Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.
The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.
For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.
Stop the Stuff Stream | Smallish Blog by Evelyn Rennich. The problem with the ‘stuff stream’ is that most of the time we don’t even notice that it is sweeping clutter into our homes.
I Reached A Minimalist Plateau & This Advice Got Me Through It | Mind Body Green by Emma Loewe. Two writers offered up the same analogy—and it’s completely changed the way I view my surroundings.
What Growing Up “Poor” Taught Me About Minimalism | No Sidebar by Cheryl Smith. The nuggets of wisdom I gleaned from being raised in a low-income family are countless, and I wouldn’t trade those life lessons for anything. Here are ten of them.
Lessons Learned From Luggage Lost | NPR by Bill Harley. “What you need to do is make it through the day.”
The article by Cheryl Smith brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks for all the wonderful material you send.
When I saw the “luggage lost” title, I thought it would be about feeling liberated after losing your stuff. Sometimes I think if the house burned down the only thing I would really miss would be my birth certificate, but that’s not even true. A few years ago, I had to replace it and the only problem was I couldn’t prove who I was so my brother had to apply for it and now my brother has passed away!
I know how unimportant material goods are because last month I gave up the apartment I had in the city and had to rent a storage space. Well, today all I remember are: bed, sofa, sewing machine… and a lot of boxes. Mercifully, I took photos and made a complete list for insurance purposes.
My detachment is due to having moved to another country and back again twice. The last time all I took back were 18 smallish boxes, mostly books. Another time, my hard drive died and I lost all my data. At first I thought I would miss my list of email addresses but I figured anyone who didn’t try to contact me after six months didn’t deserve a place in my contact list.
As always, thank you for sharing. One of the reasons I follow this blog is the need for “consistent inspiration”.
Yes, often it has just been a matter of making it through the day. One year, when attending a week long Feast, I kept packing and packing extra clothing. My 2 teenage daughters, at that time, wore the same size as I did but still they packed and I packed. I was obsessed even though I KNEW I was over packing. Turns out, a special guest, who just happened to be the same size I was, arrived, yes, sans luggage.She, as well as my daughters and I, were outfitted for the week. That has been the ONLY occasion in my life that overpacking was an inspired idea. Since then, I pack “just enough” then remove at least one outfit.
What a great story of calmness and lessons learned. I will remember when I travel too. Thank you. I love your articles.
I love that you included Bill Harley’s article. He lives a town over from me and is a wonderful author, singer, songwriter and storyteller. You should check out his CD’s and books!
I almost never include older articles in my weekend reads. I always require that articles/posts be less than a month old. But I’d never read that short story before, so I decided to use it, even though it’s from 2000. It’s really good.
I’m so glad you included it too! It was so funny. First I read it, then since I liked it so much I listened to it. Both versions are hilarious! Well told.
Thanks Joshua for finding new material to share.
Love that idea… What you need to do is make it through the day.
Even my purse has too many “just in case” items on any given day. Will ask myself that question and see how much more lightly I can go through my day.