Health and Happiness Club

When I got my Amazon Kindle last year, the idea of a paperless society began to seem like a real possibility for my life. I used to dream of having an amazing house with a vast library containing many leather bound books (thanks Anchorman - The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Unrated Widescreen Edition) !) and many plays and musical scores. I imagined that this room would have a Steinway Grand Piano in the middle and all the books would be stacked and abundant, towering, yet organized and beautiful.

As the years have past and I've had to move a few times on my own (book boxes are very heavy!), my dream began to change. I started dreaming of a simple zen home with very little on the shelves. Maybe a simple picture frame or a beautiful antique from an exotic trip. Whenever I go to a home like this or see one in a magazine, I'm always in ah, I think of how much restraint that person must have, they must resist buying new things, resist the pull of consumerism really. 

But, as I've learned with other life lessons, the way to change is not to resist, but to let the old behavior fall away because it's no longer needed. I don't visit the bookstore anymore, but I don't resist it. I don't need books, I need the information they contain, the knowledge. Paper bound together is only the platform that we've used to gather the knowledge until now, but it carries no meaning. The words, and the thoughts that created the words, are what a book is, I don't romanticize the container anymore. I believe the same thing about music. Don't romanticize the CD or the album, they carry no meaning, the music is what matters in whatever form it comes.

Since my paperless revelation, I've given away most of my books. I also have a storage unit now where I put many of my books, plays, and musical scores that I want to keep, but don't need on a day to day basis. It has helped me transition to this new lifestyle slowly. Every time I visit my storage unit to deposit things, I get home and see more things I can do without.

After taking this fresh look at my books, I looked at my shelves and for the first time, saw with fresh eyes, my papers. They were manuals, interesting articles, my old set lists from my performance, my old business notes, sheet after sheet of papers on my government payroll responsibilities since I started my own business, so many medical documents, recipes, and receipts (see my last blog on my thoughts on receipts!) I thought I could scan it all in a couple of weeks, maybe three, but it has been months now and I'm still not done. I did not realize how many papers I had. I live in 330 square foot New York City apartment, and man did I have this place packed with papers!

The surprising thing is that in the last two weeks I've noticed that the space feels legitimately lighter. It feels cleaner too, and I haven't cleaned. The simplicity I'm looking for seems to be revealing itself very slowly, but I'm finally starting to see it. I have to admit that it is so foreign to me that it's a little unnerving. Like realizing that your dreams really can come true, but I'm just so used to the struggle, the clutter. What I'm starting to realize is that when I saw the clutter, I saw a big pile of things-to-do. I imagined that there were 15 bills to pay and 5 important documents to sign and return, and 20 magazines that had to be read, all in my towering piles. But it was the unknowns that were clouding my mind. The clutter was not just unsightly, it was blocking my work flow AND my creativity. This clutter was blocking my life and my happiness.

So, I'd like you to think about a paperless society and what it could mean for you. I think we're to a point with technology where it is worth the consideration.

Here are some specifics on how I went about my scanning project from a blog I did on my website.

This is not a small project to take on, but it can be done slowly over time. I have found it rewarding up to this point and will follow up on this blog as the project continues. Remember, sometimes when you clean out part of your life, something new and more fulfilling has room to find its way in.

Movies Mentioned in the Post: