+1 862 207 3288
My essay is about Minimalism. some links for reference :
Minimalist Lifestyle: 5 Life-Giving Truths From Years of Living with Less
The process of living seems to consist in coming to realize truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes.” –C.S. Lewis
I am a teenager trying to become minimalist as I travel my path to adulthood.
Minimalism did not dawn on me when I was 5 years old. We are family of 4 with my mom , dad and my younger brother. My parents are first generation Indian immigrants. They attached lot of importance to learning and hard work. As a child I never understood the importanceof it, so I was given different gifts for every milestone.
At the age of 7, I was given the best toys, latest electronic games.
I was a typical boy who used to go to school and enroll in dozens of after school activities.
But every sunday morning my mom forced me to Philosphy class at our community center. It was difficult to wake up on Sunday morning to go for class, but incentive of cupcake, cookies made me get from my bed.
At the philosphy class, they taught us basic dos and donts. For few things , I followed , my parents rewarded me.
But as I moved ahead concept started to delve more in the context of living. We were narrated many stories, where many people, inspite of having all afflunces , adopted simple life style. These anecdotes had lot of impact on me.
We were also asked to do experiements. If a person like Twix Bar, and he is given 1,2,3,4 bars. But after 5th bar, he wont be able to eat any more. If Twix bar was the source of happiness, then more the Twix bar, more the happiness. But that is not true. Happiness is not proportional to object, but to the self derived meaning.
We were told that the aim of philosophy was not to take away possessions, but to decrease your possessiveness.
All these teachings had big impact on me.
I who used to be happy in Jordan/Lebron shoes, and following a rule that every other day I should have different pair of shoe, slowly cut down on my number of shoes.
I used to have a closet full of T-shirts and inventory was so huge, that sometimes I did not know, if I had a prticulr shirt.
I adopted the rule of “out and in”. I can only buy a shirt if I donated my existing shirt. Also I have reduced number of shirts I possesed. As a result in the morning, I do not have spend 10 minutes in decideing which shirt and pant to pair up. It is minute or two process.
The side effect of this excercise helped me to pursue gratitude and generosity.
Earlier I used to spend hours, surfing net, to hog the latest shoe or shirt on the net. N
ow with the discipline of “out and in”, I can effectively use my time on important tasks. It has made me more diligent.
Another factor that helped me to move towards minimalism were my parents.
Both of them are hard working and they follow minimalism to very higher degree. They had never forced me to follow, but subtely questioned my actions.
My mother still wears clothes that are 20 years old. At the same she donates for many philantrophic causes.
Owning less brings great practical benefits into our lives. It costs less. You spend less money, time and physical and mental energy to maintain. It brings freedom and calm into this fast world. And it provides amore foccused camera to target our truest passions.
Over time, I have been able to come out of the anxiety to desire for more–even in a society that stresses consumerism at every turn.
I got lot of inspiration from reading the various Minimalist blogs. The writers had something I wanted; being content and happy with what you have. Through their articles , I relaised Minimalism is not a destination, but a method.Minimalism is, after all, less about the things you remove and more about the things you add. As bloggers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus describes Minimalism as – “More time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment”
============
