Worldly wednesday: MINIMALISM

Hello guys and gals! I wanted to take sometime this Wednesday to talk about these people I found. So I found this blog and I cannot remember what blog it was but it suggested some documentaries to watch on Netflix. One of those documentaries was Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. This shook me. Like seriously. I think my soul was looking for this and it found me. That sounds bizarre, like I am over selling it, but I haven’t been truly happy, and honestly I have been using things to fill that gap, when I have honestly known all along things don’t fill holes.
 
Ok, I am deep diving into my thoughts before I explain the movie. So these two wonderful people wrote a book call the MINIMALISM: LIVE A MEANINGFUL LIFE then did this documentary to really promote the book. Basically both these men decided to live with the minimum or less stuff that doesn’t add value to their lives. This movie shows how they live and travel. Which I couldn’t believe because honestly when I travel I bring like 3 bags, but they fit everything into one small bag. It was very impressive. But what really impressed me was the happiness these guys had knowing they didn’t have unimportant things weighing them down.
 
I was raised a Christian from the age of 8. The idea that worldly things were temporary was instilled in me from that point onward. I know that eventually we will die and none of the things we hold onto will matter after that and even in life all of these physical things could be taken from us in a heart beat. Recently I tried to fill this void I had with things, when I should have been filling it with positive reassuring thoughts, friends and experiences. I couldn’t find peace with the items I was buying. In fact it made my finances stressed and it made my small dorm room cluttered, which made me more stressed.
 
After watching this documentary, I decided I wanted to clean out my clothes. About 7 bags and a GoodWill trip later, I had already felt less stressed by the reduction of clutter in my room. Not only did the less clutter feel good, but the fact I was able to donate items that hopefully someone could use made me feel good. I live in a small dorm and I honestly don’t own a lot of stuff, but I definitely can reduce the items I do have. Eventually I will be moving out of this room and onto the real world and making that transition easier by reducing my stuff would be nice, but I also need to begin practicing living within my means because I know I am going to be on a tight budget when I move out of here.
 
I do not think this idea of minimalism is only valuable for those on a tight budget though. I think this concept is very important. Stuff will not be forever. Stuff is temporary. Clothes do not define us. Make up does not define us. Random items and clutter do not define us. Instead we should be focused on other things like relationships and experiences. Or even just enjoying life.
 
Not only is this a good idea just in general, but it is also a good practice environmentally. A lot of times we buy unnecessary things that use natural resources, like clothes or plastic décor. These things may at sometimes be unnecessary for us. We should use what we need and try not to use more than that. Also when we decide it is time to get rid of things, we need to donate them and not put them in a landfill. Our landfills are already overflowing. The less we put in the better. Plus helping others is the best thing ever in my opinion. Being able to donate extra clothing, décor or kitchen items to places that take donations to help others is super rewarding. Especially knowing that you are giving someone the chance to have something nice that is affordable.
 
If you want to learn more about the Minimalist, here is their website https://www.theminimalists.com/books/ feel free to check out their podcast which is on Spotify. I have been listening to it and it has been super helpful, also they are kinda funny. Anyways guys thanks for reading. If you would like to buy the book from my affiliate link please do so below.
Love Always,
Mikala

©2017 Mikala Smikal