I think minimalism is misguided and misses the bigger picture sometimes. Minimalism is a subset of simple living but not everything. Per the sidebar:
living with less stuff
Ok, that's minimalism. But the rest:
work, speed, or stress in return for gaining more freedom, time, self-reliance, and joy
is where many minimalists would diverge. For instance, many minimalists over their iPhone and MacBook. They spend all their time on it. These gadgets can do so many things! They take up so little space! Their aesthetics are so minimalist! (People with misguided opinions tend to use "so" and speak with exclamation points.)
I own lots of things a true minimalist would scoff at. I own lots of old tech. Analog bell-and-hammer alarm clock; paper notes; pens; candles; hundreds of paper books (you will find no kindle or "e-reader" in my house); objects I cherish on display, some very old tools my grandfather had, etc. Why do you need all those things, a minimalist might ask? Your phone can double as an alarm clock, triple as a flashlight, quadruple as a notebook, quintuple as an e-reader, etc. But I do not get an ounce of joy from using my phone, so I do not use it.
I also once owned a smart car, which many minimalists might like. It's so easy to park! It uses no gas! But I ultimately found it uncomfortable and sold it and got a more spacious and comfortable sedan.
EDIT: This post has unintentionally created some toxic comments, mostly misunderstanding my thesis. I will have to rewrite this to be more clear later. If you have a toxic comment to add, please hold it until the next revision. Thanks!
Submitted April 06, 2019 at 04:03PM by trouble01230 http://bit.ly/2U6l2gE
