Author: Anthony

We humans almost instinctively feel the need to bring that which gives us pleasure, joy, closer to us. It is the reason why we expand our living space, our home. We want to bring all the things we like together in one place, in a controlled environment. A safe environment.

• Want to go swimming? Instead of a lake/beach trip, get a pool.
• Want to have a cookout? Forget the local park, put a grill in the backyard.
• Like to play games? Forget the local arcade, pool hall, and bowling alley. Bring games to the home in the form of video game consoles, pool table, ……. there is a home version of everything.
• Exercise? ….. meh. We’ve got a treadmill at home.

Having all the things you like to do in one controlled place is convenient, …. so yeah ….. I get that. Is it safer?…… of course it is, because it’s in a controlled environment.

The problem with a controlled environment however, is that nothing new ever happens. Everything happens exactly as we planned, and we are not exposed to anything new. The experiences are always the same. How long can we expect to have the same cookout, in the same environment, with the same people, and continue to grow as people. We want everything we do to be in a safe, controlled environment (controlled by us), but expect to become more cultured, more rounded people. This is a contradiction, clearly.

So the price we pay for convenience, control, and security, is lack of exposure. Which in the end means lack of growth.

If we are to grow as people we need to get out of the house, try new things, have new experiences, meet new people. The stranger and more awkward for us, the better, as there is much more learning potential outside our comfort zone.

A Minimalist feels no desire for a big backyard, because a Minimalist is open enough to new adventures, new experiences, to believe that the entire world IS their backyard. Limiting ones self to the experiences they can fit in their personal plot of land is small minded thinking, and perhaps a tad bit paranoid.

Big property -> small mind.

Small property -> open mind.

We can never have much growth being exposed only to what we permit in our backyards just because IT IS CONTROLLED BY US. We can only grow as people when we are in situations where we DON’T have control of our situation. It’s the only time we are learning anything new.

As a species, humans love to simplify ideas and concepts. We love to throw ideas into small and few compartmentalized categories to make our lives easier. Ironic that we instinctively prefer our lives complex (with clutter and too much fluff), but we prefer our ideas and concepts to be simplified.

Think about it. We love to throw everything into only two main categories.

• Our political standings are: Democrat or Republican
• Changes are either: Good or Bad
• Genders are either: Male or Female

It’s this oversimplification that is one of our biggest sources of conflict in the world. In the end, this is willful ignorance. We prefer to use the information we already know, from the only the narrow perspective we have ever had, to make judgments. We have labels ready and available in our minds to slap on any concept, so that way we can rest easy, and bask in our “brilliance.” This is lazy.

I am not saying we should go out and read ALL the information out there on new concepts and ideas to make an informed opinion, as most of these concepts don’t directly effect our lives to be worth taking in information we won’t use (That’s just mental clutter. Useless info). I AM saying that we should fight the instinct to label.

Even when it comes to the basic labeling idea of “bad” and “good”. People are so quick to slap “this is bad” on new changes. What makes something “bad”? The fact that it is new? The fact that it forces you to think? The fact that it forces you to abandon a lifestyle or idea that you have been accustomed to? Or, is it bad because it is destructive to what you would consider a greater good (Gods will and such)?

Honestly, unless there are lives at risk, the last question is not even on the table. And the last question is the only valid one; I laugh at the other questions. Lets face it, the majority of the issues and changes we face today are not “Lives are at risk” matters, and with that being the case, only the other questions apply. I.E. If we are labeling something as “bad”, but there are no lives at risk, it’s because it shakes our small little world we have been accustomed to, right down to the core. Booo Hoooo (sarcasm).

Instead, if we have to slap a mental label on new ideas and concepts, lets slap the label “New” on them. Doing so will force us to either let it go (because it’s not important enough to us), or will force us to gather more information so that we may adapt to the change.

In the end the need to have these hard labels just reflect the laziness of people unwilling or unable to adapt to change. It’s just that simple.

Don’t be lazy, be adaptable. Expand your mind, minimize your closet (not the other way around).

Now more than ever in my life I am seeing cultural changes coming down the road. So now more than ever I am seeing the ignorant leaning on their labels, rather than trying to understand and adapt. Changes such as:

• Our gender revolution: “New”
• This new phase in woman’s lib: “New” (I would even call it good)
• ME TOO: “New”
• Trumps Wall: Now this CAN be labeled “Bad” or “Good”, as lives ARE at risk.

There ya go. Only one out of four issues is even worth stamping a hard label on.

The fact is ….. the risk of human life aside, there is no such thing as “good” and “bad.” It’s all subjective. And no matter what we may like or believe, these cultural changes we are having are inevitable, and just a natural part of our cultural evolution. So the only decision we really have to make is: “Am I adaptable, or am I obsolete?”