Let go, lighten yourself: the happy degrowth applied to our life, to appreciate more what you have, respecting the Earth.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousThere is a world that runs after growth and another, increasingly important part that has discovered degrowth. Let's clarify immediately: it is not a question of progressively returning to the stone age but of a new idea of economy, devoid of frills and useless and redundant abundance made only to honor consumerism and fatten the accounts of multinationals and beyond.
It is a vision that, among other things, returns to the value of things: certainly not the monetary value. Rather to the real one; to the relationship that exists and serves, with objects, with reality. It is a more authentic and respectful dimension that can start from the choices of one's daily life. “We live in an objectively heavy world - he explains Rossella Panigatti, author of the book The art of letting go, published by Tea -: for what happens to us directly, for the pressure to which we are subjected and in general for everything that happens, in the real world as in the virtual world, around us ". "Lighten" is the motto, the goal, the orientation, the vision that we can bring into our life. Fewer calories, fewer items, fewer shoes, less… whatever you want. You can start with what is easier, of course (by facilitating an attitude, a habit that is probably not yet ours and, certainly, is and will be challenged every day, ridiculed, belittled, undervalued by many: at home, at the work, among friends): from the cheap souvenir of that beautiful journey, never forgotten; from the photos of the elementary school, of the first loves; from the now ruined blanket but which warms out of affection.
After, once you get the hang of it, you can also start thinking about slightly more demanding operations: a house that no longer meets your needs, a job that does not give satisfactions, a relationship that drags on out of habit. Things like that. Letting go, throwing away, making room: not only to give the "new" the possibility to arrive but precisely to have space, free space. Air, breath and thus new possibilities of movement. Change.
Read also: 5 practical strategies to let go and live without ballast
Choosing lightness is like deciding to move, even if only symbolic. Once the decision is made, we must begin to process the loss: let go of something that has been with us, that reminds us of our life, that has accompanied us for a certain period, that has been part of our identity. The ground may be a bit shaky or rough at first. The trick, in this case, is to return to one's center: in the heart. Listening to oneself beyond the words, emotions and thoughts that whisper fear and habit.
If we look around us, nature teaches us that it is time. Autumn is the season for leaves on the ground: the trees have let them go. The time of being together, of mutual collaboration is over. The trunks remain, standing, essential, to show the branches that rush into the sky. Even wild animals prepare for the essentials they will have to face on the coldest days.
This could be, for us too, a good time to get closer to the lightness of letting go. Start there, try. And then, perhaps, with your own times and your own vision (even of lightness) to continue. However, one thing is certain: a happy growth in degrowth is a way to respect yourself, the Earth and also to appreciate more, and for real, what you have. It is worth a try.
Anna Maria Cebrelli
