{"id":145414,"date":"2019-05-30T15:58:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T22:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=145414"},"modified":"2019-05-31T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T23:49:51","slug":"does-this-simplify-or-complicate-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/30\/does-this-simplify-or-complicate-my-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Does this Simplify or Complicate my Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A thought while contemplating consumer culture in America:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are often suckered into buying new things to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153improve\u00e2\u20ac\u009d our lives, but more often than not \u00e2\u20ac\u201d these new things actually complicate and worsen our lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thus my simple thought: perhaps with material things, tools and equipment \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we should strive to simplify our lives, instead of complicating our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For example, cars. A car is very convenient for many things, and will certainly help you get from point A to point B much quicker. But the question is \u00e2\u20ac\u201d does the car complicate or simplify your life? For example, when I have a car, I often get suckered into going to the mall or places that are further out \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which wastes a lot of time (stuck in traffic, and time spending to find parking). When I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have access to a car, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stay more local, and walk around more\u00e2\u20ac\u201d which is often better for my creative thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shoes\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also with cameras, laptops, devices, digital tools, etc \u00e2\u20ac\u201d more often than not, having TOO MANY OPTIONS actually makes us LESS PRODUCTIVE to create things which we are really interested in. And trust me \u00e2\u20ac\u201d whenever I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m lacking creative inspiration, I always get the voice in my head that tells me \u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just buy that new thing, and then suddenly you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be so much happier and creatively productive!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Lessons learned while living nomadically<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve cycled between nomadic living, traveling, and being domesticated in the suburbs the last decade or so \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and my simple lesson in life is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simpler life is a superior life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the nomadic life in itself is what makes life more fun and interesting \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is the fact that when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re living nomadically, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a choice or option to live a complicated life. Living nomadically FORCES you to live simply\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because you cannot accumulate much material things, nor can you live in a big home, etc. Nomadic living is forced simple living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can live a simple life anywhere \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but this is my main thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To live simply and to NOT accumulate excess takes more skill than to go shopping and buying new shit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example when you live in the suburbs or in a big home, accumulating stuff is almost an occupational hazard. Stuff seems to just mysteriously fill up the space of your home\u00e2\u20ac\u201d whether you buy it on amazon, acquire it from friends and family, or from birthday parties or at the mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mantra I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tried to follow the last decade:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyday, strive to strip the superfluous.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still trying to figure out what is essential and superfluous in my life. And the tricky thing is that what is essential and superfluous in my life is constantly in a state of flux. Thus, everyday I must be active, sharp, and agile \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to keep changing my tools, my environment, and my daily schedule to accommodate for my new needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Optimize your life for philosophy and art<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"selfie\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I derive the greatest joy from thinking and creating\u00e2\u20ac\u201d a blend of philosophy and art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that the ultimate apex of human self-actualization is a hybrid of artist-philosopher. Being productive and fruitful as a visual artist, while also thinking deep thoughts on life, wisdom, and knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus a simple way to live your life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d whenever you want to make a certain lifestyle choice, or buy something, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will this help me develop and grow as a philosopher-artist?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

ERIC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A thought while contemplating consumer culture in America: We are often suckered into buying new things to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153improve\u00e2\u20ac\u009d our lives, but more often than not \u00e2\u20ac\u201d these new things actually complicate and worsen our \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_20190529_195303.jpg?fit=4000%2C3000&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145414"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145720,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145414\/revisions\/145720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}