Things are changing – in the world, in the economy, in the environment and in my personal life! A process has started for me that promises to take me on a new adventure that I hope to share with you here as it unfolds. A personal epiphany (first referenced in my “Synchronicity” post) finds me in the midst of a simplification process where I am divesting myself of physical “stuff” and migrating my assets into the “cloud”. I’ve realized that my most valuable possessions are my creative expressions that are now mostly “virtual”, existing as pure data that can be stored and accessed almost anyway one can connect to the world wide web. Yes, of course I still need physical tools, a computer, camera and various communication accessories to interface with this new medium of expression but I’m finding that I can do without much of the slow moving atoms that I’ve collected in my 57 years of life on this planet.
So… what to keep and what to give up? This is an ongoing process – I’ve started with the most obvious things, basically, anything that I haven’t used or had contact with in the last year has to go. This includes stacks of boxes containing every snip test of film I did for every job from the last 20 years! For many years this old film was sacred to me. I never thought of throwing it out, telling myself that someday it would be useful as teaching tools or a historical record. Ah… the vanity of youth! I have, of course, progressed beyond the primitive work of my film shooting past. No reason to cling to this material – out it goes, along with a closet full of clothes and shoes I don’t wear. There are numerous other collected items, old props, books and assorted detritus, most of which is simply thrown out with the rest donated to charity.
There are harder choices remaining. Old photographic equipment is a bit harder to part with. Applying the same acid test reveals a collection of Ascor studio flash equipment, stands and tripods, a mint condition Horseman 4×5 camera with lenses and accessories. These items will be more painful to part with but realistically, I’m unlikely to use any of this stuff and in the unforeseen event that I need anything they will be easy to rent for a temporary need. I’m currently looking for a good home for this useful euipment.
My Canon gear I keep, of course. Musical instruments that I play (I’m an avid amateur musician) I keep – these are part of my personal meditative practice. I will keep a few books, some of which I will need to store or locate with a friend until I can move to an all digital collection. Some personal items – essential hygiene equipment. The goal is to pair everything down to what I can carry in a small vehicle with a trailer.
I’m planning on constructing a personal “techno-pod” all-in-one living, working, traveling unit with the smallest possible footprint. Basically a solar powered trailer with my computer, kitchen and bed – something that I can car-camp around the country in, journeying between workshops and seminars. This will be my highly polished Cancer shell and fortress of solitude for the next phase of my creative development.
To make it all work, I need to downsize to my essentials and get rid of all excess baggage – the adventure begins! Part of that adventure includes selling off a lot of “gear” – you can access my “for sale” page here: https://varis.com/for-sale.html
Stay tuned for progress reports!
