“The process of living seems to consist in coming to realize truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes.” –C.S. Lewis
The minimalist lifestyle is about living with only the things you need. Minimalists are free from the desire to buy and accumulate more. Instead, they find happiness in relationships and experiences.
Memorial Day weekend, years ago, I got my life back.
I’ve relived the scene a thousand times. I woke up with a simple job to do: clean out the garage. It was not a project out of the ordinary. In fact, I did it every spring. But on this particular Saturday, for the first time, I’d be introduced to the truth that I didn’t have to. I’d be introduced to the minimalist lifestyle.
Our lives were typical: work hard, make money, spend it on mortgage payments, fashionable clothes, nicer cars, cooler technology, and more toys for the kids. But when everything from my garage was piled high in the driveway while my son sat alone in the backyard, it was a conversation with my 80-year old neighbor that opened my mind to a new way of thinking. She said it like this, “Maybe you don’t need to own all this stuff?”
And a minimalist was born. In that moment, I made a life-changing realization: Everything I owned had not brought meaning, purpose, fulfillment, or lasting joy into my life. In fact, not only were my possessions not bringing me joy, they were actually distracting me from it. We immediately began pursuing a minimalist lifestyle by removing the unnecessary possessions from our home and lives.
This journey towards this simple lifestyle has been far more life-changing and life-giving than I expected. The possessions in our lives define who we are on a far deeper level than we realize. And as a result, the process of removing them teaches us valuable truths about ourselves and the lives we live.
As I consider the years and all that I have learned, the following life-giving truths reveal themselves as the most significant.
Life-Giving Truths About the Minimalist Lifestyle
1. Desiring less is even more valuable than owning less. Minimalism has many amazingly-practical benefits into our lives. It costs less. It requires less time and energy to maintain. It brings freedom, rest, peace, and calm into a hectic world. And it provides greater opportunity to pursue our truest passions. But I have found, over the years, the desire to own less is even more valuable than owning less.
Over time, I have been able to remove myself from the incessant desire for more–even in a society that idolizes consumerism at every turn. And when our life’s desire shifts away from pursuing physical possessions, we are finally free to pursue lasting worth with all our heart.
2. Allow the journey towards less inward. Dropping off a handful of clothing at Goodwill is not hard. Dropping off a full van load of unused possessions is not even that difficult. But pulling up to the Goodwill drop-off for the fourth time with a van load of completely unnecessary possessions initiates a lot of soul-searching. The journey toward minimalism runs through the heart and soul.
Correctly pursued, it forces us to ask some hard questions in deep places about our most intimate motivations in life. Why did I buy all these clothes? Why did I buy a house with rooms we never use? Why do I still flip through the ads every Sunday even though I own so much already? Why am I still envious of my neighbor’s stuff? These are hard questions to ask with no easy answers. But the darkest truth is that unfortunately, far too many people, will never even ask them.
3. The potential of minimalism lies in the addition, not the subtraction. Minimalism is not the goal. Minimalism is, after all, less about the things you remove and more about the things you add. The potential of minimalism lies in what you choose to pursue with your life in place of material possessions.
Choose contentment. Pursue gratitude and generosity. Invest in relationships, grow spiritually, discover truth, and find purpose. Your life is far too valuable to waste chasing possessions. And you’ll discover this life-giving truth as soon as you stop.
4. Minimalism will always vary. I live with 33 articles of clothing. But Leo Babauta lives without a toaster, microwave, or paper towels. And Daniel Suelo lives without money. I am very thankful for Leo and Daniel because I am inspired by those who own less. They cause me to reevaluate my presumptions and strive towards even greater intentionality. But I have long since removed the comparisons.
I am called to live a different life than them. I have different values, different passions, and different pursuits. As a result, my minimalism is always going to look different. Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. And by definition, this means minimalism will always look different.
5. We can change lives. We can change the world. I sat behind a computer screen years ago and started this blog with just a few keystrokes. It was to be nothing more than an on-line journal of my journey towards minimalism. But along the way, something unexpected happened. People started reading. And found new life because of it.
The inspiration continues to grow… both through this blog and in my life. This is a far better way to live than most people realize. It is available to anyone who hears the message of living with less and chooses to accept it with their whole lives. May the invitation to a minimalist lifestyle continue to change lives. And ultimately, the world. This is my hope.
Thank you so much for reading and supporting Becoming Minimalist. There are still exciting days ahead.
Image: Moyan_Brenn
Sallyann says
Thank you for your inspiration. I have been reading for a while now (maybe a year) and have really enjoyed moving my life in a minimalist direction. This year is my “no new clothes” year and I have so far bought none, either new or used. This includes shoes and accessories. So I am saving money there, and we are making progress on our loans, and I have felt able to give a bit more to charity, which I like. I have done some decluttering, but there is much more possible. I would like to do more, faster, but I have kids and a husband with somewhat different views, so I move slowly and, I hope, educate them in other ways of thinking.
