Minimalism
In most cases, having so little is usually grounds for having sympathy for others. It makes people want to pour into their resources and try to help people whom they feel are struggling in life. However, minimalism is not like that. Minimalism is about having so few resources yet still living a perfectly fine life.
We have grown as a culture to where having a big living space, having a significant other, and establishing a family makes someone a success in society. When someone lives with so less, some people think they are failures and probably wished they would live the lives of what society deems successful. Some people who live a minimalist lifestyle have all they need and do not have to have loads of money and resources to be happy. It is because some people make changes to themselves and their lives to live happily while not having the best of everything. Such people realize what makes them happy, and they don't rely on having a materialistic mindset to be happy.
When someone does not have all kinds of goods that give status, does it mean someone simply is not successful? Absolutely not. I can speak from personal experience. I honestly never felt bad because I wasn't wearing Nike sneakers or have a Starter jacket unlike other school students. I did not feel required to have what everyone else had in order to feel happy. I was okay having knock-off goods. At least I had certain goods. As I look at the idea of minimalism, I would be greatly served having some of the cheapest material as long as it lasted. I didn't care if I wasn't wearing Nike sneakers or have a Starter jacket. At least I had clothes.
NOTE: Now before I go into further detail, I want to advise everyone that living a minimalist lifestyle does NOT mean people are failures. Minimalist people are not those who failed to live the American dream (at least here in the United States of America). I am not suggesting minimalist types need help. I am just here to discuss minimalist culture.
Why Minimalism?
I will give you a lot of thoughts about minimalism to help prove my points on minimalism. Check it...Someone would want to imagine what the big deal is with minimalism. Well for a lot of people, having the best of everything does not equate to happiness. When you really think about it, a lot of things we are blessed with or have are not exactly REQUIRED to live our best lives. Some things are almost merely non-essential to our survival. We don't care about that often times, but it is true.
Minimalism can pertain to not being flashy or boisterous. Would you rather drive a basic economy car all in stock form, or would you drive an economy car that has flashy graphics and various aesthetic arrangements (such as body kits, spoilers, etc.)? To the minimalist, an economy car is all someone needs. A minimalist is not at all concerned about being under pressure to the better furnishings to compete with other people. A minimalist may also prefer having bland-looking resources rather than flashy look-at-me resources.
As a sometimes fashion/beauty blogger (PLUG: Visit my fashion/beauty blog! Here: StyleSpace, by John B. Marine :) ), I hear of fashionistas who have a capsule wardrobe to express minimalism. This is where fashionable types get rid of clothes they don't really need or like much and instead stick with favorites. Fashionable types still want a decent wardrobe, but they want to do so without having to shop for new clothes all the time. So a minimalist in this regard will stick to a certain set wardrobe.
Believe it or not, long before I considered the layout of my blogs and some of my other social media material, I had minimalism in mind. I feel I can market myself without having a lot of fancy things. I am proud to have online material that are not filled with bloated nonsense. I also believe in minimalism when I do my videos online. I never had the best of the best, yet I made the most of what little I have. A fancy looking blog will get more attention than a bland one, but I always believed in quality over quantity.
Hopefully this section gives you some ideas on how a minimalist may think.
Minimalism Inspiration: Teemaree.
I want to offer a real example to help express the concept of minimalism. Teemaree, once a veteran of various forms of entertainment as well as being a spokeswoman, had achieved loads of success. She was also one of my favorite go-go dancers. She even spearheaded a first-of-its-kind reality show about the go-go dancing lifestyle. One would think someone like Teemaree is head and shoulders above her peers with this much success. Well, Teemaree admits she was mostly trapped and needed guidance. So what she did was a lot of deep thinking and faith. Today, Teemaree is a life coach, author, and creator of "Transform With Teemaree," "Invite God In," and "ALLSWELL Lifestyle." Her life coaching is a mix of offering life advice as well as providing religious insight. Speaking of Teemaree's insight, let me share this with you:^ Who Is Teemaree?
Teemaree isn't the only example of minimalist lifestyle. She is the best example to me to discuss minimalism that I can provide. I am using Teemaree as an example to help set up discussion minimalism using a real-life example.
Minimalism: How to Start?
Minimalism is not something that can be easily implemented. I do not know all of the nuances of minimalism, but I may help you get started. I will share some of my own minimalist insights and thoughts to help give you some inspiration if you want to take on a minimalist lifestyle. Follow my lead...
Minimalism: What Do You Need?
The first thing to consider about minimalism is to think about what you have and what you need. Especially if you are going to live "off the grid," you have to seriously consider what things are important to you in the moment. You will have to learn to sacrifice some comforts in trying to live the minimalist life you wish to live.If I lived as a minimalist, I am very involved in technology. So what I would need is powerful WiFi Internet. I want to hold onto my two TVs, my HDTV monitor, my printer, and my Chromebook. I may even want to go from a PC to a decent-spec laptop. If I had the money, I'd invest in an HP laptop that costs around $500 USD (or maybe $600 USD) that has better specifications than my 2014-ish budget PC. A lot of space on my desktop would be gone, and I could use it around the house even if power goes out. As a gamer, I want to hold onto my systems. I don't need a gaming PC when I can do just fine with a simple PC or laptop that can still play a good amount of games while also serving as my personal PC/laptop when not gaming. I would want to cook with a microwave and an air fryer. I would want a place with decent lighting. I feel lighting lightens my mood.
