There’s a fair amount of talk in Minimalist circles about the prospect of Living with 100 Items. I can’t think of too many Minimalist / Simple Living / Zen / Perpetual Traveler blogs that haven’t at least mentioned it, if not flirted with trying it, myself included. I think it’s also safe to say that we each have different reasons for holding it in high (or low) esteem and/ or putting it into practice.
Some want to live more consciously, some want to escape the stranglehold of consumerism, some want to lighten their footprint, some want to live out of a bag and travel the world, some want to break their attachment with anything considered materialistic (and there is a whole spectrum that measures the magnitude of this). All are worthy, and I won’t dare judge or question anyone’s motives.
What I want to be careful of is that it doesn’t become the litmus test of whether one is a minimalist or not.
For some people, minimalism is a lifestyle, for me it’s a tool….one of many that has the potential to sharpen my focus on the things I want to achieve. Remove the distractions and I have the opportunity to increase my focus. Remove too many distractions, then minimalism can become a distraction in and of itself.
We’re all on journeys. Some of us feel the path is already created and it’s inevitable that we walk it. I prefer to feel that I have more control and can forge the path, hopefully accomplishing some real cool shyt (at least to me) along the way…and hopefully while some folks are watching and cheering.
Really, this blog is not a Minimalist website. It’s not even a Simple Living site.
It’s another tool; a way for me to explore and share, to find myself, to hold myself to task so I actually get some shyt done, and to share with others who are likewise forging their own path.
Steve Pavlina has a good post out (published on Jan. 20th) about the Ego. Even though he spends a third of the post denigrating (opinion) the minimalists and new agers, and then kinda contradicts himself later (opinion) in the post (we all do that sometimes…) when he talks about not wasting energy denigrating people you don’t agree with (yes, I used denigrate twice in a sentence…thrice if you count the parenthetical data).
Never the less, he’s got a great point…You’re not here on this earth to gaze at yer navel all day, to eschew the Ego for some kind of sacred pedestal.
You’re here to achieve, to learn, to share, to experience, to grow and yeah, to develop your Ego. This is quite different than being an Egomaniac.
I think that’s why books like The Power of Now make me crawl out of my skin. I’ve tried to read it four times and I just can’t get through it. Of course, I realize I’m an idiot for trying a book I don’t like four times, but that’s a subject for a different day.
Just be present, says the Power of Now. Be this moment.
Practice washing your dishes slowly and deliberately.
NO! I f*cking hate dishes!
I take a second and a half to rinse them and then put them in the dishwasher. Why waste my time pretending that dishwashing is some sacred ritual? The purpose of diswashing is to clean my dishes so I’m not eating off a disgusting plate at my next meal. I’d rather have my time back to accomplish something valuable.
I like living in the present when a beautiful moment presents itself, like the perfect wave at the ocean, but I also like to reflect on the past, to learn from my successes and failures. And I spend a helluva lot of time reflecting on the future.
Learn, Plan, Do.
Past, Future, Present
Rinse and repeat.
My goals this year are all about achievement, in front of a public auditorium…seemingly so that others will notice and say, hey that’s cool, I’m impressed, good job. Others will not be impressed, so be it. Hopefully, they aren’t just dream-crushers. Hopefully, they’re on another path and may be accomplishing even cooler shyt than I’m trying to.
My goals are also about simplifying, concentrating more on what I love and less on what I don’t. You never know which moment is going to be your last, and no, it’s not really possible to live every moment to the fullest despite what certain over-caffeinated gurus might tell you, but you should try to at least live more fully than you currently are, whatever stage you are at. That takes learning, planning and doing again.
Living with 100 Things is not an end in and of itself for me. It’s a way to carve a path that few of my peers do (those fellow cube rats who pursue the path of wealth), just like writing a book, running a marathon, living off my investment income etc. etc.
EGO.
And I’m fine with that. At least I’m admitting it.
As circumstance would have it, I’m also currently working on a Life List, which I will share once it has more than a dozen and a half things on it. But basically, it’s a way of tracking some of these really cool things I want to do. And it’s quite malleable. My list today might stretch my comfort zone sufficiently, but a year from now will seem boring and tame. So be it. I’ll adjust as I go.
Anywho, sorry for the rant.
Actually, I like ranting a fair bit more than writing respectable pieces (and there was a “point” somewhere in there), so, I take my apology back. But I do thank you, as always, for stopping by and reading.
Peace,
Charley
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
You deserved a tweet for that… Partially because for the second day in a row I actually read a long blog entry by you. (Normal behavior from me is if it is more then 4 paragraphs I 1) fall asleep, 2) skim it or 3) both.) Very well written and thought provoking.
Hey Charley, despite what you may have thought, this is a really great post!
I think you make a really interesting point about the litmus test for minimalism. I think everyone in the minimalist community tries their best depending on their situation. It would be a shame if their efforts were negated because they don’t ‘pass’.
A very thought-provoking post.
PS. I tried to read ‘The Power of Now’ three times! Maybe I need to try again too
I’m with you! Doing dishes is never something that will be a “moment” in my life that I want to treasure. Neither will using the toilet, and I do that every day too.
