Why I hate the term minimalism (even though I'm a minimalist)
Whenever I talk to someone about minimalism I get one of the following reactions -
1) Raised eyebrows 'oh really, how interesting'
2) Panicked averted eyes 'That's nice... now the weather...'
3) Rolled eyes (said silently) 'I'm going to bash you off that fucking high horse'
4) Glazed over eyes (also silently) 'I'm pretending to listen but that word has a lot of letters in it
5) Glinting eyes (definitely silently) 'And you think that's going to solve all your problems'
6) Confused and concerned eyes (tongue cut out) 'Why would you put yourself through that, it's for third worlders'
7) Suspicious eyes (barely held in) 'Oh crap she's one of THOSE... RUUUUUNNN'
Talking about getting rid of stuff brings up everyone's demons, because lets face it we're attached to that shit. I get it, I do. Even though I call myself a minimalist, I still have plenty of stuff, and plenty of stuff I'm not prepared to part with.
What? You say, I thought minimalists had nothing. Like zero, nada, only functional. Like sit on the floor and have one spork in the drawer, using the side of said fork to chop minimal food up whilst eating on a very white table in a very white room.
Now those kind of minimalists do exist, and frankly I take my hat off to them. Still, that kind of minimalism does not work for me and my family. I see it as an ideal, an aspiration that's beautiful in its unreachableness and foreigness. My kind of minimalism is much more normal and achievable. Basically if I don't love it, use it or need it, it's going going gone. And by extension, if I don't love it, use it or need it, I ain't buying it. What falls into those categories changes for me all the time with my needs and wants. And it's also still quite a lot of stuff. There's more to go sure, but minimalism is a process.
Here are the words I would use in place of minimalism - 'intentional consumerism'. Being mindful and intentional about every single thing we consume - our clothes, the food we put in our bodies, the relationships we keep, the thoughts in our head, the messages in the media, the technology at our fingertips, the way we consume our time and on and on and on. This has been my journey, because I was so mindless and unintentional. I often bought, ate, related, thought, reacted without intent. On autopilot from my subconscious and programming. And it sucked.
I find getting conscious in one area naturally leads you to reevaluate it all, which can be scary because, it's ALOT. But having less makes life simpler, and the process much less scary. What I have learnt as I've whittled down and simplified is that less is not always more, but it often is. Everyone's baselines and priorities are different. I've also found out what I really love - sometimes going without is the only way to learn what truly matters to you.
1) Raised eyebrows 'oh really, how interesting'
2) Panicked averted eyes 'That's nice... now the weather...'
3) Rolled eyes (said silently) 'I'm going to bash you off that fucking high horse'
4) Glazed over eyes (also silently) 'I'm pretending to listen but that word has a lot of letters in it
5) Glinting eyes (definitely silently) 'And you think that's going to solve all your problems'
6) Confused and concerned eyes (tongue cut out) 'Why would you put yourself through that, it's for third worlders'
7) Suspicious eyes (barely held in) 'Oh crap she's one of THOSE... RUUUUUNNN'
Talking about getting rid of stuff brings up everyone's demons, because lets face it we're attached to that shit. I get it, I do. Even though I call myself a minimalist, I still have plenty of stuff, and plenty of stuff I'm not prepared to part with.
What? You say, I thought minimalists had nothing. Like zero, nada, only functional. Like sit on the floor and have one spork in the drawer, using the side of said fork to chop minimal food up whilst eating on a very white table in a very white room.
Now those kind of minimalists do exist, and frankly I take my hat off to them. Still, that kind of minimalism does not work for me and my family. I see it as an ideal, an aspiration that's beautiful in its unreachableness and foreigness. My kind of minimalism is much more normal and achievable. Basically if I don't love it, use it or need it, it's going going gone. And by extension, if I don't love it, use it or need it, I ain't buying it. What falls into those categories changes for me all the time with my needs and wants. And it's also still quite a lot of stuff. There's more to go sure, but minimalism is a process.
Here are the words I would use in place of minimalism - 'intentional consumerism'. Being mindful and intentional about every single thing we consume - our clothes, the food we put in our bodies, the relationships we keep, the thoughts in our head, the messages in the media, the technology at our fingertips, the way we consume our time and on and on and on. This has been my journey, because I was so mindless and unintentional. I often bought, ate, related, thought, reacted without intent. On autopilot from my subconscious and programming. And it sucked.
I find getting conscious in one area naturally leads you to reevaluate it all, which can be scary because, it's ALOT. But having less makes life simpler, and the process much less scary. What I have learnt as I've whittled down and simplified is that less is not always more, but it often is. Everyone's baselines and priorities are different. I've also found out what I really love - sometimes going without is the only way to learn what truly matters to you.