Quest for Minimalism

Minimalism

I've always been highly interested in minimalism but never been able to achieve this. In my life, I've been conditioned to shop on impulse, perusing deals constantly for no reason to find a reason to spend my money. As I go out and purchase those items I might have wanted in the past, I amassed a giant collection of items I wanted but did not need. I ended up having all this technology and almost everything I ever wanted, but I realized these weren't really what made me happy. Happiness came from setting goals and fulfilling them, learning new skills, experiencing good times with friends, meeting new people, and traveling. I sometimes chuckle when I hear minimalists talk about choosing experiences over items. I cynically thought to myself maybe I enjoy my items more than people. But in the back of my mind I knew that simply wasn't true. 

And as I prepare to move into my new apartment, I want to start learning more about minimalism and focus on how less is more. In my life I've been able to study some differences with people of different socioeconomic levels and I have noticed one thing. Rich people seem to have lots of open surfaces in comparison to poor people. It wasn't about having all these things but instead having all this space. When you have money you can buy a big house. When you have a big house you can fill it with more stuff. When you cannot afford a bigger house and still buy a lot of stuff it ends up filling your house with clutter. I've learned this from my own experience. I used to think that living in a luxurious living space meant filling your house with expensive things. But the truth is, with careful organization and a life of minimalism, a life of living in relative luxury was more obtainable than possible. What I mean is by organizing and mindfully choosing what objects we allow into our lives and creating a system, we can truly create a living space that is minimal and evokes luxury. I believe that if we choose to live a more minimal life, we may end up achieving true happiness through our living spaces. If we live among the surroundings that we have chosen, only then we may create the home that we are looking for. Of course, this is much easier in theory than I make it sound. Wish me luck!