I like clever (opinion) pop-culture reference titles. They don’t score very well in Search Engine Optimization land but who am I to give a f*ck? I’m curious to see what ads will display for this article in RRS readers.
The title above comes from the movie Empire Records that starred a delicious Liv Tyler in the mid-90’s (whatever happened to her?) and is, in some tertiary capacity, related to Cousin Matt’s comment below that he left on my last post, a book review for simplify.
Quoth the Raven:
Every time I read a post on your blog I have this question in the back of my mind while I read: can you really be minimalist (I like “live deliberately”) while working 40+ hours a week for the man? “Forced” to work for the man in this way due to keeping a certain (high?!) standard of living; that is, specifically having a large mortgage on your back. My opinion is no: it doesn’t follow. Your thoughts?
Don’t mind if I do.
First of all, Cousin Matt is one of those guy’s living deliberately (at least my perception from 3000 miles away) and has been (and continues to be) an inspiration to me. I’m sure some of my family practices might appall him but as I’m a Deliberate Liver in training I’m going to fall down several times. Hopefully I get up again each time.
Using my life as an example, since I’m kind of an expert on all things Charley, I can say that I currently, without question, work for the man. I work for one of the largest financial institutions in the world (no, we didn’t take any government bailout money) as a Project Manager. While the people are totally awesome, and there is some satisfaction in knowing that my actions have some importance on change within this institution, it certainly isn’t what I’d be doing if I had been more mindful about crafting my life plan five or ten years ago.
I am lucky to have my primary home paid off, so I don’t have a home mortgage, though I do have three other investment properties with outstanding mortgages. I don’t keep my job because of the mortgages, I keep it because I am the only wage earner in my family of five and without the excellent health insurance provided by my employer I would be out more than a million dollars from my triplets living in the hospital for five plus months last year and my wife being in the hospital for more than six weeks prior to their birth.
This I am thankful for, though I yearn to be more the master of my domain and so I’m crafting a new life plan for the next ten years.
So, not to make this a complete defense of my decisions, because I don’t think that’s what Cousin Matt was looking for, but I am trying to make the point that Minimalism is a journey, a very personal one at that.
The journey has to start somewhere and for many it begins with an epiphany, that the consumerist lifestyle they’ve been living is paved with fool’s gold. It is often easier to appreciate the beauty of simplicity when you’ve tasted the excess of consumerism and found it completely lacking in any redeeming qualities.
So, the path has begun…but where does it end?
When can one truly be said to have arrived at Minimalism? To have arrived at a destination of Deliberate Living? Is not Deliberate Living a philosophy of life applied to every day decisions? And not just big decisions like the huge mortgage and the large car payment? But down to, do I buy my produce at the Mega Mart shipped in from another country or do I patronize the local farmer? What if the Mega Mart farmer uses more organic practices than my local farmer?
Do I buy a Vegan briefcase or do I buy the leather one guaranteed for 100 years?
Does living deliberately mean only having a 100 items, or 75 items, or 50 items? What about the traditional monks who may carry only eight things? Which definition really applies?
I think that you’re a Minimalist and a deliberate liver once you’ve resolved consciously to take this path. You’ve assessed every item in your life, every time obligation you have and you’ve decided, based on your own set of values, what is essential and then have chosen to part with the rest.
For me, the healthcare is essential because I value the health of my family and I value not being a million dollars in debt. It is an unfortunate byproduct of living in the United States that Health Insurance is out of reach for the average consumer. And so, for now, my path includes working for the man.
But each day, I take strides to bring my life more in line with my values.
I definitely f*ck up sometimes, but I am still amazed at the progress I am making.
I’m learning to build blogging as a business, endorsing products that I believe follow the Deliberate living message (incidently, cousin Matt, love your definition of minimalism as Live Deliberately) and sharing them with others who are also interested in this subject.
I’ve eliminated all consumer debt except for the three aforementioned investment properties which are really on auto-pilot as they pay for themselves.
