Minimalism, a Lifestyle : 5 lessons I learnt
Less is more, was a quote I often read in self-help books. I will not focus on how and why I got into minimalism, that’s another story altogether, however I shall list five ways my life changed after adopting minimalism.
- Learnt the Art of Detachment
First things first, I was a hoarder, I would NEVER ever throw anything, hopelessly hoping that at some point, deep into the future, it would come handy to me. Eventually, I had piles of clothes that I hadn't worn in years, things stuffed in my cupboard in the hope that yes one day, they’ll be of use to me. I had read several blogs and articles on De-attachment on the Elephant Journal and other Buddhist readings, but truly understood the essence of it once I started practicing De-cluttering. Let me tell you, it won’t come easy, it’s going to break your heart every time you’ll dispose an item, but I can also tell you that it’ll be worth it. Once I started De-cluttering regularly, I wasn’t overwhelmed by things that I owned anymore, surprisingly, I tasted Freedom and freedom, of a very different kind.
2. De-cluttering instilled the Idea of ‘Space’
I cannot emphasize on how much De-cluttering is stress relieving, no really! Once you learn how to De-attach yourself from material possessions, there is nothing that you are bound by. Throwing things is one part of the story, the other part of the story is the space that it leaves behind. You are bombarded with questions like do you need to fill this space, if yes, what should you fill that space with, is it even necessary? To begin with, the emptiness, the vacant spaces make you uncomfortable. Honestly, once I got over this phase, I cannot tell you how free and light I felt. In fact, now I firmly believe in regularly De-cluttering my space, because what I learned in this process is that you must let go to make space for newer, better things.
3. You have time, lots of time
Imagine giving away/throwing away most of your belongings and having left with just the basics, inevitably, I didn’t have much to worry about. Like how I needed to sort out my wardrobe or re-arrange my room or looking relentlessly in my bag to find that one lipstick which I thought I kept it in the bag but turns out is hiding in my travel pouch in the suitcase that keeps lying in my room.
Thankfully, I don’t spend my time re-arranging or looking for things but actually by just being, just breathing just doing absolutely nothing.
4. Simple living, high thinking
Once I learnt to live minimally, my expenditure went really low. My life was not governed by the validation I got by consuming discount coupons. Ever since, I have become comfortable in my minimal space, it in fact, takes me a lot of time and mental effort to really decide what I want in my life and what I can do away with. And this is not just in reference to tangible things but in regard to people too. I have so much more time and resources to invest in things that I ACTUALLY enjoy doing, things that ACTUALLY add value in my life.
5. You connect with people
De-cluttering doesn't necessarily involve throwing things away, in fact, I would consider that the most useless way to De-clutter. Once I am done with the process of figuring what adds value to my life and what doesn’t, I put all the ‘don’t’s together and then either upscale it, re-purpose it, or give it away to someone who needs it or interested in taking it away. And it’s when you share that you actually form connections, a part of you stays with them or vice versa if you are at the receiving end. The world is filled with landfills of garbage, and adding one less item to that garbage really does make a difference.
It’s been two years and my learning has been tremendous, I have seen a qualitative difference and I am still discovering new aspects of myself as I embark on this journey. As much as this may sound industrial but Minimalism is the thought and De-cluttering the action.
