Discardia_ More Life, Less Stuff - Dinah Sanders [1]
The quarterly celebration of Discardia—a new holiday—is the time to carve away all the nonsense that isn’t making us happy, and uncover what does. We don’t have too little; we’ve piled too much on top of ourselves. When we steadily scrape away the junk with one good decision at a time, our true selves begin to shine through. Discardia doesn’t require us to change course radically; rather, it is the simple practice of leaning the boat in the direction in which we want to sail. Little adjustments lead us to wonderful new places.
Letting go and lightening our loads create positive motion; when combined with a light touch on the rudder—a little leaning of the boat—we have the ability to turn our lives in better directions.
The tips in this book, plus the supportive community of Discardia fans (whom, for convenience, I’ll refer to as Discardians) found in multiple online locations, will help you put your energy where it counts: in making your dreams real and in living a less stressful life full of awesomeness.
So what, exactly, is Discardia?
It’s a new holiday—invented by the author in 2002—with deep roots touching unconsumption, the slow movement, downshifting, and voluntary simplicity. Unlike many holidays, it doesn't involve obligations or expense or overblown expectations of specialness. It does not require us to interact with people with whom we do not wish to interact. In fact, it doesn't require us to do anything. Discardia is celebrated by letting go of what doesn’t add value to your life—whether physical object, habit, or emotional baggage—and replacing it with what makes your world truer to your essential self. The core concept is this: If we continually discard what doesn’t help us, we’ll be left with more of what does—more space, energy, and time to make our lives even better.
Such a positive shift doesn’t require taking a vow of poverty or scarcity but instead simply increasing the frequency with which we make choices that improve the quality of our lives. This transformation isn’t a magical change that will happen when the stars align or some hundredth monkey does the right thing. It’s practical and, for the majority of folks, it’s not even that hard. (Note: If you’re wrestling with a very serious challenge that moves you from the realm of clutter into hoarding, I recommend that you consider Discardia one of the other tools in your toolbox as you work with an experienced professional in that area. The International OCD Foundation and Children of Hoarders are good places to find more information and assistance.)
Discardia reminds us to think about what could we be doing or feeling if all this stuff wasn’t in the way. It also reminds us to spend some time shifting our lives toward more of what makes us thrive. Each of us has a different definition of what that exciting, fulfilling, less-stressed life consists of, but the path we take to make it real is one we can travel together. Our first step is to remind each other to think about what we want and compare that to what fills our lives now.
Whatever enters our lives might clutter it up. We have a choice about letting it enter and about letting it stay. Our choices make us who we are. If we are aware of who we want to be, we can make the decisions that steer us toward our better selves and away from things that bog us down.
A guide to this guide
This book provides a practical introduction to the celebration of Discardia. We’ll take a tour through the Discardian seasons with straightforward tips reflecting three key principles for building a happier life. Along the way, we’ll hear how Discardians around the world have changed their lives for the better.
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