What’s my worry? Being a new father, I have Worst-case Scenario syndrome. i.e. If I lose or quit my job my family will be homeless and they’ll be feeding on my cold, dead carcass in the middle of another nasty Buffalo winter.
It’s been a difficult enough transition losing 33% of our income last August when my wife and I decided that the cost/benefit analysis of daycare for triplets was not favorable (understatement) and she elected to leave the corporate world to raise them…that was our first important decision in support of living deliberately.
Could I get by on a smaller salary with a not-for-profit, till I turn my blogging into a sustainable venture? Possibly, but I’m not willing to take that chance with four people in my household dependent on me right now. Given time, I think a year or two from now, this conversation goes quite differently, only because I will have lived deliberately for a longer period of time and would home to be reaping the accumulated benefits of that.
I’m very comfortable with the decisions I am making now.
I fear that I’ve failed to adequately answer Cousin Matt’s query and so I’d ask the good readers here to give their honest opinions on whether giving your best hours to the man is in line with living a deliberate life?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the general consensus in the minimalism community online seems to agree with you – what is perfect minimalist for one person may be asceticism for another, while the third thinks it’s obscenely over-indulgent.
I think that you are right on. IMHO, giving “your best hours to the man” is perfectly in line with the deliberate life, because you are deliberately providing for your family. And you have a plan, and you’re working your plan. If you don’t seem minimalist enough in someone else’s eyes, it’s irrelevant, because they don’t see the big picture.
I think working for “the man” could be the most minimalist, simple , and deliberate thing to do. I put in my time for “the man” so I can pay for food, shelter, entertainment, charity, etc. Basically, a job is an easy way to meet your needs and wants. I learned there are job situations that aren’t good for me and I’ll do my best to avoid them, but if a job isn’t a soul-sucker and it meets basic needs, it’s good enough! That’s pretty simple.
I have to say that I kind of agree with Michele. Isn’t “working for the man” essentially more minimalist? Think of all the extra baggage you bring in to your life when you are running your own business.
My question on your view of minimalism, or Deliberate Living, is whether it’s an elimination of the unneeded or if there’s something more to it. Is eating organic food more minimalist? Is shopping at a mom and pop store more minimalist? Is working for a non-profit more minimalist than working for a for-profit firm? I just don’t make the connection there. To me, minimalism is taking away the excess until you get down to what is supposed to be there. It’s like a sculptor who chips away at the stone little by little, removing all the extra stuff, until all that you’re left with is a thing of beauty.
Charley, I too work for the man, have a plan, and am on my own path to more deliberate living. I too rely on the man for my livelihood and health insurance (for now). And, most definitely, there is no right or wrong or degree to this. I hope I didn’t come off as judgemental. Truth is I’m a seeker too. I’m trying to find my way through all the distractions…on my path to more deliberate living.
I think the more that we are reliant on “the man” (either through working for him/her 40 hrs a week or by having our own specialized business), the more I cannot live according to my values. All that I’ve witnessed in my work life is businesses laying off good people for no cause of the worker. Or businesses going under because of the out of control economic cycles. I conclude from this, for me, to get in a better headspace I need to get out of this game. And also that it just may be insane to think our very specialized skills are going to help us remain unscathed in the future. Perhaps I can’t elucidate well the connection of being as self sufficient as possible and being more deliberate (minimal)…but its as clear as day to me…ya feel me?
Charley, I understand what you are talking about. I’ve wrestled with the same question for awhile. Here is how I view it:
There is no final result or cut-off line where someone “officially” becomes a minimalist. For me, it’s all about making decisions that allow me to live my life more aligned with my values. I see no reason why working for “the man” has to be separate from that. There are so many aspects of life that minimalist principles can be applied to besides work.
I’m feeling you. I’d say my master plan is to exit working from the man but until we get universal health care here in the US, the plan is going to take a whole lot to implement.
exit