The Value of Minimalism
by Dan Pedersen
The less you own, the less you have to take care of.
The less you own, the less you have to replace.
The less you own, the less money you need to earn.
The less you own, the more time you have for other things (and people).
The less you own, the less things you need to protect.
It’s not always easy to want less, but we are capable of doing it. It starts with appreciating what we already have.
While we’re thinking about what we don’t have, we’re forgetting about what we do have. We have more than we usually realize. And we don’t need many of the things we think we need.
It’s part of human psychology to gain something and shortly thereafter start thinking about what else we can get. It’s also our nature to vehemently protect what we have (even blessings that come our way unexpectedly, and unearned). The way to combat this is to regularly be thankful for what you have.
Minimalism is not about depriving yourself of comfort. It’s not about having a poverty mindset. It’s about removing distractions from your life. Having fewer wants can greatly uncomplicate your life.
It doesn’t mean we can’t be wealthy (if we have everything we need, we are wealthy). It’s about not pursuing wealth as a way of fulfilling yourself spiritually. It’s about not allowing what you own to own you. It’s about not allowing your possessions to blind you from the things that are most important in life.
We all want to be comfortable and not have to worry about money. There’s nothing wrong with that. I wish we could all have that. Maybe one day everyone will. But don’t think that the more you have, the happier you’ll be. This is true only to an extent.
Part of having more, is wanting less. Being content with less, is itself an increase.
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Excellent! Thank you.
It’s great, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s true. But difficult for those of us with jackdaw genes!
Very difficult. Even if you don’t have jackdaw genes 🙂
Minimalism, I like the idea but that’s hate speech to Mark. He can’t stop himself from shopping and bringing things into our home. I have literally yelled at him in a store, “Quit buying things. You don’t need that!”
This would have been a great read for me before I started packing for Spain and Ireland! Ah well, it’s still a good read.