Minimalism, to what end?

Packing your life into a suitcase to move to a new city, what an adventure. Letting go of all the past baggage to start afresh. Creating a new identity for yourself so you can be who you want to be. Avoiding past mistakes. Sounds great...on paper. No one tells you what that really entails.

It's that time in my life again where I have to pack up what I have to start anew. Five years goes by way too fast. The opportunity came faster than my fiance and I had anticipated. But we knew it was the right time.

Sometimes it's hard to let go of good things: relationships, people, your home, and your stuff. I believe that you have to constantly let go in order to go with the flow. If you didn't how could you ever progress. You need to let go of the old in order to make space for the new.  As one of my favourite YouTubers, Lilly Singh always says, "live outside of your comfort zone." This is definitely not easy.

Now, the whole point of this post. Minimalism. It's trending right now. I've consistently tried to downsize my things during the past year. I thought packing was going to be a no biggie. Boy, was I wrong.

You never know how much you have until you try to stuff it into a suit case. I was appalled at how much I had. How embarrassing. I really had to sit and think about what was meaningful and useful for me to have. This was incredibly difficult, I felt like I had failed at minimalism. We had to store a bunch of things at his mom's place. All the furniture had to be given away.

I know that I still need to drastically downsize. Having so much stuff to the point of worry of where to store it is a telltale sign you've got way too much. How terrible. Our time and energy is precious and I don't want to waste it on things that truly don't matter anymore. 

I want to surround myself with things that add value to my life. Art is something that brightens and sparks my creative spirit. Rest assured that my inspirational goddesses from thisthatandthese and breathtakingly beautiful paintings from Mo'ology ended up in my suitcase! 

I look forward to starting my next chapter in our new town. We have visions of a nice, clear home. A peaceful sanctuary to rest, as it should be. I want to let go of all the necessary things holding me back in life. So that I may let all that truly matters in. I can't wait to consistently go back into my spiritual practice. Meditation will help me fill my empty void.

Let the journey to minimalism start: the unburdening of the mind, body, and soul.

What does minimalism mean to you?

Goddess Provisions Box Review: January 2016

Today I'll be reviewing one of my favourite subscription boxes, Goddess Provisions. This is my fourth box. It's a monthly box but you can also buy previously released boxes in their "Shop" section. It's 35$ USD per month (you know that I must love this box to not cancel after the Canadian exchange rate!) Below is a description taken from their website:

"Each box will contain a mix of 4-6 full size products including:  Aromatherapy, Crystals, Apothecary Beauty, Super Food Snacks, Tools for Spiritual Growth, Tea. Our boxes are always cruelty-free & vegan."

This month's theme is "Self-Care." Every box comes with a card letting you know what goodies you've received in your box. Let's get into this month's products. Pictures of the products will follow the descriptions.

I was really excited to see a tinted balm this month. The product card that came is so gorgeous, on the back is a code for 20% off the Concrete Minerals website! I've never heard of this company before, so I'm excited to try it. Alas, I have too many lip products open right now, so I'll have to wait a bit to test this beauty. There were a few different colours sent out, so it was a surprise to see which colour you got. I'm happy I got the rosy nude one :)

Every month, so far, we have received a crystal. I'll be honest, one of the reasons I first suscribed was to grow my crystal collection.This month it's tangerine quartz. Goddess Provisions describes this crystal as, "Metaphysically, tangerine quartz carries an energy that allows for new and clear interpretations of the events that effect us most It supports balance in the Sacral Chakra and helps to "Put the Past in the Past." It can raise your vibration to be more positive, and in turn make it easier for you to connect to others." 

We received a generous size of bath salts, and like the lip balm it was a surprise to see which scent you got. I was really happy to get the one I was most drawn to, Drift. I'll wait to use this for a special day.

OMG! This roll-on fragrance from The Goddess Line smells so divine! I'm so in love with how it smells. It's both delicious and calming, the notes are vanilla, amber and almond oil. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, I think because of the coconut oil, but there's little chunks of white in the bottle. It's quite cold these days in Montreal, Canada so I'm anxiously awaiting warmer days to wear this.

Last but not least is the Yes to Cacao meditation chocolate. I'm a vegetarian transitioning to being vegan. I'm still adjusting to vegan chocolate but this chocolate is unique in taste. The tumeric actually works well and doesn't off put the taste. At the back of the chocolate bar it says, "Make a wish and take a bite." It's cute that it has a positive intention and the bar is stamped with "YES."

As always, I am very impressed and happy with this month's Goddess Provisions Box. My favourite item is the Parvati perfume. On a side note, Parvati is the Hindu Goddess of love, fertility, and devotion. I resonate with her because I have a love for mountains. I recommend looking up her story.

Goddess Provisions already released some spoiler pictures for their February box, it looks amazing. Check out their Instagram feed if you want more info @goddessprovisons. Have you tried the Goddess Provisions Box? What are your thoughts on the January box?