Category: Essays

In this series of essays I will be going over the different methods, “life hacks”, or tools that we can use to maintain a minimalist lifestyle. It is one thing to BECOME minimal, but it is often even more of a challenge to maintain a minimalist lifestyle with the influences of excess/consumerism all around us. Sticking to these rules will help curb the temptations.

 

 

Part 1: Cycling

Most of the things we need are things we already have. Ah, but these things don’t last forever. Shoes wear and tear, computers become obsolete and slow, clothes become tattered, and couch cushions become flat. When this happens we need to replace these things with newer and more modern replacements.

Now, I would hope that we all realize the necessity of this, and practice this. This is what I call “cycling.”

But this same concept can apply to so much more than our …… “perishables.” It would be wise to practice cycling with ALL our possessions. This is why in our home we institute a “Something in, something out” policy. That is: for every possession we acquire, something else has got to go.

Logically this makes sense anyway. As all the things we own take up some of our time to use. This means that adding something new to our lives, means devoting time to it. And if all our time is full (and it always is), then something else we own is being robbed of the time we once devoted to it. The question is: What is the thing that is losing time? That is the thing we must remove. So in a sense, everything we acquire is naturally cycling something out of our lives anyway; we are just not aware of it, and perhaps not de-cluttering (and that is a time commitment too).

 

– New clothes replace old clothes.

– Swimming pool replaces Volleyball net/court.

– Bicycle replaces Kayak.

– Cell Phone replaces LAN line (no brainer)

– Crib replaces poker table (Nursery replaces “Man Cave.” As make no mistake, once there is a child in your life, there will not be a lot of poker with the boys.)

– Mini Van replaces sports car (same principal).

 

With cycling we must be honest with ourselves: “Now that you have a swimming pool, are you really going to spend much time playing volleyball ……..really? Is it enough to make it worth keeping and maintaining both a pool and Volleyball court.”

Too often do I see friends and acquaintances of mine who were once so focused on their passion, give up on said passion because they “didn’t make it” (whatever that means). They stop doing it (whatever “it” may be) because it didn’t give them the big financial gain and glory that they had hoped for. When I learn about this my first question is ……. “What happened to the passion?”

What I mean is: Is not the reason we DO the things we love to do, because we love to do them? Is that not a reward onto itself? Is that not success?

 

Here is what Happens:

Recall when we first started our passion (lets use playing guitar for this example). We were young and “wide eyed.” We played because we liked learning how to play. We played because we liked the sound. We started playing right away, the moment we got home from school, and didn’t stop until dinner. We didn’t think about how we could make it a career, or earn some side cash from it, as we didn’t care about all that. We just loved to play. It made us happy all by itself.

As time went on however, we learned what we could do with this ability/skill we learned through our passion. We learned that we could make money. So that is exactly what we did (why not! if you’re good at something, never do it for free, right?). We hone this skill. We learn what it takes to seek fortune/glory. We change our play style to what is popular, as the more popular it is, the more potential for fortune/glory (For some reason, Metallica comes to mind). Now we practice our skill constantly because we have to. Now it’s not only a job, but it is work (and there is a big difference between the two). The enthusiasm and passion themselves have diminished, being overshadowed by the race for fortune/glory (a concept we may not have even been aware of when we started).

If we don’t get the “success” we sought, then we are without passion AND fortune/glory.

If we DO have the “success” we sought, we have an empty victory. This will bring happiness initially, but when the crowd leaves, we are still left in the cold and dark, living a life that we never wanted. We only thought we wanted that life because that is the pressure THEY put on us. They told us (over time and in so many words), that our passion only has value if we stand to amass wealth and popularity from it. …… and eventually we bought this belief.

 

The truth is this: “Making it” should have never been the primary goal. Exploring our passion and growing within it, should always be the goal. Now, fortune/glory may come, or it may not; that is just a potential bonus. As long as we can make a living, and continue to grow through passion, we are already successful.

 

Growing within our passion is it’s own reward.

Where I grocery shop, every now and again I see a homeless or poor man with a cardboard sign that reads “Homeless. Need food”, “Got no place to live, looking for someplace to stay for the night”, “A couple dollars would be appreciated”, “Looking for work, anything will do”, or “Have no money and no home, need clothes for the winter.” A couple of times, I have even seen whole families like this.

When this happens my wife and I try to help out with a few bucks here, and there. We have even given some of our unused winter clothes and some blankets to a family. But is wasn’t until recently that we saw a seemingly homeless man holding up a sign that read “Have you thanked God for today?” Wow …… I never thought a poor homeless man would have something to offer me. Insight. Wisdom. My own personal Mr. Wendell (an old song by Arrested Development ….. never mind). I wish had taken a picture of him for this post, but I didn’t think of it at the time.

How about that, a poor homeless man in a state of gratitude for still being alive. There was even a smile on his face.

We can choose to be happy people. We can continue to sulk, stress, and worry about all the riches we don’t have. OR, we can be embrace and be grateful for the basic riches we DO have. The best riches: Sunshine, fresh air, life/health, clean food, loved ones, ……. that’s it. If we have those, we have everything.

What else is there? sports cars, large real estate, pool, Armani suits, a summer place near the beach?

TOYS. All of them. These are all just toys. The real riches life has to offer are the ones most of us already have.

 

So …. when I am feeling “down and out”:

• I think about the poor man with that sign.
• I think about a friend of mine who used to be homeless, who saw 9/11 happen from the city rooftop on which he slept. He now works in my building, and is overjoyed with his small life. He also happens to be one of the wisest people I know.
• I think of Monks, Peace Corps volunteers, and all the people who have taken a simple life in the service of others that don’t concern themselves over the unnecessary stresses that middle class America covet.
• I think of children. How they are perfectly happy with the simplest joys in life. How they get joy from giving love freely, and do not judge.
• I think of the prison inmate that just got out of prison after 5+ years who hasn’t felt the sunlight and the wind on his face in all that time. He is grateful, and will never take it for granted again.

 

If we have our health and sunshine, we are rich. But if we also have family, then we have everything.

 

Have you thanked God for today?