Laura

Laura is a prime example of completing changing her life around in less than a month. At age 25, Laura lived alone in Buenos Aires. She worked from Monday to Monday, no breaks. Her life was work. She had all the up-to-date technology, with Internet (cable and wireless), a laptop, a computer, a telephone, a cell phone. She wore marked clothing—not so much because she cared about the icons, but because she made plenty of money, and living alone, what else would it go towards?

One day, she broke her right wrist. During the week, she was a physical education teacher, but with a broken wrist, she obviously couldn’t work. She also couldn’t type on her computer or do anything she normally did. Working at such a fast pace, it wasn’t until this broken wrist that she was forced to sit and think. She realized this type of life was too fast, too stressful, too much. Her material things were holding her down, and she wasn’t happy.

She decided to rent her apartment. The same day she put it up for rent, someone took it. She had 15 days to move out. Within those 15 days, she traveled to Salta, rented a small house, packed all of her belongings, and moved in. In Salta, you don’t get a job through interviews and a resume. You get a job through connections with friends and family. So, Laura started her own clothing line, making jackets and sweaters. She also fixed clothes and made jewelry of all sorts. Six years ago she met Miguel and has been with him ever since. At age 42, Flor became the newest addition to her life.

Now, here in Salta, she does have her own home, and a child, and a job, but the pace at which she runs her life has reserved entirely. Her friends said she’d be back in Buenos Aires in a month. She wasn’t. They often ask her to come back, but she hasn’t. This complete turn around completely changed her outlook on life, and for the better. She could never imagine going back to the fast paced life in Buenos Aires.

This is similar to the beliefs in some forms of Buddhism, to minimize one’s connections with material things and simplify one’s life.