I came across the concept of minimalism a few years ago. I am an ardent follower of anything that is food for the soul, things that help us connect to our core, things that are earthy, that drive a sense of community, things that fuel us with knowledge that is centered around living an intentional and conscious life.
One such platform is a YouTube channel called pickuplimes. I'm a fan because Sadia, who founded pickuplimes, speaks about food and how to make them wholesome using vegan ingredients, gardening and plants that she has a definite passion for, some important life lessons that she collates from audiobooks. In one of her videos, she spoke of minimalism. That's when I first delved into understanding what it meant. I did find it interesting, knew I may need to go deeper, but that was that. I guess the pull wasn't strong enough.
The second encounter with minimalism was when a friend of mine told me that she wanted to give away 30 saris! We are talking about THIRTY saris here. It had accumulated over the years and she felt she wasn't really going to use them. She asked me if I could refer her to a non-profit that worked for women. I was touched by the potential of her gesture. 30 women living a lesser privileged life will receive a new sari to adorn.
I'd been taught to give away old clothes to the needy but they had still been old. It did take some heart to give away brand new apparels that you'd probably worn just once or twice. I reminded myself that I donate regularly - food, clothes or money. The thought that I was doing my bit overtook the need for minimalism.
And then came along a documentary on Netflix. A powerful one. I'm not sure if any of you have experienced this moment when you’re browsing through Netflix and torn between watching an entertaining popular work of fiction and a powerful documentary that's calling out to you. That moment of choice! Choosing the documentary gives us one brownie point towards widening our perspective and giving us food for thought. The choice I made that Friday night was a documentary titled minimalism. It covered a variety of connected issues 'linked to minimalism' that reflected my belief system - the 'food for the soul' stuff I referred to earlier.
Capitalism
It emphasized on capitalism and how we are all slaves to our work life; that we often presume 'work' is our only life, slogging over 45 hrs a week. Over the years I had realized that we are carefully modified by the capitalist mind-set into mules that get to the desk every day at a certain hour and do something that we have been brainwashed into thinking will help pay our bills and help us buy fancy stuff, which it does only because our brains are washed into believing them.
What if we just revisit our 45-hour work week and look at it as an outsider?
What if we spend some time thinking ‘what is it that is actually important to us? OR what we would rather spend that time doing?’ and WHAT IF that alternate thing we would really like to spend our time on, also helped pay our bills?
Do you think there's a possibility you might actually hit upon a realization?
Consumerism
I was always a little weary of buying too much, this quality has been innate to me from childhood. I remember questioning my parents all the way through childhood and adolescence asking them why they were buying what they were. I could literally see that they were clouded by the illusion of that momentary joy that consumerism gave them. I'd detest going out with my girlfriends when they wanted to 'go out shopping for the day'. I totally remember telling them that I'd meet them when they are back and we will have a nice evening conversation over a cup of coffee (or milk depending on how old I was).
That doesn't mean I haven't had my share of consumerism. When I did start earning my own money, there were phases when I'd go into a mall and buy clothes that felt really good when I tried them on. Good thing is I was conscious of the fact that I went out shopping, it was a planned activity, and I probably did it once a year. I'd buy these lovely dresses.
Did I need them - no! Well, maybe I needed 2 out of the 10 I got. (That's exactly how we justify ourselves into maximism, don’t we?).
Did they make me happy, yes!
Did it drain a hole in my pocket? No!
Did I use my credit card? Never! I was very conscious that I shouldn't spend the money I don't have. That part of consumerism I was never a slave to by God's grace.
Could I have bought just 2 instead of 10 and used part of the money for something more meaningful? Definitely!
Intentional answering of these questions just made me realize that I shouldn't be going shopping for the next 5 years.
Advertising
The documentary goes on to display how advertisers sell us things we don't need or want but eventually are made to believe that we ‘don't just want but NEED them’. I had the advantage of studying advertising and how ads are made, how advertisers spend hours understanding the mind of the consumer. As a result, people like you and me are slotted into archetypes - gloriously called target audiences, and then based on our mind-set and preferences, we are sold a lot of stuff. This was about 17 years ago. I remember that I intentionally stopped watching television and have spent probably 10 hours on TV through these years. I took a conscious call to avoid every single ad, this was when I was 19.
Minimalism
The protagonists in the documentary take us through what is it that inspired them into minimalism. They unbox their life, conscious of the activities they spend most of their time on, how they adopted tiny practices to reduce 'things' in their surroundings, the 'aha' moments of realization and finally how they have become who they are today - aware, inspired, happy and living intentional lives – with due credit to minimalism.
They tell us how being aware of capitalism, consumerism and the effects of advertising go a long way in preparing us for minimalism. The act of minimizing things from life has taught them to go deeper within, understand what they actually need, what's truly important to them and how they really want to ‘live’ their lives, being truly ‘alive’ every moment.
I could totally relate to all of what they said. I've felt this way for many years now and practiced some of it diligently. But the actual practice of reducing things - that they call 'stuff' - from my life and environment is something that goes in my ‘pending list’. And what's absolutely fascinating - if I already know how to go deeper within, if I am already aware what is truly important and how to be alive every moment; AND I did practice the 'art of minimalism' - I can only imagine the deeper potential it will open up for me.
What is equally fascinating is the transition I have undergone. Earlier, ‘minimalism’ registered as giving away old clothes or a few extras around the house. But the way Ryan and Joshua describe it is inspiring. When doing a certain act that is diametrically opposite and different from what you have been doing so far in life – reduce and give away rather than collect and consume – something goes off in your brain. Something shifts… and that shift gives you a deeper sense of meaning. You may already know what is important to you and what matters today, but don’t be surprised if you adopt minimalism and realize that what you assumed was important to you and what you assumed mattered the most has just been deprioritized in light of a sudden homecoming of a realization.
I say so with confidence because the potential continues to intrigue me. I am a one-week old minimalist, reducing 1 item a day, and adding 1 more item to it every single day. Today is the 8th day and I reduced my surrounding by 8 things. I feel different, clarity emerging even more than before.
Can’t wait to see how things play out.
Watch Minimalism on Netflix and let me know what it did to you!
Comments