The Life Around Us #5 September/October 2017 $2.99 www.masterofsimplicity.com
Direction and Edition: Fรกtima Teixeira Supervision: Giovani Goulart Marketing: GGO Master of Simplicity Contact: masterofsimplicity@gmail.com Website: www.masterofsimplicity.com /magazine Facebook: www.facebook.com/ masterofsimplicitymagazine Translation: Cรกtia Nogueira Editor's Note: The articles are originally written in Brazilian or Portuguese, giving each author the freedom to express themselves accordingly. Icons created by Madebyoliver of Flaticon License by Creative Commons BY 3.0
The Life Around Us... : either it adds Everything around us has a meaning our purpose and value to our life, or distracts us from our essence, to goals. The decision is ours: to find ople with whom make healthy choices, to inspire pe we live, ... ourselves and It all starts when we decide to analyze all our attitudes. we choose to take responsibility for I choose to avoid A better world: mine, yours, ours. e consciously, to waste, to waste less, to consum and to find reproduce more natural products to BE MORE with tranquility in my daily life. I choose to share with you less. And so I take this opportunity hop) that I have the recent events (lecture and works nimalism. held to inspire as people through mi ZoĂŤ Kim from In this issue enjoy an interview with Shyla Hutchison, The Minimalist Board blog and meet way minimalism mother of eight, who who shares the benefits her family's routine. Sit down, open the window and enjoy this edition inspired by the life around us! Good readings!
by the directress and magazine creator FĂĄtima Teixeira
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MINIMALISM 06 MINIMALISM: A BETTER WAY TO LIVE Fátima Teixeira
34 BETWEEN REASON AND HEART Fátima Teixeira
36 MINIMALISM FROM THE INSIDE OUT Ana Alaíde Ortiz Tavares
SHARING 12 SUGESTÕES Site, Livro e Documentário
SIMPLICITY 38 CREATING MOMENTS... Catarina Agostinho
INTERVIEW
WELLNESS 14 FINDING OUR ESSENCE Tarso Spadini
16 SLOW BEAUTY Lorena Ventura
46 UNIVERSITY: PERSONAL EXPECTATIONS AND RESSIGNIFICATIONS Juliana Prata
48 ACADEMY OR PERSONAL DISCOVERY Sofia de Assunção
5 SILENT RETREAT Karin Lisboa 52 THE 4 ELEMENTS OF NATURE IN TEAMS Dulce Blum Menezes 56 THE POWER OF POSITIVE PEOPLE Sutra Prem 58 OBJETS THAT CHANGE OUR BODY Caio Huck Spirandelli
26 ZOE KIM 42 SHYLA HUTCHISON
SUSTAINABILITY
ORGANIZATION 18 CHILDREN: ROOM ORGANIZATION Rosangela Aggio
64 ZERO WASTE Ana Milhazes Martins 7 THE ECOVILLAGE MOVEMENT IN BRAZIL Flávia Beck
RECIPE 60 ECOLOGICAL CLEANING Karine Rodrigues
MINIMALISM
Minimalism:
a better way to live There are more and more people getting to know minimalism through the internet and google. It is great to be inspired by blogs and various websites, in which anyone writes what they think, applying the concept on themselves and their understanding. However, few are those who study their meaning and investigate the matter. You need to understand minimalism in more detail to be able to take advantage of it. In the lectures and workshops that I minister, I seeks to show the minimalism applied in different contexts: the traveler, a housewife with a large family, an entrepreneur who seeks to reconcile their different areas of life, which is not minimalist but enjoys some ideas and benefits
of minimalism, etc. In this way, listeners and participants identify themselves with the historical knowledge and understand that they can benefit from some premises of minimalism. It is, moreover, a moment of personal reflection, in which each one stops and selfanalyzes: what do I want to improve? What do you want to do now? What do I want to conquer? It is also time to clarify some misconceptions: "the whole black and / or white clothing" or "rip you off the things you like the most," among others. Minimalism aims to make your life better. How? Removing what distracts you from what you really want. Making room for what really matters.
ORGANIZATION
Children
room organization
Organization is, without a doubt, essential for the human being; besides facilitating our daily routine, it greatly increases our quality of life. The human being, since birth, needs a physical space to develop and, if this space is organized, it gives benefits directly linked to physical and emotional health. Sleeping in a messy room and, not having a healthy
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sleep routine, affects the health of anyone. Through actions, children attribute meaning to things so, for example, you are a mirror to your children, your actions reflect directly on their attitude. Here are some tips to get the organization into the education of children.