Most important about minimalism is making money. You need to find some sort of revenue stream or grind to stay financially afloat. There isn't much I do to generate income. So in this regard, I would struggle unless I had some proper form of making money.
You also must consider utilities. If you can invest in solar power, it would be cleaner for the environment and possibly even energy efficient. You also need decent plumbing to handle things like taking baths and showers as well as washing dishes. If you plan on getting into farming, you certainly need to consider decent utilities for planting gardens and such.
Minimalism can be a challenge if you have a significant other and/or a family. Be mindful of needs for you as a couple and in maintaining a family when being minimalist. You have to account for taking care of your lover/spouse in addition to your family should you choose to live as a minimalist couple or as a minimalist family.
These are just a number of things to think about when wanting to think minimalist.
Minimalism: Where Would You Live?
Do you prefer living within the big city, living in the suburbs of a major city, or out in the country? Do you even want to live in your current state or country or move elsewhere? You want to be able to live in a place where you can comfortably live your life. The popularity of tiny houses these days make for a unique challenge of trying to live without having to pay high mortgage rates. You would be surprised at how some people maximize their lives living minimalist style. If you do think about the tiny house lifestyle or convert a van or bus into a home, that is something else to consider your minimalist lifestyle in.I have seen people live in places ranging from tiny homes to vehicles converted into homes. This even includes people who have trailer homes. If I had one such home, I kind of would want a two-story home to possibly enjoy great views and maybe even sit on the balcony outside. Because I am so much of a city person, I feel an affordable housing option within an uptown setting or downtown setting would be the best for me. I wouldn't want to shy too far away from family and friends here in Houston. Look around on various tiny home retailers and builders to think about your minimalist lifestyle.
Minimalism: Sacrifices.
Just like almost anything in life, you have to learn to make sacrifices. A lot of the luxuries you are accustomed to can be given up to live the minimalist lifestyle. Even though air conditioning seems necessary, it is actually a luxury. Living here in Texas, I can't afford to sweat in all of this Texas heat! So I would need a great solution for air conditioning.If you are the materialistic type, you have to realize some goods you enjoy aren't always goods you NEED. Fashionistas- that means you can do without Louboutin pumps, Michael Kors handbags, Chanel espadrilles, and various other luxury goods.
Most importantly, the biggest move you can make in adopting minimalism is to drop your materialistic lifestyle. Minimalism forces you to think less about owning everything and only focus on essentials. You can live better by understanding the essentials rather than feel like you need material goods to be happy. I will leave this discussion with a little quote:
"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"
-Steven Wright
I want to present some Final Thoughts on this topic to close out my minimalism discussion. Please look at the next section.
Minimalism: Final Thoughts
Minimalism is about living your best life having only so many resources. Minimalists shouldn't be seen as those who fail in life; instead, minimalists are more concerned with making the most out of live by having the least of resources. Do not think a minimalist has given up on life or should be living a luxurious lifestyle. In fact, a lot of minimalist types have all they need to live a great life. They just do not need status symbols to prove their worth to the world. They also do not need status symbols to be happy with their lives.
A minimalist does not need help; minimalists just choose to live their lives without many of the luxuries many of us consider essential. While minimalists try to live with less, they don't need help or need to get psychological help. If you are a minimalist, you don't need a mansion, expensive cars, fancy gadgets, and the like to live happily. You live on bare essentials. Minimalism allows you to focus on more important things without being bombarded with many [usually unnecessary] things.
If you do choose to live a minimalist life, you need to plan carefully. Think about all of your immediate needs and wants. It is not easy to live a minimalist lifestyle without actually planning ahead. Be prepared to make sacrifices and let go of things you don't think are essential to you. Adjusting from normal life to minimalist life will NOT be an easy transition. However, moving to minimalism or tiny living is possible and doable.
Minimalists have not given up on life or need help; they just are living with as few resources as possible based on their needs. Not everyone is successful with the amount of money they have or the goods they own. They don't need outside help or sympathy for living a simple lifestyle devoid of status symbols. Minimalists just simply make "less is more" work. When you think about it, we do not need too much to live our best lives and to be happy. If we were not so fixated on having certain goods and resources to be happy, life can be much more enjoyable than what many of us make it out to be. Minimalists should be commended for helping a lot of us realize this about life in this regard. So if you are considering going minimalist, good for you! Minimalism is the best way to admire and appreciate what it really takes to live happily and freely.
Extra Resources.
I mentioned Teemaree earlier. If you are interested in learning more about Teemaree in regards to minimalism and minimalistic living, please visit her website at teemaree.com, and (optional) tell her John Marine sent you! :) You may also visit Teemaree's YouTube channel for more advice and insight.That was really the only resource I can provide. I may open up a section regarding living different lifestyles in my "Helpful Resources" page. I hope you found something useful with this blog post.
That is all for this blog post. If you want to discuss, here is my question for you:
Would you consider living a minimalist lifestyle? Could you survive as a minimalist?
If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
| Visit my JohnMarineDesigns Weebly site, subscribe to My Blog(s), and/or Follow on Bloglovin! Let's connect: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact Me via E-Mail | Contact Me via Discord |
(donations are voluntary) |
||
| Get Social With Me! | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook (Friends) | Facebook (Fans) | YouTube | ||||
| LinkedIn (professionals only) | TikTok | Discord | ||||
| Support My Creative Works! | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMDesigns | JMDesigns on Payhip | John on Envato | ||||
| Patreon | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | ||||
| Twitch | OpenGameArt | TurboSquid | ||||
0 comments:
Post a Comment