I have been thinking about minimalism again.
Not as an aesthetic, or because I want to become some kind of sannyasi … and not as some fashionable way to live, but simply as a way of keeping life a little lighter.
I was reminded of my grad school days when everything you had typically had to fit in 2 large suitcases. Made it easy to share a room with someone else, or shift when your landlord decided to end your lease!
The problem is that collecting things is incredibly easy. And somehow they just add up!
Beads, malas, journals, pens, IKEA pencils, those IKEA paper tapes, mugs, little devotional items, cables (USB A, C, converters), old gadgets, swag from trade shows, random things that come into the house one by one and then quietly stay there for years.
When you bring it home, it doesn’t feel like much, but after a while, it starts to add up. And that’s when the disgust starts, at least for me :(
What I have noticed is that a lot of this stuff does not really improve life. It just sits there - doing nothing!
Some of it has emotional value - like journals, or gifts. Some of it feels vaguely useful - like that USB-C cable that you might need SOMEDAY. I end up buying pens … because the next pen that I buy will help me crack some math problem, or write an even better journal! Ever had that feeling?
Collect malas and you feel very spiritual. Collect tech and feel productive. But the actual writing, prayer, or work may not be happening very much at all.
That is one reason minimalism appeals to me.
It cuts through some of that self-deception. It asks a simple question: do I really need this, or do I just like having it around?
One suggestion that I have found useful is this:
- Put doubtful things in a suitcase and keep the suitcase in a different room or a store-room for six months.
- If you do not touch them in those six months, there is a high likelihood that you do not need them at all.
Give them away or simply throw them out. It is fine. Most likely, you will not need them in the end.
This sounds simple, but it is harder than it should be.
Objects collect meaning. We do not hold on only to the thing itself. We hold on to the memory around it, the money spent on it, the phase of life it belonged to, or the possibility that one day it might become useful again.
I am starting with my japa malas …
I am going through this now with some of my old malas. I have collected quite a few over the years of different types and picked up a couple at Bodh Gaya too, and I no longer use many of them. I do not want to throw them away casually. So I am gathering them, praying to them, thanking them, and then I plan to immerse them in a river. The ones that I have never used will be given to close friends. That feels like the right way to let go.
I feel that when you look at minimalism the right way, it is not harsh, it is not about becoming cold or anti-beauty. It is just about reducing unnecessary weight.
Less to manage, less to clean, less to organize, less guilt, and less to carry mentally.
Of course, I am not free from any of this. No way - no perfection here, boss :D
Tech is my Achilles’ heel - and laptops in particular. I still find them very attractive. I can easily imagine that one more machine with 24-36 GB RAM, a nice GPU, and 1 TB SSD will somehow improve life, or solve a problem, or complete some ideal setup in my head. ;)
Minimalism is not a strict philosophy or some weird personality trait. It is just a decision to not keep adding weight without thinking.
Thank you!