Schedule one day with your child to organize clothes, shoes, and uniforms. Categorize clothes by season, colors and occasion. Donate what is no longer good, separate what needs to be repaired and discard what you can not use. Note: Disposal must be done correctly.
Take time to help them organize school supplies, select everything that is not in use, and donate or dispose accordingly. Separate notebooks and books by subject and day of class, accommodate them in a way that is easily accessible, so the child's backpack will carry a proper weight to be taken daily.
Play with your child and organize the toys. Separate them by categories: cars, games, balls, dolls, etc ... Select what can be recycled, donated or discarded. Store them in a transparent organizer box. Identify what's inside each box with labels.
Organizing a children's room is a relevant task. The environment has many trinkets, toys and clothes scattered around every corner. The biggest challenge is to make an efficient organization project , making life easier for the child and the parents.
Zoë Kim Zoë Kim is an author, wife, mom of four, and creator of The Minimalist Plate, a website that inspires families to own fewer possessions to make room for what matters most.
She is also a contributor at The Huffington Post and the popular website, No Sidebar. In 2010 she moved from Hawaii to Florida. It was after this move with only two children at the time she found herself stressed and exhausted, spending more time doing things with her stuff than doing things with her family. It was in that stress and exhaustion that her desire to live lighter was born. During that season, while researching ways to live a more simplified life, she came across Beà Johnson’s Blog, Zero Waste Home.
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
Shyla Hutchison is a homeschooling mother to 8. She's been married to her high school sweetheart for twenty years and lives in the rolling hills of TN. In her free time she can be found dreaming up organization plans, reading anything she can get her hands on, and longing for her next trip to the beach. MASTER OF SIMPLICITY: How does minimalism benefit your family and your daily routine? SHYLA HUTCHISON: As a mother of eight kids born in a span of 13 years, who also happens to homeschool, I learned early on that prioritizing, focus, streamlining, and simplicity are my friends. The less stuff I have to manage, the more time I have to focus on what really matters. Isn't this why most minimalists became minimalists? Last year we had four kids with jobs, one travel soccer player, two rec soccer players, four kids in dance, one college
student, seven kids in their respective academic supplement/enrichment classes, three kids in piano, one kid in guitar, one kid in drama, and my husband and I also work at church on a weekly basis. We spend a lot of time at home since we homeschool and my husband's office is here, but we also spend a lot of time getting ready to go places and we have lots of different activities going on at any given time. Making those schedules and processes as easy as possible has a purpose - it keeps us sane and not short tempered and stressed. Things like packing a
Minimalism is one of the largest contributing factors to having a peaceful, rested, happy mom here - and that benefits everyone! lunch, finding clothes, packing a bag, finding school books - normal everyday family things - is much easier when you have what you need and it's in its place as well as being easily accessible. We value our family relationships more than anything else and it's the little things that help keep a peaceful atmosphere. Imagine a day with me. Eight kids ranging from a sophomore in college down to Kindergarten. A husband who is a general contractor, so he may start his day with an early meeting somewhere in town, or he may be at home working in his office. The 19 year old college student opens at work at 6 a.m. before going to class for the day. She gets herself up, packs her lunch, and gets herself out the door. It only takes her about 15 minutes because her clothing choices are easy, she can find everything (yes, even in the dark!), she can grab food for later quickly and quietly because the refrigerator and cupboards are organized. And while we have everything we *need*, we don't have so much stuff that she's having to dig through cabinets. The rest of the day will include younger kids possibly doing school here or going to their various classes or lessons. I can say grab your stuff,
pack some food, and be ready in thirty minutes and they can do it because we're not tripping over each other or stuff. Cooking is easy because our cabinets are not overflowing and I don't have to dig through them to get to things. You've heard the sayings, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," or "Happy wife, happy life?" Minimalism is one of the largest contributing factors to having a peaceful, rested, happy mom here - and that benefits everyone! M.O.S.: Any of your 8 kids is already a minimalist? S.H.: I wouldn't say that any of them would give themselves the label of minimalist, they like to tease me quite often, but I definitely have a few that tend that way naturally. I also have a few that are sentimental hoarders, albeit well-organized hoarders. I'm curious to see what they are like as they get older and how their personalities may stay the same or change. My eight year old daughter, who is very sweet and somewhat dramatic, used to be such a sentimental hoarder. I was growing alarmed at her growing pile and emotional difficulty at the idea of parting with random papers, trinkets, and the like. But as she continued to grow older, keeping her space tidy
