Lately, I’ve had a huge desire to weed out what no longer serves me and clear out what’s not necessary in my life. As far as external things, I’ve been clearing things that either A) I don’t want because I’m simply over it or B) The expiration date has past and it’s time to refresh and renew. On an internal level, I’ve been paying attention to the relationships, thoughts and activities that are either calling me and adding to my life or not.

A couple weeks ago I listened to one of Oprah’s Master Class Podcast’s that featured Lenny Kravitz. The way he spoke about concepts of minimalism and simplicity really struck me.

Here’s the particular quote from the podcast that really jumped out:

I can really identify with the feeling of freedom that less brings. When you don’t have so many things and so much stuff to pay attention too, keep track of, lug around, pay for and deal with, there really is so much more space to just BE. Both figuratively and literally.

Why do some of us have so much stuff?

It can be scary to not have enough stuff and things to distract ourselves and hide in. In the same sense that open space has freed Lenny Kravitz, some of us may find ourselves avoiding this open space because it requires us to have to sit and look at ourselves. ( I know I can identify with this at certain points of my life; especially when my emotions were high and painful to confront.) It can feel so intimidating to face the raw truth of who we are and how we are showing up that we create lives designed to keep us busy with a lot of unimportant things.

We also have so much stuff because there is so much stuff out there. It’s a bit nuts how many options for everything there is right now. There are so many options, so many things, so many people. Knowing how to weed through all the different choices that life presents without becoming totally overwhelmed is an important life skill to acquire. I know it has become more of a struggle for me to find the calm amongst all the different choices, even if I’m just talking about buying a freaking lamp! This is why, for me, keeping things simple is of such high value. It’s helping me to stay more centered, more internally quiet and and more clear as I continue to navigate my life.

How can you start working on freeing space for yourself?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and unclear, it may be helpful for you to shift that headspace by cleaning out your external space. It can be really eye opening for you to see how the weight that you hold internally can be freed as you externally rid of what no longer serves you.

Complete things that deserve completion in your life.

Meaning, finish that book you’ve been wanting to finish. Call that friend that things are grey with and clear up the confusion. Make sure that you are completing things in your life because everything that lays around incomplete is taking up space. If you decide you don’t want to complete it, then let it go.

Let go of things that you know longer want to carry, both emotionally and physically. Make the choice to free yourself of unneeded weight.

It’s never a bad idea to clean up your space. After all, less is more , right? My hope was for this post to inspire you to purge what you no longer need in order to make space for what really matters and what makes you happy.

*Image above is of @oftenwander by photographer, Amy Lynn Bjornson.