Spread your wings

Ever since I founded The Oak Tree Factory, most of the decisions I’ve made have been about minimalism. I’ve really taken the motto start where you are, use what you have, do what you can to heart. It hasn’t always been easy, I can tell you that. Over the years I’ve given up on well-paying jobs, expensive holidays, living space, furniture, luxury goods – asking myself at every turn: how can I pursue my dreams instead of status, financial security, and really just more stuff? The answer has always been: keep it small, enjoy the little things. Aren’t the best things in life free, after all? But now, for the first time in years, I’m expanding. Taking a step out of my tiny, but comfortable hermit shell and moving into one that is one size bigger. One that has lots of space for all my creative work. You’d think that would be a blissful moment, after years of giving things up. Yeah, not so much. Growth, as I’ve learned, is a painful process. It asks us to take a risk, jump into the unknown, head first. “What if I fall? What if I fall? What if I fall?” The question repeats in my head, ad nauseam. “Yes, my darling,” a soft voice whispers in my ear, “but what if you fly?”