four cups, four bowls, and four plates. Although I have a little more than four of each now, I’m not sure why. (Note to self: minimize dishes again.)

I’ve experimented with traveling with only a backpack for a month at a time, as well as only having a motorcycle for transportation.

Life experiments are fun and they tend to reveal something about me and that’s always useful for future growth.

The Five Black Shirts Experiment

In this experiment, I’m replacing my wardrobe, as minimal as it is already, with five black dress shirts (for work, dates, etc.), five black pants, and five black t-shirts (for casual wear, weekends, workouts, etc.) [Read more…] about Five Black Shirts – An Experiment in Minimalist Attire

Why I’m a Minimalist – My Top Reasons for Living with Less

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There are as many reasons to be a minimalist as there are people on the earth. While there are some that are more popular than others, reasons for becoming a minimalist are as diverse as the people who practice it.

Because I’m a classic introvert, I can react negatively, both psychologically and physiologically, when I’m with a crowd for a prolonged period of time or when I’m in an environment that’s untidy or unkempt.

After an hour or so in such an environment, I need to seek out a quieter and more isolated setting, sometimes by myself, in order to recharge. After about 15 minutes or so, I’m good to go again.

Add to this mix my empathic nature and I can become stressed without any apparent cause. It’s how I’m wired.

My top reasons for practicing minimalism are as follows: [Read more…] about Why I’m a Minimalist – My Top Reasons for Living with Less