A Clutterless World

People seem cluttered today. They seem distracted, confused and devoid of direction. They look adrift in a current that is too strong for them to fight against, so strong that they have neither the will nor care to even try to struggle against the directionlessness. Do most people still devote all of their focus and energy into individual tasks, or are they too engrossed in multitudes of meaningless distractions? Do people still sit down face to face and have long, meaningful, serious discussions? There must have been a time when this was so, when people had the will power to achieve great things, and achieve things greatly, or else incredible works of literature would not have been written and revolutions would never have occurred, and all of the great philosophies we have been studying would never have been thought up.

I have a vision of a utopia. In it, all clutter has been removed from the individual consciousness and humanity’s collective unconscious. People are, not merely satisfied, but happy with the necessities of life: food, clothes, water. Gone are the days of ipods, cell phones, Facebook, mass media, mass production and all material distractions. Capitalism comes crashing to its knees because companies can no longer force the false sense of need into our heads. Money is no longer a concept, as people have realized that the necessities are easily and sustainably produced from the earth. Oil ceases to be considered a resource because simple agriculture and water filtration do not require thousands of acres of land to be tilled with tractors, nor underground aquifers to be pumped dry. Violence no longer exists, as there are no inequities in need of balance; everybody lives simply and has their needs met equally through sustainable means. People have a mutual respect and love for one another, and an even greater love and respect for Earth, upon whose body they live and find sustenance.

My utopia is not attainable through policy change, changing economic systems, or any alterations on a grand societal scale. It is an evolution of consciousness. It is an individual’s realization that these things are all arbitrarily placed upon us and that they are not necessary to one’s happiness or existence. I have termed the process of coming to this realization “decluttering”, because it involves simplifying every aspect of one’s life, and removing unnecessary distractions, or clutter. Over the past few months, I have been undergoing this process of decluttering.

I started with my dietary habits. There are so many things citizens of industrialized nations like the United States consume that are unnecessary and downright unhealthy. I no longer drink sodas or most juices, as they have no nutritional substance and are filled with unnatural flavorings, colorings and chemicals. Fast food is gone from my menu, along with most saturated fat and all assortments of grease-laden food (except for an occasional desert). I feel much more energetic and aware than I did a few months ago.

Next was my bedroom. I have removed most physical clutter, and now the only things in my room are a small desk, two guitars, a mandolin, a keyboard, and a small selection of important books. I have also painted the walls a very mellow, calm, khaki color. My room now feels very peaceful, and as a result I have been sleeping less fitfully and falling asleep faster than ever before.

Everything else is still a work in progress. I am selling my Mac laptop for something with less frills, bells, and whistles. I am giving my smartphone to my sister in exchange for her more simplistic phone, and I recently decided it was rather “clutterful” to listen to music while I walk from class to class. I feel great. I feel focused, and I feel one step closer to my own personal utopia. I hope that other people may feel the same as I. I would like my utopia to, one day, extend beyond myself, and be a part of someone else’s.