A Minimalist and an Essentialist Life

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- It all began back in school when our minds were grasping the concepts of numbers, mass and count nouns, the difference between more and less, and the feeling you get when you get an A+. It was deeply ingrained in our consciousness that it influenced the way we see things. It has affected the way we make choices. It has steered our decisions. We went on a life spree not knowing what is essential. We loaded our lives with everything not understanding what is only necessary.

How much we need in life is relative to how we see things. It is subject to the perceptions of the mind. A scarce mentality will always drive us to get more, while an abundant mentality will tell us what is only essential. The stuff that lands on our hands might appear valuable but we might not necessarily need them. Our mathematical evaluations of things have become more literal that they blurred the line between wants and needs. How we rate our satisfaction in life has been a product of a flawed meter and not a true measure of how things truly are.

We seek food, water, clothes, and shelter. These are the basic things we need in life and everything that follows is already on the spectrum of wants. That part of our lives has been inflated that we are drawn to excesses over functionality. This seems trivial but it has affected people's happiness and satisfaction in life.

Living life as a minimalist is more than just a choice or product of a well-thought-out decision. It is a reflection of who we are and the values we hold true. The decision to give up on the unnecessary comes naturally when you are abundant inside as a person. When you are full inside, no other external things can add up to it anymore. True minimalism is more than just a way of living, a pop culture, or a dress code. It is being fully appreciative of what life has for you. It means that having enough is already good enough.

Being a minimalist doesn’t mean that we do not have wants. We are just not overly attached to it. We can let go of things quite easily and not be overly troubled when we lose them. We may feel bad but we carry on. Things are not our reality. We have internal compasses that direct our attention to the things that matter.

Lately, major world changes have forced us to re-evaluate our lives. We were put into a situation where our health and loved ones are more important than our preoccupations. We began to see what is truly important and what our values are. We discovered a part of us that is truly basic.

The easier we can let go of the unnecessary, the better our state of life will be. It is good to be just simple individuals whether in plentiful times or not. We deal with life changes as a blessing and an exciting prospect of rediscovery. We live life with a renewed passion for everything and renewed sense of appreciation.