Your belongings weigh you down more than your job. Before you disagree, hear me out – it’s relatively easy to say ‘sod you, I quit’ and walk away; one resignation letter and you’re out. But then think about how much time it would take you to sell every single thing that you own – your car, your furniture, your clothes. Not so easy, huh? Unless you decide to light a match to it all.
As much as none of us would like to admit it, our ‘things’ are important to us. I for one am guilty of allowing myself to get attached to the things that I own. I even have an awful habit of hoarding stuff like old cinema tickets or restaurant leaflets from our travels, because, you know, ‘they’re memories.’ And as I’m just about to embark on a mass clear out ahead of our new adventure, I’m starting to come to terms with how much I’m going to miss all this stuff that I have to sell or get rid of.
While I cannot wait to travel while pursuing our dreams, I would be lying if I said I’m not dreading having to give up the majority of my belongings for the second time in two years. Because as much as I like to think of myself of an adventurer, I’m also someone who loves nothing more than nesting and her home comforts. I’m an introvert – we get attached to our books and candles, don’t you know?
Here are just some of the things I’m going to miss from our beautiful home:
Our Spiritual Corner
While Ankit was brought up as a Hindu and I was brought up as a Greek Orthodox, we both define ourselves as spiritual rather than religious. We read a lot about religion and spirituality, and I personally find myself very drawn to Buddhism (if this conjures images of Eat, Pray, Love for you then please stop it. I hate that shit). Our spiritual corner, which features statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, Greek Orthodox icons and a Buddha head, brings me a lot of peace, and I literally find myself staring at it whenever I need to feel calm or grounded.
Our Plants
As part of my first year anniversary present, Ankit took me to the local garden centre so that I could buy as many plants as my heart desired – it was one of the most touching things anyone has ever done for me. Our balcony and home are full of plants and as this was the first time in my life I ever had to look after any, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed tending to them – hell, I even found myself talking to them. Not too sure I should be sharing that with you, though…
Our Terrace
I love sitting outside. I’m Cypriot, and come summer we practically live outside. We even go to the extremes of rolling the TV outside to watch while we scoff our watermelon. Some even sleep outside to get some relief from the heat.
One of the things that we both love so much about our apartment is its massive terrace. It really was the perfect office for me during the winter months and it was also always enjoyable sitting out there with friends.
Our Bed
As I mentioned before, I’m quite the introvert. So for me, time alone to read or simply zone out is sacred. My bed is where I, the drama queen, regularly go, pull the covers over the head and exclaim “fuck you, world,” and I stay there until I’m able to be sociable again. I’m nice like that.
My Desk
As a freelancer, my home work area is very important to me. It took one very stressful trip to IKEA to find my desk, but I love it. I love how I can stack books on top. I love how I can stick reminders on the notice board. I love how it’s white. And yes, although I admit I probably spent more time working on the sofa than at my desk, I’m going to miss the old thing.
Our Kitchen
We love our food. One look at me and you’ll know that much (nothing tastes as good as real food, Kate Moss. You’re welcome to keep your skinny to yourself). We eat pretty much everything, and our kitchen is stocked with every spice imaginable and olive oil. Loads of it (you can’t expect anything less from a half Indian/half Cypriot household). There’s always something delicious cooking in our kitchen, from aromatic dals to moreish Cypriot meatballs. So selling our overused pots and pans will be a little bit heartbreaking for me. But then, what we sacrifice in kitchenware we will be getting back in delicious South East Asian street food. Karma does have a lovely way of making all things equal, eh?
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