So about a year ago, I got into Minimalism. Not in a super-hardcore "I only have 10 items and a backpack" kind of way, but more of a KonMari-style "Let's get rid of everything that doesn't bring me joy." So I still have a TV in the lounge and a TV in the bedroom, I still have my gaming consoles, I still have a small but meaningful Blu-ray collection, I still have a handful of statues and figurines that I enjoy looking at, and so forth. In fact, today, I tend to think of myself as living simply rather than being a Minimalist, where my focus is on controlling my spending and enjoying what I have.
Anyway, last night my wife wanted to binge on some anime, so she was using the TV in the bedroom. It's late, and I can't be bothered with anything, so I decide I'm just going to lie in bed and watch Netflix on my phone. Now, I never do this because, you know, it's a tiny screen. But at this point it really was my only option. So I watched Pulp Fiction, because I hadn't seen it in ages.
When it finished, I thought to myself, 'You know what? That was actually a totally enjoyable viewing experience.' And that's when this sort of wonderful thought came over me: if push came to shove, and I really needed to downsize for any reason, I would be totally okay with just watching film and TV on my phone. Everything else, like the big TV and the Blu-ray player, was nice to have and certainly brought convenience to my life, but I didn't need it.
And then I started to think about how I could apply this to so much else. If I was suddenly faced with unemployment, the Xbox could go and I'd be perfectly happy with the Switch, or even at a push just playing mobile games on my phone. (I'm a big gamer so that's definitely going to be a decision that is more forced than chosen. 😛)
What I realised was that there was a set of minimum requirements to still be able to enjoy the activities I like to do, and that set of requirements wasn't exactly huge. And this was a very freeing thought, because suddenly I realised I wasn't attached to my stuff, I simply enjoy having it around at the moment because I'm able to and it brings me an extra level of convenience or comfort. But I don't need it and I'll be able to let it go easily if I have to.
So suddenly, stressful thoughts about maintaining a lifestyle and needing a certain income had vanished. Even going forward, I have now started to ask myself if I really need something or if I'm just getting it for that extra comfort factor. It means that now when I get something, it's really going to be something special and not just something that I'm getting because I can.
Sorry if this was a bit verbose, but I just wanted to share my thoughts with people. I was torn between posting here or in the Minimalism subreddit, but I figured that maybe here I wouldn't get chewed out for not practicing pure Minimalism. 😳
Submitted February 07, 2018 at 06:12PM by Handmade_Onigiri http://ift.tt/2EqJLIB
