Packing Light & Other Thoughts on Eliminating The Unnecessary

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

“He who would travel happily must travel light.” ~Antoine de St. Exupery

After nearly a dozen overseas trips I’ve learned that you really don’t need to take as much stuff as you think you do. In so many ways, that also offers us all a lesson in rightsizing. Of course it is easier for guys because they can get away with a pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts. But even though I’m responsible for toiletries and toothbrushes, I’ve learned that the penalty for lugging around a ton of stuff while trying to enjoy yourself is not worth the benefit of having it “just in case you need it.” And that made me think about all the other things I’ve tried to over-pack throughout the years, and a few things I’ve discovered about eliminating unnecessary clutter.

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The Joy And Benefits of Travel

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

“We travel to grow up, wake up, and stay on our toes.” ~Robert Fuller

SMART Travel I am writing this blog post in anticipation of our coming 3+-week vacation to Europe. In fact, by the time this post goes live on the SMART Living website and you read it, I am actually on the other side of the globe from where I live. At the same time, thousands of people from around the world are descending upon my city for one of the biggest music festivals in the world—The Coachella. And even though that awesome event is in my own back yard, I’m choosing to travel to Prague and Croatia because it is something I’ve always wanted to do. So why do I and so many other people like to travel and are willing to spend the time, money and resources to do it? Here are some ideas I’ve uncovered that go into making travel an art we can all appreciate. [Read more…]

In Search of Passion, Excitement & Meaning From Fifty Shades of Grey

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

“My inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five year old.”~ E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey

I haven’t read it—but 70 million other people have. Advertised as an erotic romance, Fifty Shades of Grey is currently the fastest selling paperback book of all time surpassing the Harry Potter series in sales. As a woman and a writer, the success and attention of this story has got my interest, even if the subject matter is beyond my usual genre. That, and a recent conversation with a girlfriend got me asking myself why so many of us crave passion and excitement in our lives—and then how we sometimes go about finding it. Believe it or not, I’m now convinced that this book’s success is another indication of why we sometimes over-consume, over-eat, and even why we over-complicate our lives in so many ways. [Read more…]

Midlife Minimalism—How Your Focus Changes & The Rewards Increase

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable, Thankful

“We get too soon old and too late smart.” ~Pennsylvania Dutch proverb

I read many online blogs and a large portion of them are about minimalism and simple living. That’s wonderful because I believe there is richness to simple living that goes far beyond having less stuff. I also think that since I’ve been embracing it more and more, my life has become happier, less stressful and far more meaningful. But something I’ve noticed is that the vast majority of blogs about minimalism are written primarily by those in their twenties to thirties. And while I’m psyched to know that young adults are embracing the lifestyle, I also believe that maturity offers a perspective that should not be overlooked. In fact, it is often those who have lived through multiple choices and experiences that have the most to offer others. That’s why I thought a few perspectives from midlife should be included in any discussion about minimalism or simple living.
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A World On Fire—Living In A Time of Vampires & Archetypes

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

“…the archetypal energy of The Vampire has exploded into the consciousness of our current generation.”

I have been a fan of author Carolyn Myss since reading her first book Anatomy of the Spirit back in the mid-90s. Her clear, humorous, no nonsense style of communicating attracted me—but it is her constant reach for deeper levels of awareness and spirituality that makes me her student. This last week I listened to a recent lecture she offered on the Internet. During the talk Myss pointed out that the world we live in is both physically and spiritually “on fire,” and that one of the best ways to learn to navigate this new world was to learn how to use archetypes. Regardless of whether you’ve heard of Carolyn Myss before, or the “why” of archetypes, a couple of her ideas stuck out that I felt were worthy of discussion. The most important of those were how a couple of today’s common archetypes are a reflection of life in the 21^st Century and what that means to you and me. [Read more…]

The Big Minimalist Question—Kids? Or No Kids?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

I’ve been interested in sustainability, minimalism and simple living for a long time now. But one topic I’ve seen very little written about is the impact that having children has on both the practice of minimalism and the environment. Like a big elephant in the room, this enormous, but highly emotional issue is almost completely ignored on most simple living blogs. Yet when you think about it, until we are willing to talk about it and examine it from a state of awareness and conscious choice, bringing kids into the world becomes just another cultural norm that the majority unconsciously accepts out of habit and societal pressure. For that reason alone, the big question about whether or not to have children (or add to an existing family) should be on every serious young minimalist’s list of important issues to decide.

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Repositioning Your Life—Seven Steps To A New You

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

A big part of living SMART 365 is recognizing and discovering new and beneficial ways to create a life of wellbeing and happiness. Like so many other things in life, the journey is not a destination—rather it is an ongoing process of growth, experience and expression. In some ways it is similar to something that occurs in the commercial real estate field in the U.S. What? That’s right, no matter how wonderful a property (or a life) has been in the past, there comes a time when it is necessary to “reposition” it in order to experience its highest and best use. Although human lives are far more complex, we can learn a few things about change, creativity and feasibility by taking a deeper look at the art of repositioning. [Read more…]

Seven Mental Illusions that Influence Our Everyday Thinking

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

A big part of Living SMART 365 is staying conscious, awake and aware. In fact, most of us like to believe that’s what we do most of the time. But after reading the book, “Thinking Fast & Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I’ve discovered that I am seldom as awake and aware as I think I am. In fact, far too often I frame most of my decisions like a lot of you—in the easiest and most comfortable ways possible. Fortunately, now that I have a better understanding of how human thinking and decision-making works, I can be more awake and conscious about some of the most routine illusions that befall us all. [Read more…]

2011 Top Blogging Lessons Learned From SMART Living 365

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Now that I have been blogging for just over six months and it is the end of 2011, I thought it might be a good idea to pause and reflect on some of the things I’ve learned along the way. While these lessons explain what I feel I’ve learned by blogging, just like with life 365, most of items (if not all) can apply to anyone, anywhere who is attempting to live a meaningful and rewarding life. [Read more…]