My desire for "small" things has been prevalent throughout my life. I enjoy small notebooks, small gadgets and even small cars...even though I own a pickup truck. Lately I am taking notice to a branch off this "thought-tree", minimal. I've read blogs about minimalism and the lifestyle attached to this trending way but, never completely embraced it. I had used the excuse of financial and family to keep myself from pursuing the notion. I've come to terms with the word, MINIMALISM, and now believe there to be a greater meaning behind it.
It is not just a word but, a philosophical way. To live a happy and productive life with as little as possible. Not just physical possessions but, everything... I have also come to associate minimal with quality. If I'm going to have "minimal" friends they will the upstanding individuals who complement my person and share my values. I'm not going to just hang out with people just to not be alone. If I am going to carry a journal it is going to be a well thought out purchase...in fact all of my purchases will be well thought out. Not just an impulse purchase as I walk through a store.
I'll probably never be one of those people who writes about how I only own 100 things but, I am planning on only owning what I need or truly want in life.
Minimal
Few In Number: It means I'm not going to have a hundred T-shirts in my closet when I know full well that I'll only be wearing a few consistently. It is just my opinion but, few of us rarley wear everything in our closets before re-wearing something. How many shirts have remained sitting in a drawer waiting to be worn? There is no need to "stock up" on items that are readily available at any time. Amazon.com is always open.
Quality: Of the items i do own, of the relations I do keep, of the foods I eat, & even the workouts I perform each will be well chosen and deeply thought out for it's part in my life. Why lift weights if there is no thought behind the workout? Why eat foods that are not beneficial or have some significant meaning, i.e. snacking on chips? Even with something as arbitrary as a notebook I spend a month or so researching different notebooks for paper quality, size, functionability and durability. I was in search of a journal that I could keep and later pass down to my children. I ended with the Traveler's Notebook by Midori.
Purpose: Each and every thing in my life has a purpose and significance. Whether it be a tool or a pen or a pet each has a specific reason to be in my life. I can't tell you how much I've purchased in my life that when I look back on it I have no idea what I must've been thinking. Choose wisely.
Books will be my anti-minimal item. I, like Thomas Jefferson, cannot live without books. Even though I am very much a proponent of the technological age I can not get past owning the physical book. There is something in the texture and feel of a book that adds quality to the read. The emotional attachment to teh physical item is something I cannot get past.
Though I am a proponent of the physical book I do feel there is a place for the ebook in my life. These are the fiction novels and the like, books that require very little thought to be placed in them when read. That is not to say they are not cerebrally stimulating, but they are not something I'll sit down for hours with and search for the meaning behind the words. The books are more entertainment than what I would consider scholarly prose. I am probably showing my byass here and I mean not to offend, and perhaps it is a sign of my inability more than the text.
I do own an iPad and read quite a bit from it, thanks to the Kindle & iBooks apps and of course Project Gutenberg. There are however, many books which I want to "last forever". Books such as Homer's Iliad and Odessy, the work of John Locke and Becoming Jefferson's People by Clay S. Jenkinson. There is something about a classical piece of work that just cannot be represented in any other way. It the difference of looking at the Mona Lisa on an iPad compared to standing before the real deal. In my opinion. The physical object is something we can one day be pass down and in the tragic event our technology is taken from us they will still be able to be read.
I'm not about going to extremes but, I do want to make a significant impact in my life of shedding away the waste. I own way to much, "junk" and useless, unused stuff. Why keep what won't be utilized by myself. Like lying on a beach fully clothed in a winter parka, snow boots, hat and scarf...I will shed the unneeded and unused. My life will be mine and everything in it will have been chosen for a reason, not just gathered so I can say, "Oh I have one of those."
No comments:
Post a Comment