Ben’s Zen Driving

Nothing is more aggravating and stress inducing than a commute to or from work.  For 11 years I drove 35 miles each way for my employment, covering a time frame of 45 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.  Most of that time I endeavored to minimize my time on the road by keeping up with the other hurried people and driving a standard 10 miles per hour over the limit while jockeying for better position in the traffic.
Upon arriving at work it I would have an elevated stress level that would last throughout, and even spike, during the work day.  When it was all done I would drive home in the same manner, totally stressed out and not ready to give my family my best.
One day I asked myself “Why do I have to drive like this?  Does it even make any difference?” and I set upon an experiment to test the theory that stressful driving is pointless.  I set up some rules to help me overcome my habits:

• Drive in the slow lane as much as possible
• Stay within 5 mph of the speed limit (above or below) as much as possible.
• Keep a comfortable driving distance behind to auto in front of me.
• Only pass when the auto in front of me is driving 5 mph below the speed limit. Otherwise, don’t worry about speed.
• Don’t listen to the news or energizing music.  Keep audio low key.

So, what where the results?
I found that on average I arrived at work no more than 1-2 minutes later than before.  Often I would pull up next to cars at stop lights that had zoomed past me on the freeway.  That was gratifying!  My stress levels were much lower at work, getting my work day off on the right foot.  Getting home was easier and I am sure my family was happier to see me when I arrived.
I call this “Zen Driving”.  Okay, a quick google search shows me that it is not original to me, maybe I should call it “Ben Driving”.  Here is a link to a book called Zen Driving.

So far, so good...

Less Me:
In this blog I intend to track with some detail my weight loss efforts for those who are interested.  I will also include some before and after pictures.  I have found that reviewing other people's success stories online has been very inspirational to me, and I hope to do the same for you.

• Feb 2010 I started in at 245.5 lbs
• Aug 2, 2010 226.8 lbs
• Net change: 18.7 lbs

Below is a graph for reference.I leveled off for a while there after losing my job in early May.  The good thing is that I really didn't put any weight back on since then and am easily back on track now. In future posts I'll give more detail on my lifestyle changes that are making this an easy process.

Less Stuff:
I think I became recommitted to minimalism while at scout camp with my son. About 3 days into it I was laying on a small cot looking up at the modest cabin I was sleeping in and thinking, "It doesn't take much stuff to be happy."  In fact, I realized that I am much happier without all of the stuff.

George Carlin said that your stuff
is other people's junk, and vice versa.
This pile of our stuff is now junk!
(just kidding- we'll donate it to Goodwill so
it can become someone else's stuff)

Earlier this year my wife and I were removing things from our house in preparation to show it to potential buyers.  We have 4 kids and spend much of our house cleaning time dealing with their stuff.  Once the house was cleaned and the stuff removed, we took a second look at it and realized a sense of peace of having less in it.  We even started thinking we did not need a larger house (and mortgage)!

Junk drawers mid cleaning

It's already August and we have made some progress on minimizing our home.  I started with my "junk" drawers (yes, I had two for some reason).  I pulled them both out and reviewed the items, recalling that I only ever open these drawers about twice per year! Yikes!  It did not take long to get rid of ~90% of the items in the drawers.  It is tough to fight the nostalgia urge on some things, but I have become so unattached to things now that it really isn't hard.

We'll get more pictures up as we progress.  So far my side of the closet and part of the master bedroom is done.  The kids rooms are nearly done (they are finally catching the spirit!)  We are working towards the center of the house.

Purpose of this Blog- Less

I've finally reached a point in life where stuff matters less. Having more is no longer better. There is too much of me (weight) and too much stuff (clutter) that holds me and my family down.

This blog will be about my efforts to pursue some sort of minimalism personally and with my family, so I can focus on what really matters- my family.

I'll be posting updates on my progress towards less me towards a simpler living environment.

Thanks

Ben