The Real Bohemian?!

When Nicola came up with the name The Rocking Bohemian, I was, at first, a little unsure of what this word ‘bohemian’, really meant. I knew a rough idea of the ‘dictionary’ definition, but what did the word really mean, when it seemed to be used to describe a few different ideas, philosophies etc.

Britannia defines bohemian as: “bohemianism, unconventional lifestyle or subculture, followers of which prioritise community living and artistic endeavours while rejecting certain constraints of mainstream society, such as money and social etiquette.”

I’m not really one for labels, but I’ve certainly not led what many would consider to be a ‘conventional’ life, and I’ve never really prioritised money over other interests and goals in life. As for etiquette, being nice, kind and polite are values of mine, given to people of all status and ‘standing’ in life. And from this line of reasoning, came a desire in me to learn a little bit more about what bohemianism means to me.

Having read into some of the more modern definitions of what bohemianism is, one of the things that I noticed was a lot of the views on consumerism, discovering your inner self, environmentalism, and being free-spirited - all things that I’ve been finding out about and exploring over the years.

One of the main areas that people seem to associate with bohemianism is having a free-spirit, really trying to get to know yourself by not being bound by the expectations and demands of 'normal' society. This is definitely one area I heavily related to, as I think the journey to discovering more about your true self can start with letting go of these expectations that are so often holding us back. For me, meditation and reiki are ways in which I go deeper - the journey of course should always be your own!

There are four areas that we will have more of a focus on when it comes to ‘The Rocking Bohemian’ and consumerism is a big one of those.

Consumerism for us also includes sustainability, thrifting and minimalism - to me they are essentially part of the same larger topic of the impact that we are having upon this world.

We live in a throw away world where you can order something online and have it be delivered later that day to your house.

So many things are available to us 24 hours a day, with the click of a button, for such a little amount of money that we don’t really give ourselves enough time to consider whether or not we truly need those items - the minimalists have a set of ‘rules’ - and a great one is the 30/30 rule - ”If something I want costs more than $30, I ask myself whether I can get by without it for the next 30 hours. Hence, “the 30/30 Rule.” (If it’s $100 or more, I tend to wait 30 days.)”.

As well as decluttering and minimising; areas that we will go into greater depth with in future blogs, we have also started upon the journey into sustainability. Part of the problem with having things available 24/7, and them costing so little, is the huge amount of wastage that these industries accumulate. Our fast fashion, wasteful world that we live in, especially in the ‘West’ is very unsustainable, the results of which are becoming more and more evident with species dying out, pollution getting worse and worse and people are dying in the sweatshops that are used by corporations in deprived areas. Trying to be sustainable can be difficult at first, but a quick and easy fix is to try and get as much stuff as you can secondhand - buying clothes from places like Vinted, entertainment from CEX - the alternatives are growing.

After having read through the various definitions, I would say that I am now a fully converted bohemian! In all seriousness though, I really do like the label and most of the things that the definitions say define bohemianism.

In a world of ever increasing labels and identities, sometimes you can come across ones that ring true to your ideals and, values and beliefs. And even if you never want to be labelled as a bohemian, or indeed as anything at all(!) discovering more about these things, especially the things that you value the most out of life, is always a good thing.