AUTOTOMY describes what a gecko does when it ejects its tail, something the little lizard can do without if it has to.
I chose that as the title for the blog because I’m exploring ways to do without things that I thought I couldn’t part with before. Blog posts mostly revolve around my mininal living conditions, but I try to relate most posts to the theme of living without certain tangible or material things in order to gain something internally, artistically, aesthetically or spiritually.
Living this way — with minimal material objects around me — I experience upsides, as well as downsides. Every choice comes with some sort of cost and some sort of benefit. Some things I’ve come to see are essential, not ejectable tails that drag behind me, like having a computer so that I can write and make art and a guitar so I can create music. When I was living in Asia I got used to going without some things, like cold showers. But I never got used to some things, like breathing polluted air or seeing street children. The benefits to going without are simple. I have more time to focus on the creative parts of life. I don’t have to bother with the upkeep and maintenance that are involved in having lots of material things.
But I hope the end of it points to growth as a human being, reaching for depths that I can’t now see, searching for an elusive, but inspiring horizon that pulls me forward.