Thanks again :)
Jeffro says
I recently began my journey to the land of simple. Coincidental, today being Memorial Day and all, that I stumble on your blog and book via Kindle (when your journey began five years ago). I have enjoyed, thus far, what I have read and find it inspirational and reassuring that a community of individuals exists out there. Sometimes it feels like everyone is keeping up with the Joneses. Nice to see others jogging down a different path, the wind at their backs.
Karen says
Thank you back. Thank you for your inspiration and your thought provoking writing… “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” :) There is always more one can do.
Alyssa says
We are in the homestretch of our extreme downsizing endeavor, moving from a four bedroom house into a 32′ RV. As the piles of boxes and furniture and random junk have left our lives, your words have helped to quell my moments of sheer panic and inspired me to keep moving, keep purging, knowing that the return will be more time with my family, less stress, and a re-focusing on the important things in life (which are not “things”!). Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Marsi says
For the last 2 years I have been in the process of downsizing, decluttering, etc. I purchased my parents homes, within a 3 year period I lost both my parents and my sister. I had lifetimes of items to go through. At one point I just stopped in the middle of it all and left everything as is for almost a year. The emotional toll was overwhelming. A friend offered to help me get back to the job and has been by my side as I have given away so much, I hope to get to a point that if a day comes that I move it will be a simple move and also if something happens to me I don’t want my sisters to have to handle all the stuff. As the “stuff” gets less and less I actually feel lighter.
Kelly Collins says
Thank you. You are my voice. I hear many family and friends encourage me to buy a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood, upgrade to the smart phone, get a newer car and find it difficult to explain – things don’t matter to me – experiences, travel, people do. I watch with amazement while people struggle, work overtime and have such angst in their lifes as they struggle to get better “stuff”, take care of their “stuff”, move their “stuff” – while I travei, eat out at ethnic restaurants, travel to 5 of the 7 continents, read, see shows, entertain, enjoy nature. I have a lovely clean modest home, a safe car and just enough “stuff” that I need. Thank you again. You are my voice.
p.s. – A must see – George Carlin’s piece on “Stuff”.
Heather Fournier says
I’ve been de-cluttering and de-owning for several months now, and have been deeply satisfied with the results. A week ago, our creek overflowed and flooded our basement, which has forced us to go through our stored belongings/tools/equipment sooner than we’d planned. I’m looking at the flood as a kind of blessing (well, not the soggy, mopping, cleaning part – but the downsizing part!) but it’s interesting to observe other people’s reactions. They are focusing on the ‘loss’ and are so surprised at my optimism. Thankfully, almost everything was in Rubbermaid storage containers, so there was minimal damage…but nothing’s going back downstairs until we’ve sorted and shared what we can’t use. We’re only keeping what we need and love. This equals freedom!
Karen @Journey towards simplicity says
Thanks for another great article. I don’t know if anyone can help with this latest challenge. Recently, I have been debating about the terms “admire” versus “desire”. I define admiration as liking or enjoying something. “Desire” however, is more of a want to have or possess something. I tend to admire many things- a bright blue sky, cute puppies, the sight of green nature- what a walk in the woods “gives” you, a smile, French Impressionism, soft pastel colors, playful kittens and other animal babies…But I do not want or “desire” these items in the possessive sense. When I mention I admire something, so many people assume its wanted—they tell you where they got it so you can go run and get some, they ask you if you want some (i.e., part of their meal), the assume you are jealous since you don’t have your own… why are the terms “admire” and “desire” often assigned the same meaning? If you are “like” minded, come visit my page and we can carry on this discussion there too :)
Karen says
Admire versus desire… a good way of saying, I can enjoy something in someone else’s possession. Possession is not required for me to enjoy. But the desire to share what one has is not always a bad thing. It is, however, about choices.
'Dr Sniffle' says
Well hello Joshua thanks for sharing this, I am at a point of reflection where each and every action I instinctively take is considered before being allowed to commence, this has lead me to consider as I remove the excess actions what contentment for me really means.
All too often food or consumerism is used as a mask to hide the deeper issues we would rather not face and thus we find ourselves stuck in a self perpetuating cycle looking for contentment through external addition.
BrownVagabonder says
I love how you got your start in minimalism – it is such a simple start. No lightning bolts or major illness. Just the simple realization that you are doing something wrong and you need to change. I think many people are inspired by you – just for that reason. They realize that they do not need to have a major life-changing epiphany to start changing their lives. They can start the change as they are, right this very moment. Thank you for your blog and inspirational words that help thousands every day.