Less is the luxury

snuff the stuff

When I left my Venice Beach, California apartment a few years ago, running away from it all…I had no idea what to do with all my stuff.

Not the couch, flat screen, forever appliances or Prius Prime. Those were easy sells.

It was the girlie stuff I was attached to: A plethora of designer bags, shoes, blingy jewelry, makeup curated for a Hollywood writer’s life ~ armor for appearances, proof I was “doing well,” receipts for a life I was exhausted pretending to enjoy.

When never enough finally became too much - and the collapse came - I sold it all. Every last shiny distraction.
Goodbye Chanel. Goodbye ego. Goodbye identity crisis.

I packed my laptop into a backpack and left to work remotely while wandering the beaches of Mexico.

My friends were horrified.
Cartels.
Scorpions.
Mezcal.
“You’re going to die out there.”

Do I look scared?

I’ve never known this kind of calm.
Not from pills.
Not from booze.
Not from shopping.
And definitely not from men with commitment issues and great jawlines.

The euphoria I chased my entire life finally showed up the moment I stopped chasing it.

Flip-flops replaced Louboutins.
Mala beads replaced Cartier watch.
Oaxacan bag replaced Balenciaga.
Lip balm replaced Dior Lipstick.
Salt air replaced self-erasure.
Pesos replaced Benjamin Franklins.

Surprisingly, this is the life I was working toward all along ~ I just didn’t recognize it without a price tag.

The American Dream, apparently, is moving to Mexico.
I’m still unpacking trauma, but at least the view doesn’t suck.

Yes, the tacos are cheap.
Yes, rent doesn’t eat my entire paycheck.
Yes, fruit tastes like it remembers the sun.
Yes, buenos días comes with actual eye contact.

But the real luxury?

Freedom.
Freedom from stuff.
Freedom from impressing.
Freedom from the lie that more equals better.

I’m here to hit the sand, let saltwater reset my nervous system, and walk from one ocean to the next without dragging roller suitcases and my old life behind me.
I’ll eventually settle down again.
But for now…

Less is my luxury.
Less is my rebellion.
Less is where I finally found my soul.

🖤
Cyn, your Bougie Hippie

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