Minimalist Lifestyles We Can Learn Something From
The earth on which we live is what we all have in common
Minimalism means different things to different people but fundamentally it’s much about living with fewer things, about avoiding duplication and embracing simplicity.
Living with less makes so much sense. What follows is an easier lifestyle, and a freeing up of time, and money. This leaves you to be better focused on fundamentally important things.
Some people determine to embrace minimalism because they care passionately about the planet, and see our current lifestyles, and excesses, as unsustainable in the long term.
In their individual ways, they want, not just to be heralds of change, but models too.
And some, like ourselves, have it land on our doorstep with a massive thud! In this article I talk about how, the process of moving taught us so much about our spending habits, about buying for the sake of buying, and the subsequently sequestering of the old, in cupboards, that out-of-sight-out-of-mind response that helps to salve the conscience.
The reality of its ‘landing on our doorstep,’ however, was huge. I simply couldn’t deal with it, initially. Stymied at the moment, I turned a blind eye, hoping that a fairy would rise from the ashes, somewhere, and solve everything.
That fairy turned out to be my husband, a much more strategic thinker than I will ever be. My dithering was solved by him, in one day!
The result of this is that our new home is intentionally smaller these days, with exactly what we need, no more, no less, which sometimes leads to problems, when cooking.
Traditionally I had bowls, and pans, and plates for any food you care to mention. Now I am called upon to seriously problem solve, something I will never complain about as my lifestyle is now simpler, though not entirely monastic.
Sometimes I allow myself to bask in the glow of living simply and being a kinder resident of Planet A, yet it pales into insignificance when I compare myself to others who have taken more strident actions, and in the process learnt so much about:
- themselves
- the planet
- the behavior of the people therein
- and the urgency for us to be better custodians of our earth
Irish activist and businessman Mark Boyle, set himself a one-year task, (initially), of living without money. That one-year experiment became seven, as he discovered how, as a human being, he could live without ‘the trappings and security that money’, had afforded him in the past.
Though the initial stages were terrifying, and tough, as he came to terms with the fact that, if he wanted to eat, he had to forage for it, or grow it himself, he also came to understand this.
‘More than anything else, I discovered that my security no longer lay in my bank account, but in the strength of my relationships with the people, plants and animals around me. My character replaced sterling as my currency. If I acted selfishly or without care for those around me, then in the medium-term my ability to meet my own economic needs would diminish.’
Life was incredibly tough for him, but in his day-to-day living, he found an element of peace and contentment that was new to him, and, at the end of the first year, found he was healthier, more at peace with his life, and content with less.
Being much more in tune with, and connected to the earth that affords us life, was a veritable joy.
‘It is not until you become physically aware of how your own health is entirely reliant on the health of the great web of life, that ideas such as deep ecology absorb themselves into your arteries, sinews and bones.’
Being reliant on fresh air, healthy soil to grow his food, and enjoying clear spring water, brought home to him that much of this is not appreciated by people generally.
‘I discovered how to take care of myself and others in ways that didn’t inflict systemic violence on people and creatures whom I had no idea I was having such a brutal impact on, through my shopping habits.
‘If the air that filled my lungs became polluted, if the nutrients in the soil that produced my food became depleted, or if the spring water which made up 60% of my body became poisoned, my own health would suffer accordingly. This seems like common sense, but you wouldn’t think so by observing the way we treat the natural world today. Over time, even the boundaries of what I considered to be “I” became less and less clear.’
It is clear that for most of us, there is a significant disconnect between ourselves, and the planet that supports us.
Those people who make a conscious choice to live in total harmony with nature will have discovered so much about themselves that most of us have little notion of.
And yet, it’s that seeming indifference in others, intentional or otherwise, that should sound a clarion call for change in how we live our lives.
“We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to”.
Mark is now a director of Streetbank.com, an online global sharing community, and the founder of ‘The Free House’, a smallholding and event space in Ireland that combines permaculture principles with gift-based values. His cash-free adventures have been featured in major media on several continents, inspiring thousands to commit to living better with less.’
And then there is Jo Nemeth, an Australian, who also challenged herself to live without money for one year in order to find out just how much each of us needs to be happy.
In the process, she determined to purposefully re-use what other people toss, “so I don’t have to consume new resources”. Using slightly-soiled napkins from a coffee shop for toilet paper, building her own tiny home on a friend’s property, for instance, were two of the environmental initiatives she chose.
What really moved Jo, was the realization of how our spending, and our wanton consumerism, impacts so heavily on people many civilizations away.
For both of these people, their experiments were totally life-changing.
Each has taken what they learned, and built a new life of example, one that includes helping others to live more simply and ethically, and often, without fear.
They have throttled back on their use of our planet’s resources, and through this, each has discovered a calling to be part of the change many of us could endorse, had we the courage.
Are these extreme examples of minimalism? For most of us, yes, but we can still try to live with less. Just by taking on board, some of the principles below, you could be part of some planetary change. Small steps like:
- becoming more aware of how our lives are connected to the health of the planet
- being a part of the gift economy
- becoming informed about how our actions affect others in the world
- re-using where possible
- being aware of how our consumption impacts the environment
- being more willing to help others
- living with less
“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.” — Edwin Way Teale
