Minimalist Life-style Philosophy | Do we actually must personal what we love? | How Possessions Management Our Lives?

“What you possess, possesses you”

– Zen proverb

I just lately got here throughout a video titled “I’ve miniaturised all my material possessions”. Before even clicking the video, I felt an awesome sense of unfavourable emotion considering that if I attempted that, it might take me an eternity. I personal far an excessive amount of. I checked out my overflowing closet. I get exhausted when I attempt to organise it, but I usually discover nothing to put on. I realised; that is precisely the issue. Possession has a humorous method of creating us really feel each burdened and empty on the similar time.

When we personal one thing, it provides us the phantasm of management. We assume that if one thing is ours, we perceive it, we are able to maintain it protected and revel in it. But the reality is, the extra we accumulate the much less we discover. The shirt I stored for months as an “inspiration” that I’ll put on when I’ve my “dream body” would not actually encourage me, it simply takes up house. True appreciation is about consideration and care, it is not about possessing. And but in some way, we attempt to maintain daylight in a jar, as if having it, will make it ours.

I shared a room with my sister, who’s a hoarder within the truest sense. Our room was a panorama the place you would not have a spot to relaxation your eyes on. Scrapes from packaging, previous tickets, random thrifted garments, even attention-grabbing objects she discovered on the streets ended up in our place. She buys issues she by no means makes use of, by no means has an opportunity to deal with. I requested her as soon as why she buys a lot. She replied, “It awes me how creative humans are. The sheer capability to create such beautiful things. To appreciate it, I must buy it.” I understood her awe, I felt it myself. The impulse to rejoice magnificence, to in some way “hold” a second is irresistible.

Perhaps, probably the most liberating perception is that this, you may love one thing with out taking it. You can admire a wet day, a portray and even an individual while not having to own it. To maintain flippantly is to interact totally, discover deeply and to treasure the fleeting nature of life. It’s a lesson in attentiveness. We should recognise that magnificence and worth exist past our management.

But nonetheless, watching her I also can see the strain. She bought married just lately, and guess what, she could not take one-fourth of the stuff together with her when she left. Her treasures, as soon as objects of surprise, grew to become simply extra litter, extra issues to maneuver, kind and keep. Possession may be each homage and burden.

Real appreciation is about care. It requires intention and house. If you personal too many issues, care turns into not possible. Minimalism is not deprivation, it means to create house to really interact with that matter. One well-loved scarf can maintain extra which means than twenty you by no means contact. When I take into consideration our room and my closet, I realise the stuff is not the issue, it is how we relate to it. We confuse accumulation with connection. 

My brother leaving for overseas taught me this lesson extra harshly.  When he left, I questioned how little we are able to really carry with us. So many issues may be changed or left behind. Our relationship with objects usually mirrors our relationship with folks. Those who discard issues simply might do the identical with folks. Those who mend and care present endurance and empathy. Consumer tradition teaches disposability, in merchandise and in love. Even after we cannot name one thing ours, caring deeply is a talent we feature into each connection.

 I’ve observed that moments of true awe are hardly ever tied to possession. The ocean is extra stunning once I cannot have it in a jar. A sundown is extra transferring once I know it’s going to disappear by dusk. Even the books I borrowed from the library usually really feel extra magical earlier than they’re mine. The act of holding typically diminishes the sense of surprise. My sister experiences this otherwise, she captures issues bodily, and he or she hopes to anchor the sweetness that captivated her. But in doing so, she carries the burden of all the pieces she has ever admired.

Perhaps, probably the most liberating perception is that this, you may love one thing with out taking it. You can admire a wet day, a portray and even an individual while not having to own it. To maintain flippantly is to interact totally, discover deeply and to treasure the fleeting nature of life. It’s a lesson in attentiveness. We should recognise that magnificence and worth exist past our management.

So possibly, the truest possession just isn’t what we purchase. It lies within the gentleness with which we maintain what’s going to in the future go away. When I lastly stepped again from my closet, exhausted from one more reorganisation, I understood how I had forgotten to understand what I have already got while not having to personal extra.

One day, our possessions will outlive our want for them. But the care we had for them will stay as proof that we observed magnificence, held it kindly even when it was for a second. Perhaps in that holding flippantly there may be freedom. The freedom is to see magnificence with out claiming it and to like while not having to own it. Maybe appreciation was by no means about having extra however holding much less and loving deeply.

To respect is to care. The relaxation is simply litter.

Sazida Nahrin Auhona is an undergrad scholar who lives someplace between artwork, literature, and philosophy. She may be reached at [email protected]

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