Timber's Morning Coffee

I’m not normally one to endorse any kind of fad anything. Typically, from the minimalist mindset, most consumables are just so much junk that takes valuable time to care for. I drive a car that is now nearly 6 years old. Bought it brand new and I intend on driving it into the ground. Considering that there’s only 22,000 miles on it, I’ve got a really long way to go!  The hubby and I don’t really shop for anything, anymore. It’s actually been quite freeing. But, there’s one thing that we must shop for. Every minimalist needs to. Let’s talk about what that is: FOOD! Yes. Every person needs to shop for food. Now, this is where things get really tricky. Like I said, I’m not really one to endorse anything, especially any kind of a “diet,” however, this is a little bit different. People have been eating this way for millennia. We have chosen to go completely plant-based, or, as some would say, “vegan,” but I really don’t want to get into the semantics. Basically, we have eli...

As I’ve continued down the path to Minimalism and simple living, there have been two effects that have been entirely expected: more time and more space. However these two things have brought with them something completely unexpected. Yes, I knew that I would have the time to be able to look within, to define exactly who I am from a character standpoint, rather than a materialistic one. I made lists of the things that I was grateful for, in order to remember to practice gratitude. I meditated on the positive qualities that I would like to enhance or add. I thought about my altruistic goals for the betterment of society. I dug deeply into my creativity and sought to bring more of it to the surface. I searched for the “happy-go-lucky,” spritely Pollyanna inside of me, who was all rainbows, glitter, butterflies and unicorns. But I found out that I was stuck. There was something blocking my way. I couldn’t move forward. I had no idea that I would also be confronting my own darkness ...

Alcohol has been with the human race for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, it goes all the way back to Neolithic man. That's a long history, indeed. We had alcohol before the Iron Age. Over the course of those eons, man has had a very complicated relationship with alcohol. Some handle it responsibly, others, not so much. Some don't drink at all. For me, there are a multitude of reasons why I stopped. I'm going to slightly over-simplify, but hopefully you will get the gist. There is a history of alcoholism in my family. My grandmother's relationship with it was more important to her than her relationship with family. Truthfully, I believe it's what killed her. If that's not reason enough, there's more. I like to have control over my thoughts and my actions. I don't like anyone telling me what to do or how to think. For me, alcohol has that effect. When I drink it, it tells me that I want more. As I progress, the alcohol does more talking fo...

First of all, what is happiness? Let's take a look: Happiness  is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happy mental states may also reflect judgements by a person about their overall well-being. So, that's a step in the right direction. We now have an idea of what happiness may contain. Let's specifically look at three key-words, which boil down to two ideas. The words are: mental state  and contentment . First, contentment. Let's look at a further definition of this. One source defines it as a mental or emotional state that is satisfied with things as they are. WHOA. That's huge! So, to be content, it mean that we are satisfied with things as they are. That means, the body, the environment, the job, the spouse and any other number of things. Contentment implies a certain level of acceptance. Truly, I believe that it is a daily occurrence. We accept that where we ...