Suburb January 2019

“I believe the universe provides us with
what we require at any time and by
giving in to our securities, we tend to
hoard,” explains Shivi Dua, the founder
of Serenity Surrenders, a healing
modality which helps connect with our
inner power. “Interestingly what we
have hoarded doesn’t serve its purpose
at the time of need and not only does it
require more effort, but also keeps us
from learning the lesson we were meant
to learn from our low phases,” adds Shivi
who feels often people tend to buy or
indulge extravagantly just to feel good or
as an escape from the emotions they
want to run from which would otherwise
have shaped them into stronger
individuals.
Sensitising the Next Gen
Children today have access to a lot more
than what we or our ancestors did. From
clothing, food items, toys, gadgets,
technology and so on; they are exposed to
a much wider spectrum of consumables
than we were as kids.
Children today can identify fashion brands
faster than what we as new brides could
identify the ‘dals’ in our kitchen cabinets!
“While we as parents love to pamper our
children with the best, at some level they
need to be taught about the importance of
minimalism and not to be carried away in
the pursuit of materialist pleasures, says
Ritika Sood, a senior corporate trainer and
a certified yoga therapist. She hosts
sessions in Gurgaon on mindfulness,
conscious living and breath monitoring,
Ritika not just practises minimalism and
decluttering in her own day to day life but
also is motivating people to enter the
‘beautiful world of being fearless.’
“
I decided to let go of
my bulk saree
collection, hence
donated to the charity
which organises mass
weddings.
Ritika Sood
”
Ritika says, “I am a work in progress and I
have realised that people are fearful to let
go of their possessions. 15 years ago at one
point of time, I discovered that I had 150
plus sarees! That got my mind churning, at
a very subconscious level I said to myself
that I have to let go of my sarees and just
keep a few to myself. I handed the rest to
my neighbour who further donated them to
a charity that organises mass weddings. It
brought me so much joy to see my sarees
which were otherwise lying neglected
being happily worn by the young girls and
brides. I then gave away all my excess
crockery as well and today you will find that
my bed boxes, drawers and cupboards are
not overburdened with any unnecessary
stuff. I didn’t even know the term
decluttering or minimalism back then and
just wanted that people should use and get
some benefit from my stuff. My home is
clutter free, things around me are only
which I use regularly,” she shares with a
smile of satisfaction.
“
People tend to buy or
indulge extravagantly
just to feel good or as
an escape from their
emotions and fears.
Shivi Dua
Minimalism and
decluttering are at some
level an extension of each
other. If one gets into the
habit of not having clutter
around your living space,
one invariably stops to add
more materialistic
possessions around self. It
brings about an
understanding of how
much your family genuinely
requires to sustain a
comfortable life.
What started as such a spontaneous habit
by Ritika has been subconsciously imbibed
by her daughter Naima who unlike most
millennials of her age is totally detached
from materialistic belongings and is a
thoughtful buyer herself. People of her age
group are brand savvy and fashion
conscious, Naima is more partial to
products of Indian artisans or those
epitomising Indian heritage.
Naima as a young girl is not attached to
material things and she is happy leading
her life with minimalistic material things. “I
also strongly believe in the idea of
gratitude which is to be thankful for what
you have which leads to infinite blessings
and opportunities!” says Naima.
It's time to lead a baggage free life by
chucking off excessive needless
possessions not just material, but mental
and emotional as well. s
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