grow older, keeping her space tidy became more and more frustrating and difficult. She began to realize just through everyday conversations and observing the way the family operates in general that her memories and friends weren't dependent on her "stuff." She has actually transformed into one of my most minimalist-leaning kids! And ironically, as I sit here, my five year old daughter is dictating to me a birthday list that includes Barbies and a new Barbie camper even though she already has quite a few Barbies and a doll camper - she thinks her smaller Barbie needs her own, but at the same time she just brought me a bag of Barbies she no longer plays with and wants to donate. So there you have it - both sides of the same coin! I would say that overall my kids are all quite content. None of them are driven to acquire clothing or stuff just for the sake of having it. I think they're largely like that because it's been modeled. M.O.S.: In which way your minimalist behaviour affected your children and your husband? S.H.: Having a minimalist for a mom/ wife in a home with nine people that are
not minimalists makes for an interesting dynamic. As moms we play a powerful role within our families, and our actions as well as attitudes often set the tone for a home. Honestly, I don't think my family really uunderstands all the benefits that come from my minimalist leanings since it's always been their norm. They get a taste of it to be sure when they visit friends' homes that are overwhelmingly cluttered or messy, and they realize, at least on some level, that not having too much stuff makes their lives easier. When they express a desire for something a lot of times all it takes is me asking if they really want something else to clean or take care of and they reconsider. That said, I know that there is a fair amount of eye rolling that happens, too! I like to think that when they move out they will come back to me and thank me for making their lives at least a little simpler and easier. As far as my husband, he does appreciate my desire for minimalism and order. All relationships require respect and compromise in order to be healthy. I can talk a good organized and minimalist talk, but the reality is that I live in a home with nine other people that I love. You wouldn't walk into my
"I've had to learn, and to be honest am still learning, to value relationships over having things exactly how I want them" home and immediately think, minimalism! You might be surprised we don't have more stuff, especially if you peek in closets and cabinets, but our home looks well-lived in. A lot of life happens there. While my dream house environment would have less stuff and everything would be in its place, I realize my family is made up of individuals that desire to be loved and accepted as they are. There are kids, teenagers, a dog and a cat - we are really normal! I've had to learn, and to be honest am still learning, to value relationships over having things exactly how I want them. My minimalism has brought them a lot of benefits, but I know it's also easy to frustrate them with it. Finding a balance is important to me.
To Be Continued...
In the next issue of the magazine (November / December) Shyla tells how she became a minimalist and shares her strategies to keep the house organized! Do not miss it! You can contact Shyla via email: motheringingrace@gmail.com
WELLNESS
The 4 elements of nature in teams
I begin this essay by quoting the Law of Correspondence, one of the seven hermetic laws: "As above, so below As within, so without" Very well! From the pre-Socratic philosophers to the Renaissance it was believed that the elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water were the basic elements in the constitution of matter. Nowadays, the concept of team leadership and self-leadership associated with neo-shamanism, rescue and applie the concept that the characteristics of the 4 elements of nature are present in each of us, since everything that is outside is in the same way inside.
SUSTAINABILITY
"Plastic Mandala": beach cleaning organized by Plastic Sundays
Zero Waste Did you know that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish? On average, each straw takes about 400 years to decompose? That many straws go to the oceans and are ingested by marine animals often causing their death?
The Zero Waste movement, which consists of producing as little trash as we can, was created by Bea Johnson, who has been following this philosophy of life with her family for about 10 years. Hand in hand with minimalism, this movement is based on a philosophy based on 5 R's (exactly in this order): 1) Refuse what we do not need - Samples, gifts, everything that is free, unaddressed advertising, straws, tray paper, napkins ... Refuse everything we do not really need 2) Reduce everything that we can not refuse 3) Reuse everything we can, such as glass bottles (the use of them can be for storage of products purchased in bulk, to freeze soup or other foods, to serve as a glass...) 4) Recycle what we can not refuse, reduce or reuse, making the proper separation of the waste we produce (which will vary according to the waste management system of each region / country) 5) Rot what we can not refuse, reduce, reuse or recycle - compost or, if it is not possible, ask friends and neighbors who do, and if so, if they can take your trash.
SUSTAINABILITY
The ecovillage movement in Brazil
The first ecovillage in the world was created in 1962, called Findhorn Foundation, as a non-governmental organization, and is associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. The organization's function is to promote ecological, economic, cultural, and spiritual sustainability.
We are often defined by what we consume and produce, most of the time discarding the self and giving a great importance to material belongings. Against this movement, ecovillages emerged in Brazil. These are human settlements, where there is a displacement of space, with a well defined place for housing, as well as a more conscious time management.