Why I Started This Website.
I am here asking why I started this Website in the first place. As I changed careers, my focus changed and got lost. Now, I am asking why I started this website in 2016. It was in 2016 when I dived in the world of minimalism. It was fascinating to see a plain simple world stripped off from all advertisements and synthetic glamor.
Every time I got lost in the busy streets of adulthood, I kept recalling my reasons for living (ikigai). What are the three most important things to me? I make sure that I prioritize them over other things in this world.
God. Family. Self.
God symbolizes my faith. I serve our True God and nothing else. Do you remember what the bible said about serving two masters? It is impossible to serve two masters at the same time because one will love one master and despise the other. It is the same with serving God and serving money. They are incompatible because the True God encourages us to be honest while the other makes us cheat to earn more. You may disagree that love for money causes people to do something evil. Most of the time, even the most honest man becomes corrupted when challenged by fame and money. That is why I keep reminding myself that I am here to serve God not money. In fact, I wonder why some churches teach that money is very important, more important that values and teachings itself. They focus their sermons on money and require their members to give more money so their God could bless them more. The true God does not need our money. He does not need any material possession for He owns everything in this world. Why do the church leaders encourage people to give more money instead of reminding them repent and be honest? Why do they equate money with faith? They say that the more you give money or material possession, the more you love God. Are they not imitating Cain who offered sacrifices to God because he has to and not out of the goodness of his heart? People say, “the more you give, the more you receive”. The scriptures said that when you give, you should not expect something in return. The True God who sees you will reward you in heaven. You do not give something because you expect something in return, you give it because you want to and without any expectations for reciprocity. We need money but not to the extent that it is everything that we think about. I noticed that when I focus on money, I was tempted to cheat or got mad whenever one received more than me. When I focused myself to God, I did not care about money and preferred increasing my knowledge and experience. Money limits us sometimes and makes our way of thinking narrow. Love for money destroys a good family. One will go abroad to earn more money but will leave his/her beautiful family behind. Years later, the family will break up and the children will wish that their parent should have stayed with them.
Family is my family and pets. During busy schedules, I pause and think. Is it more important that I work overtime for money or spend time with my family? Should I write more freelance projects or play with my pets who I see a few hours a day? Your family may not be the most important to you and you may replace it with some other thing that you love the most. Not all people are born in a happy family.
Self symbolizes my passion, hobbies, well-being, and growth. Work gets in the way for me to care for myself. If things get difficult, I make sure that my body will not suffer. I am not stable emotionally, just like all other people. I get anxieties, depression, stress, mania, joy, happiness, anger – all emotions. I do not want activities that will destroy myself.
In my everyday life, when I am doubting and lost – I search for my ikigai – my reason for being:
God. Family. Self
why I started this website ? It is one of my ikigai – Self – my passion for learning, writing and sharing. I want to share with everyone the joys of minimalism, peace, and clarity.
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