There’s a lot of writing on the Internet about minimalism. I’m not going to rehash it.
From my own perspective, having “stuff” feels good. Possessions can give a person enjoyment, comfort, excitement, and if need be, distraction. But the problem lies in thinking that possessions give one PURPOSE.
Think about it.
Many people have no idea what defines them as a person. And then suddenly, they purchase something—a home, a boat, a business, a car—and that thing becomes WHO they are.
Equally as common, is when a person holds on to a job that has nothing to do with their passion or interests—a job in which the draw is security and financial stability alone. This is the mentality that says, “I will go to work all day to survive, and be the ‘real me’ after hours.”
Now, that may be a very responsible decision. But the common misconception is that job security and ownership of toys are the same as living one’s dreams.
A friend of mine once told me to “beware the ‘golden handcuffs’ of a perfect job”, and his words stuck with me. If one lands the “perfect job” or buys the “perfect house”, does one REALLY possess the job or the house? Or do those things end up possessing the person?
Perhaps the more direct question, is: Could you suddenly be without most of the things in your life, as important as they may be, and still feel like you?
Too often, I believe that what a person owns, does less to enrich their life and more to impede their dreams—as if the world has somehow tricked a person into a huge mortgage, or the belief that a closet should be filled with designer clothes, or the notion that one’s children will love them more if they buy a ski boat. What happens is that many people pile up “stuff” to make themselves (or others) happy, but unknowingly, get further and further from real joy.
I am in no way suggesting that to sell all of one’s possessions is the key to happiness. Nor am I saying that to work one’s way to a great job is not rewarding. Not at all. Instead, I am suggesting that true freedom is knowing that possessions do not make a person who they are, and that experiences, good and bad, as well as what is learned from them, has the greatest value of all.
Enrich your life without adding things, and perhaps, you will feel all the lighter for it.