I like the learn, plan, do approach. Sounds good!
I too, detest doing things as slowly as possible if I hate doing them.
Dishes –> dishwasher
Laundry –> laundry machine, NOT BY HAND
Vacuuming –> only if I see dust bunnies waving hello at me
I think the 100 Things challenge is really dangerous as a way to say: Are you a minimalist or not?
Because I’d fail miserably.
Same with any kind of challenge like trying to fit your life into 3 suitcases (which I am currently doing). It’s for ME and my life, not for anyone else’s and if they don’t want to do it, that’s okay too. They can still be a minimalist!
Perhaps we need a new word. Like Conscious Living.
Thought it was just me! I cannot get through ‘The Power of Now’ – have tried and then retried. Was wondering if I was missing something? I do live for the here and now but as with most people I have goals and ambitions and therefore do look to the future and at the same time feel I have learnt from the past so choose to remember it. Read ‘The Alchemist’ (with the same high hopes as ‘The Power of Now’) – enjoyed it and believe I will benefit from it.
Hi there – happy to have found you from “Becoming Minimalist”. BM has shyed away from telling the personal side of his minimalist adventure, so your blog excites me. I want to read how real people do it, not lists and theoreticals.
I started the minimizing process just over 2 years ago (my story is on Becoming Minimalist’s under “Christy’s Story”). It has changed how I viewed my stuff and my relationship with things. I keep a permanent area in my basement (You know, where all the boxes used to be!) for an empty box for things to go to the thrift store. It’s ongoing and I love it.
I read the 100 thing challenge, and am interested in the process people use to purge, but it seemed to me that most have little rhyme or reason to their lists and make rules that seem a little bit like cheating…things like “I will count my 6 pairs of underwear individually, but not my 8000 book collection”. It seems to me that if the point of the exercise it to limit possessions, then shouldn’t one be forced to make some sacrifices?
Anywhoo..I’m rambling…apparently I am still cluttered in my ability to yap.
)
All the best and looking forward to your blog!
The point of the ‘now’ philosophy is to bring us back to the present moment all the time. As Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman says:
> We step into the zendo with our left foot, the foot nearest the outside edge of the doorway. There is no religious significance to that. If you step in with the other foot, nothing awful is going to happen. Really. But it’s a way for you, at that moment, to notice where you are. You can see if your mind is where you are, or if your mind is somewhere else. All of these little formalities function that way. They’re aids to help you bring your mind back here, like following your breath or checking your posture during zazen. You turn toward what’s happening right now to bring your mind and body together so that you’re wholly present. When you’re passing someone in the hall, bowing. Just Buddha bowing to Buddha. Just bringing yourself back here, back here, back here, *so that you can actually experience your life.*
So no, there’s nothing sacred about washing your dishes. But being able to command your attention in such a way as to be really there, doing that – body and mind in unison – instead of turning on the autopilot and using that time to live on the future or past, has real psychological and physiological benefits, as many recent studies into the benefits of meditation are attesting.
Great post, as usual Charley. As long as the focus is on simplifying as a tool to some other end, then I think it’s worth doing. As soon as living minimally becomes the goal in itself, then I have to start questioning the point.
Great post, you’ve captured some great ideas here. I agree completely, it’s never good to do something just so one can label themselves a minimalist. I am excited to try the 100 things challenge because my parents (who I love dearly) were packrats when I was growing up and those habits were ingrained in me. It’s been a long journey of learning to let go of stuff and the 100 things challenge (whether I actually get it down to 100 or not) is just another motivational step along the way. Anything that helps us make personal progress toward whatever our goals are.
We never have to readily accept what we hear or see, be they from the authority. Letting it pass through our filter is a must. After all, we are all unique and our circumstances differ.
Below is a beautiful post about minimalism taken to the extreme (100 things), and the truth about what minimalism really has to offer.
http://simplicitybysunny.wordpress.com/
Hi Tracy,
I’m a fan of Sunny’s, I follow her in my Google Reader. Thanks for providing the link to my readers here. Sunny needs to upgrade the site to a regular host, I think, because her writing is so good that I think she can be really terrific and get a great following…but blogging on the free wordpress platform might prevent her from reaching a wider audience.
THank you so much for stopping by and leaving this comment.
- Charley
Very wise words, Walter, thank you for sharing them.
I think as long as you give everything you own an honest evaluation, it doesn’t matter how many you get down to. I wish you much success in your journey. Thanks so much for stopping in and leaving a comment.
- Charley
Tracy & Charley – Just read this post and your wonderful comments regarding my blog. Thanks! I’m working on my own host. It’s time to upgrade!
As you can already tell, from my own posts, I view minimalism as a tool, too. The problem with labels – like “being minimalist” or “living simply” – is that it devalues the essence of things – rules evolve, definitions abound, etc., and you’re pressured into a mold. I became so obsessed with the 100 Things and suddenly realized I’d missed a thousand “perfect wave[s] at the ocean”, as you wrote above. Of course, I live in the mountains, but you know what I mean
I’d been taking My Ego too seriously.
Keep up the great rants!
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