A Quick Coffee Update #8

No one asked me this directly or in so many words, but I know that my readers noticed my absence on the blog for the past few months. Life always gets in the way of things but lately it has hit me in the head. The ‘Whys’? Let’s just say that some have been serious enough for me to lose most of my will to write, cook and keep up with my reading. Every single piece of work became a chore instead of a passion, and things that brought me internal peace and joy have turned into those I should/felt obliged to do, instead of things which usually come very natural to me.

Blogging, writing and a lack of inspiration

Even now, as I sit down to jot this down, I feel out of place. My newly neat desk, which was until a week or so ago cluttered and a complete mess, feels alien. However I refuse to think that I needed the clutter to think clearly. I just know that this is not true at all. What I need to do is to acclimatise to the new format, and I’m positive this will happen. How? I must allocate time to write every day. I managed before and I will manage again. I just have to give myself some time to think and to repeat: there is nothing wrong in taking a breather.

Fear, giving up and starting over

My top two priorities right now? I want to live a quiet life and to be as creative as I can be. Both are achievable…definitely but it will take time. The first seems a mere dream. However now that I’ve almost reached the big 40, it’s about time I revise my priorities and think more about taking care of myself. In all aspects. I should have done this before I’m aware of that. What is it with us? We put ourselves at the end of every list – many times we don’t even make it there. We take care of everyone and everything and set aside nothing, zero, nada, zilg of anything for ourselves. So I’ve decided to take the first steps. Which brings me nicely to this…

Minimalism, Social Media and Digital Detox

So a few weeks ago I came to the conclusion that I need to get rid of stuff – not necessarily of mere physical possessions but also of an attitude to life in general. Holding on to things or memories from years ago is of no help, and toxic people should be let go of. Friends, family or acquaintances. Everything and everyone that falls under negative must go. Admittedly this has not been an easy process and I’m still struggling to get to grips with it. First and foremost I had to understand the concept. You see, minimalism is quite *the* thing right now – it’s practically all over the web. As with almost any topic there’s thousands of videos, podcasts, blogs, articles and social media accounts. A wealth of information, which has to be sifted through. Only then you can see what’s right for you. After that, you turn to the real pros. (And yes – respectfully, Marie Kondo is *not* the only one out there. See below for some useful links.) I will never be an all-out minimalist, or rather, I don’t think I’ll ever be. Although I’ve learnt not to say never…and I’m learning so much. You might be a sceptic – I was and still am to a certain extent, but watch ‘Minimalism: A Documentary about The Important Things’ and we’ll talk.

I started small. I cleaned out my Twitter account – that and Instagram are working fine for me and suiting my photography and my blog, plus it’s a good tool to communicate with amateur and pro photographers, and also with other food enthusiasts.

Please feel free to write about this and start a thread in the comments section of this blog. I’d love to hear what you think about clearing stuff out and about if and how this improved your life. (C&T is not always all about food.)

And a short rant about Facebook (You could almost see this coming…)

Facebook, especially now after the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal hoolabaloo, is another ballgame. I am in the process of deleting the page for the blog in the coming days. I’m keeping my personal account, at least for now. Even though there are loads of written terms and conditions of usage, I really think that Mark Zuckerberg has fooled us all. We DO NOT have complete control of the data we choose to share on Facebook. Also, how can we trust someone who called us all “dumb f*cks”? Zuckerberg has made a $65 billion fortune out of his website’s use of information – out of OUR information. Unfortunately we all trusted him with it and took the bait. This has been going on for years and only now it is being spoken about. Shame.

Some links which I’m finding useful, listed in no particular order:

The Minimalists – Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

The Minimalist Filmmaker – Matt D’Avella

Be More With Less – Courtney Carver

Exile Lifestyle – Colin Wright

Becoming Minimalist – Joshua Becker

100% Happier – Dan Harris (podcast)

And that’s just to get going. Start small. Be good. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you soon. I’m just taking a breather. Find me here on C&T and/or my Instagram to keep in touch. I am there most days.

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