So what is this minimalism thing? It\u2019s quite simple: to be a minimalist you must live with less than 100 things, you can\u2019t own a car, a home or a cell phone, you can\u2019t have a career, you cannot live in any of the exotic (hard-to-pronounce) places all over the world, you must start a blog, you can\u2019t have children, and you must be a young white male from a privileged background.
\nOK, we\u2019re obviously joking. But people who dismiss minimalism as some sort of fad or craze, usually mention any of the above \u201crestrictions\u201d as to why they could \u201cnever be a minimalist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minimalism isn\u2019t about any of these things, but it can help you accomplish them. If you desire to live with fewer material possessions, or not own a car or a cell phone, or travel all over the world, then minimalism can lend a hand. But that\u2019s not the point!<\/p>\n
Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we\u2019ve built our lives around. Real freedom.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s anything inherently wrong with owning material possessions. Today\u2019s problem seems to be the meaning we assign to our stuff: we tend to give too much meaning to our things, often forsaking our health, our relationships, our passions, our personal growth, and our desire to contribute beyond ourselves. Want to own a car or a house? Great, have it! Want to raise a family and have a career? If these things are important to you, then that\u2019s wonderful. Minimalism simply allows you to make these decisions more consciously, more deliberately.<\/p>\n
There are plenty of successful minimalists who lead appreciably different lives. There are many minimalists who have spouses and children. A great many of them have careers which they studied very hard for and which they really love, they belong to family`s whom they truly love and adore, and they have comfortable houses in good areas as well as a car. Conversely, you will find others who actually own very few things, have hardly travelled anywhere, live in a \u201ctiny house\u201d and are completely car-free. Even though each of these people are different, they all share one thing: they are minimalists, and minimalism has allowed them to pursue purpose-driven lives.<\/p>\n
But how can these people be so different and yet still be minimalists? That brings us back to our original question: What is minimalism? If we had to sum it up in a single sentence, we would say, Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life\u2019s excess in favour of focusing on what\u2019s important\u2014so you can find happiness, fulfilment, and freedom.
\nMinimalism has helped us\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Eliminate our discontent
\n\u2022 Reclaim our time
\n\u2022 Live in the moment
\n\u2022 Pursue our passions
\n\u2022 Discover our missions
\n\u2022 Experience real freedom
\n\u2022 Create more, consume less
\n\u2022 Focus on our health
\n\u2022 Grow as individuals
\n\u2022 Contribute beyond ourselves
\n\u2022 Rid ourselves of excess stuff
\n\u2022 Discover purpose in our lives<\/p>\n
By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we\u2019ve finally been able to find lasting happiness\u2014and that\u2019s what we\u2019re all looking for, isn\u2019t it? We all want to be happy. Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it\u2019s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life.<\/p>\n
You want to learn to de-clutter and live with less, ask the haaji. On the five days of Hajj, they basically have a small nap-sack in which they have to fit their five days provisions into. The heavier the bag the heavier the burden! It shows that when the need calls, then we can do with less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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