I, for example, own few material possessions, live in a yurt
and often harvest wild plants. Yet, far
from being bereft of money or liquid assets, we own a newer Prius, holiday
three or four times each year in exotic or far-flung locales and live a life
free of worry about finances. Our
choices are the envy of many friends, yet are options available to anyone who
wishes to prioritize his life similarly to us.
We do not measure ourselves by what we own, but how we live. We own few tangibles, yet also own a library
of memories and pleasurable moments.
How many of us, though, are mentally and financially
prepared to make the sacrifices that allow us to make choices focused on
voluntary simplicity? A simple test will
reveal our capacity to not only adapt, but to embrace this alternative way of
living. Oddly, the first time I tested
myself using this simple strategy, I felt significant stress and anxiety – a
little like being lost, alone and in a strange country.
Choose a mid-week day
for your trial. Leave home without your cash, credit or debit cards, and no
means to access them. If you take the
bus or subway to work, carry the tokens essential for a trip to and from work,
nothing more. No coffee money, no gift
cards for restaurants and so on. If
possible, leave your cell phone at home, and, under no circumstance use it to
access a friend’s support or make purchases.
Sounds simple, right? Almost certainly,
the minute you are isolated from any means of funds to make spontaneous
purchases, you will begin to go through a withdrawal, regardless how
minor. Yet, do we really need that
morning latte, the afternoon drink, the chance to make an impulse buy? A mere day of deprivation will reveal just
how essential these comfort buys are to you, and whether you are emotionally
ready to embrace a minimalistic lifestyle wholeheartedly.
That one day was tough?
Now set yourself up for three days, or a week.
My first test, predictably, found me longing for my daily
coffee fix, and wondering what I would do if a crisis occurred. The fact that no such dilemma had confronted
me for months (or perhaps years) prior was not material. The “what ifs” drove my thinking for much of
that day. However, at the end of the
day, I discovered that I was not embracing my return to materialism, but was,
instead, exhilarated by my newly found freedom.
I have always been a spendthrift or a tightwad, depending upon the
moment and the mood. For years, I
carried upwards of four to six thousand dollars cash in my pockets, and my
low-limit credit card as backup. Now, I
carry no credit cards, no debit cards, and rarely have more than fifty cents in
my pocket. Do I long for the days of
superfluous cash? Hardly.
The measure of whether you, too, are suited to involve
yourself in a life of voluntary simplicity
really is whether you fear the lack of possessions or love the thrill of
attempting to discard all of the excess you own. In order to adopt this new way of viewing
your possessions, you need to adopt a new way of viewing your life. Is your life defined by the moments of
pleasure you get from all of life, or is it defined by the status you feel that
you acquire by owning and displaying material items? Each of us finds our oasis of enjoyment in
life uniquely, and the owner of a $450,000 sports car or a $3,000,000 painting
is no less entitled to enjoy life his way as you are to choose a more focused
yet Spartan way of living. The labels
attached to materialism or minimalism do not define you or your
priorities. You define, by the route you
choose. A minimalist simply chooses to
cozy up to fewer possessions, and more moments.
Yet, even each minimalist is uniquely different from the next,
regardless of the label attached.
