Thinking (and sharing with my wife) about minimalism a lot lately, and what the things are that I hold onto. While it may look like it's easy for me (and has certainly become easier) to live with little, I struggle with simplifying in other areas of my life - technology and social media being two major ones. Seemingly benign, my computer and my Instagram accounts overwhelm me to no end - the same way, the same feeling as the first time I stood in front of my jam-packed closet and could only purge a few things. With my computer, I hold onto images. Going through them and whittling them down to the very best is a daunting task...so instead, I don't. And the thought of adding more has me so paralyzed that I've stopped taking photos...something I really love to do. With Instagram...it's time. It's the amount of accounts I follow. It's the constant influence parading in front of me to make my home/life/body/relationship/parenting/wardrobe look a certain way. It seems just about everyone is selling shit these days, that peddling products is a measure of "making it", and so we all create mini-ads, whether or not we're being paid. There are some people who do this as their actual job - single mamas, stay at home moms, brand photographers - and I have no trouble with this. I myself have, in the past, worked with select brands to generate income for our family. Yet a few mornings ago I was scrolling through my feed before I stumbled out of bed and went to work...and I tossed the phone onto the bed in frustration. Ad after ad after ad after ad had left me feeling I'd been watching commercials on TV, and I realized that many of the accounts I was following I wasn't invested in. I knew I needed to back away, to take a break, but how? Instagram is no longer a fun game, it's the source of our livelihood. It's where our business began. I can't just turn it completely off - but I CAN minimize it. I can choose what accounts to follow. I don't have to follow every single Airstreamer, or every traveler, or every mama with a pretty kitchen, or every biz doing cool things...Continued in comments below. ??

birchandpineさん(@birchandpine)が投稿した動画 - 2017/06/26 08:42:11