Minimalism — Worthwhile Philosophy or Just Another Fad?
This week I had another debate with one of my really good friends, someone I have known since we were 8, and these debates are a spectacle to behold, they are never-ending dances of logic, knowledge, information, belligerence and stubbornness, with a little bit of cognitive bias for good measure.
Nonetheless, it got me thinking about a topic that I have ignored for some time now, assuming that it was a Fad, another “poop-psychology” phenomenon for influencers and “fake it till you make it” wanna-bes!
In any event I jumped on board the discussion with gusto, and prompted the proverbial beast with the words “so, if I get rid of everything and live like a hobo, have I won the minimalist competition?”, to which a slow-motion scene erupted in my mind to the sounds of the Charlie Daniels Band and the song “The Devil went down to Georgia”, except with me as the Devil in the story causing havoc and mayhem but instead of a fiddle, it was with my very first question.
His response caught me off-guard. “You obviously have no idea what the concept is about” was the reply, and I jumped at the chance to push him for an explanation with a well honed response, I knew my stuff!
“The concept of Minimalism is not new, its origins can be traced back to historical and cultural movements like the Buddhists and Stoics where philosophies that embraced simplicity and detachment from material possessions as pathways to inner peace and contentment were sought after and followed. Buddha himself chose to sit outside the city walls under a tree for 49 days in contemplation of all things with little to no nourishment other than a deep, enduring meditation.
Later regurgitations of this philosophy span books like “The monk who sold his Ferrari” and movements such as Project 333, where people are challenged to wear 33 items of clothing for 3 months in an attempt to de-clutter their lives, but in my opinion, its more snake-oil for the salesmen to sell, and boy are there plenty of salesmen out there today with many channels and even more poor, desperate people, waiting for them and the cure!”.
As a non-believer in almost anything magical, supernatural and theist or deist in nature, and a general humanist at heart, I am often torn between concepts that while predominantly told for the benefit of the greater good, are told by people who are inherently driven by their own benefit and so I am mostly on guard for this “snake-oil” salesman approach and ready to probe anyone who suspiciously peddles the stuff with question at a moments notice. However, maybe this is just my cognitive dissonance at work, and something that I should probably consider working on at some stage, but that is a story for another time.
“I understand the concept of living with less, and have been doing it most of my life’ I continued, “what gets me is how people are selective in what they choose to give up in their attainment of this state”, and I referred to Lent and how some people who can easily give up chocolate or alcohol, or meat (because they normally don’t consume much of it or its easy to give up) seem to advertise the fact, where something quite a bit harder, like sugar, breaking their promises or not watching TV for 40 days never seems to come up.
The answer my friend gave me was a surprising one, and went something like this, “the idea of Minimalism, is living with less of the things you don’t need, and more with the things that you love.”
Now my brain did a 360, this is a novel concept, it made sense, and especially when put in this way, so I pushed, “let’s say I have 20 shirts, and some that I never wear because they would be ruined quickly, or some that I never wear because I don’t like them much, under this definition, I would get rid of the shirts that I don’t wear often and don’t love and wear the ones that I do more often?” I questioned him.
“Yes”, he replied, “We don’t need two cars, and a motorbike bike, unless we use those things regularly and enjoy doing so. It is in the aftermath of consumerism of the 60’s and the mass production of “more” pre and post 2000 that we are in the state of “collecting stuff” today, for no real reason other than because it was a good deal, or because we’ll use it one day.” He chided, “The idea is to cut that out, and focus on the things that we need and use and love.”
“Granted, I conceded”, and bowing my head, as “I knew that I’d been beat”, the logic in that simple phrase, “living with less of the things you don’t need, and more with the things that you love” was my undoing and definitely something that anyone can apply to their life with a greater benefit to everyone, well almost everyone.
Now what to do about the wave of posts and garbage spewing from time to time on social media about how this special snowflake did “this” and is now a “Minimalist Guru”, or that “Monk sold his Ferrari”, so listen to him for the answers to a happy life irrespective of your individual problems and circumstances, because he knows the secret to a panacea that cures all!
This kind of stuff has been around forever, and will continue, morphing as technology and new concepts emerge but under the same old guise of “I know or have something you don’t, do something for or buy something from me, and I’ll share it with you.” As long as we are constantly looking out for this age old trick, and varying versions of it, we should be ok.
As for Minimalism, I support it, I am all for decluttering life and mindful consumption. We should live with simplification at the heart of everything we do, we must try to make our living environments smaller, as there are more of us than ever, and as for digital minimalism, we could definitely switch off our phones and reduce online consumption and addiction more often and substitute them with more human connection to others, to nature and the physical world.
All of these examples, and many more, adhere to the concept of maximize your time, your possessions and your social interactions by doing what you love with the people that matter to you, and letting go of anything (and anyone) that doesn’t fit that profile.
This I can stand by, this I can share with others, this costs nothing and can literally change the world.
“Nuff said”
