Tag / minimalism

by yojeanyi

Tortoise lifestyle in an egg car

My vision for a tortoise lifestyle was inspired by a diplomat and a low tech bike traveler. Despite being itinerant, they were wholly satisfied and fulfilled in their lives. For me, it had seemed like there was no escape from modernity. It was the all too familiar pressure from family and friends, who believe that the barometer for “survival” is : permanent address, labor/wage contract, and forever dependent. 

Yet still grateful for the advances in medicine and technology that give us the highest quality of life in human history, I realized I could choose the parts of modernity that were beneficial.

Unexpectedly, moving to Asia supports my new vision. Hyper competition means diverse low cost options, high connectivity means convenience, and materialism? it’s easy to tune out the vapidity as a tortoise who lives close to the ground. For example: In a dense capital city, a small alley building has cheaper rent, allowing a mom and pop shop to offer affordable meals. Near the many universities are even cheaper offerings. Public transit is A+. You can get to where you need to go. An impromptu leave requires no planning- just a backpack of personal items. When tired, phone maps direct you to a $10-20 sauna or guesthouse. Convenience stores have 1+1 or 2+1 or 2+2 deals.

It was also helpful to realize, despite being born in the U.S., that my family were newcomers there, and thus without history. I have no precedent for becoming a settler. →(for another post)

“So how much do tortoises carry? A study on Hermann’s tortoises found the shell mass relative to body mass to be between 33.5% and 52.3%.” (source)

Carrying a shelter on your back makes you slow. If you want to be savvy, you could put it on some wheels, and ideally a manually powered one. 

If I had the means, I would make an egg car. But I can only dream.

by yojeanyi

A piece of driftwood I stumbled upon this summer whispered “Don’t ignore Your Internal Compass” and why I am going to listen to it

When the World Feels Pointless…Is it because we are ignoring our internal compass?

I guess I’ve been quietly grieving. It’s not a personal loss, but one of value alignment.

We are conditioned to mostly chasing—passive cultural experiences, trendy overpriced foods, variations of things we already have, collectibles, small talk that loops infinitely– filling space and time with more, more, more while neglecting to feed the soul.

We have everything we could ever need for the remainder of our lifetime and probably many lifetimes over. I have worn my mom’s polyester nylon pajamas from the 70s for years and counting. When it comes to U.S. cultural experiences, there are few accessible ones outside the fart of shopping and occasional outdoor recreation.

We receive deeper joy in effort. Things that ask something from us. We haven’t embraced a lifestyle that nurtures our internal values.

I want to go more simple. Imagining my shelter and life as human or solar powered mobility through walking or biking. I’m not thinking like a traveler, but like a tortoise. Slow life. I’m inspired by a Korean woman who biked the world. She was not a cyclist to begin with, and just took on the challenge one day, documenting the journey– the universal moments along the way. Her philosophy is “before she returns to the universe, she wants to experience the universe.”

I’m also inspired by an American medical researcher for the U.S. State Department whom I met at a Korean temple stay. As her job required her to go to remote countries for months or years, she didn’t have a permanent residence. She showed up in the coldest region of Korea with a lightweight quilted overcoat, athletic shoes, and large book backpack. She lives out of this backpack for months at a time. It is her home base.

My internal compass is getting tuned. The tortoise mindset means I cut more possessions down to essential utility and dual purpose items that fit. A spork, a drybag, fast drying shorts that double as swimwear; deep pockets to store sticks. In this state, utility meats creativity. A piece of wonky driftwood I got on the beach now triples as a lightweight digging tool, poking tool, and dirt flattener. It was MVP in the build of a sand sculpture. It’s the kind of design I love: found, natural, simple. It’s the life I aspire to design: found, natural, simple.

the life I aspire to design: found, natural, simple.