Most people I know are aware that I live a “minimalist lifestyle.” This blog isn’t meant to encourage you to adopt the lifestyle I live. It is meant to encourage you to consider aspects of minimalism that may be helpful to you find value and meaning in life amid our COVID-19 crisis.
I really like a quote I read by Richard Holloway. He’s a cleric and writer from Scotland. He states
“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art.”
This quote reflects what I see in minimalism.
Minimalism in the media commonly refers to a trend especially with our millennial generation to live more intentionally in smaller spaces and with fewer things. In a culture of spiraling debt that our millennials will be inheriting, it’s no wonder they are asking themselves questions about what they really need in life to be happy. Joshua Milburn who has written literature on minimalism encourages us to look past the material things that complicate our lives and focus on what the important things are: health, relationships, passion, growth and contribution. Minimalism embraces intentionality – removing the things that distract us from our focus in these areas. It asks us to become introspective about what we value and what inspires our passions. Minimalism encourages and even dares us to look for happiness in relationships and contribution to others. It inspires us to be grateful. Minimalism means slowing our lives down so that we can enjoy experiences that shape who we are and who we will become. It adds value to what we do in our everyday lives. It fosters transparency and honesty. It challenges us to stop chasing life and instead, be present. It helps us find freedom to appreciate our lives and promotes contribution to the quality of our lives and those around us.
You don’t need to give your possessions away to live a minimalist lifestyle! A minimalist lifestyle invites you to remove things that distract you from what’s important to you. In the midst of this COVID 19 crisis, we are somewhat forced to revisit health. I invite you to embrace the aspects of minimalism that open your lives to connecting with others in new and creative ways, put aside what distracts you and revisit what brings you passion and growth, and commit yourselves to growth, and what you can do to contribute to your own happiness and to those around you.