I have always been interested in reading about minimalistic living. Well I say always, since I have been aware of blogs and the different ways that people choose to live their lives. One such site is Zen Habits, another is Unclutterer and they are always really interesting reads. There are others but these are the ones I read the most.
The most important point here is that I have always enjoyed READING about it…. I have never taken that extra step and incorporated it into my own life.
I know a few things about myself. One thing I know is that I have an incredibly addictive personality. That’s not to say that people get addicted to me, rather that I get addicted to things. At any given moment I am usually obsessed with something to the exclusion of all other things. Take Skyrim for example. As I have mentioned a few times over the last few months, I absolutely love this computer RPG. The downside of this is that I have a natural tendency to think about it ALL THE TIME. I will be sat at work thinking about character builds, or ways to use a particular spell or complete a particular quest. I will drift off and run through parts of the game in a daydream.
Well, you might say, that’s just like anyone else who is enjoying something. And you would be right. But where it becomes a bit more concerning is when it stops me from wanting to do anything else. I will sit down at my computer and instead of writing on here, I will fire up Skyrim, because I feel like any time NOT playing Syrim is wasting time that I COULD be spending…playing Skyrim! I have been feeling really bad about not posting on here so much since Xmas, but I can’t tear myself away from that cursed game!!
So how does this link to the title of the post you may ask? Well, it’s that sometimes I feel that I actually want all these new-world distractions to disappear, so I am not tempted by any of them, so I can actually choose what I want to do, do it for a while, and then maybe do something else. I am very lucky in that I have loads of distractions competing for my time these days (In no particular order) :
1. Skyrim
2. Everquest (An MMO that I play with some friends and occasionally my partner)
3. Reading (I have so many books that I have started but not finished)
4. Writing (Poetry and on here)
5. My family
6. Work!
At any given time I feel like I am only focussing on one, to the detriment of all others. I know it’s a very “glass half empty” kind of way of looking at things, but that’s the way my mind works when it comes to this.
So what can I do about it?
My initial knee jerk reaction is to stop playing Skyrim altogether, stop playing Everquest, and catch up on the reading and writing that I am missing so much. Is that the right thing to do though? I really enjoy both Skyrim and Everquest. Everquest in particular is the only way I keep in touch with some friends.
This is what I mean by the title of this post, I have so much, and I need none of it, but if I throw it all away then what is left?
I am in a huge muddle at the moment, hopefully I will sort it out soon and be able to relate better what I do about it.