Minimalism

Have you ever entered a room and got utterly disgusted by the way it looked.  Heavy upholstery, too many knick-knacks and bric-a-brac.  The room, totally bursting out of its seams.  Stuff totally out of place and many things which don't make sense at all. 

We humans, by nature, are great hoarders. Right from a tiny pin, plastic covers to other endless items which we think will come to our use sometime in the future. We refuse to part with it. So much is our attachment with the material things!  Apart from these, we have certain sentimental attachment to things given by our parents, grandparent, best friends and the list continues. And so in our zeal to hang on to some stuff, we keep on adding things to our collection, till our cupboards, closets hardly seem to have any place left. And we bring in one more cupboard as we have run out of space to accommodate more items.

Now if we answer ourselves truly how often do we ever use those items?  For which reason or occasion have we really saved it so safely?  If we did a proper analysis, NEVER!! 

CLUTTER is the enemy of CLARITY. 

Now imagine a room, neat and clean, pristine white walls, a neat sofa or couple of neatly arranged chairs, a showcase with very few souvenirs, neatly arranged a nice green plant in the corner, bright open windows with plenty of light.  Already one can feel the positive energy flowing, energetic and happy and fresh.  Our brain experiences clarity of thoughts. The moment we are clear of what we want to do, ideas start flowing and we feel energized to work towards it. 

If we have our living place cluttered, our brain gets confused too. It is unable to decide what to do.  To bring more clarity to our thoughts, to become more productive, we need to get rid of the clutter.

Our home and our workplace is our temple. It’s a place where constructive work gets done. It is a place and environment where children play and grow.  So it’s highly essential that we imbibe the habit of cleaning and keeping our house a place where positive energy flows. For anything to flow, it requires place.  Basic principle; build a dam and the flow of the river stops. Open the dam and the river starts flowing with full gusto.  Similarly if we need the continuous flow of energy we need to make space for it.

As mentioned earlier, we are great hoarders. We are extreme shoppers. We go out, something catches our eyes and we impulsively buy it because at that moment we feel it’s important and necessary. But do we ever use it? Sometimes we would have totally forgotten about its very existence. We would have never used that thing at all. Same thing applies with clothes.  We buy loads of clothes but end up using a select few because those are super comfortable.  Sometimes we are too lazy to dig up the clothes and wear it and end up wearing the ones, which are right in front of the shelf.

A new concept called “Minimalism” is getting into rage. What is minimalism? It is a concept where we are content and happy with select little important stuff.  Does this mean we stop buying stuff?  Of course not!  Let’s delve more into the concept. The concept of minimalism emphasizes on a basic principle that is keep what you “need”, not what you “want”.  We need certain things which are essential to lead a good life. There are certain things we want but it’s not required by us for any immediate use. But since we feel the urge to own it, we buy and keep that stuff and once our brain has got what it “wanted”, it completely forgets about it and the thing which we “wanted” now sits in our closet or our room, taking up space and thus creating clutter.  

How do we go about getting “Minimalist” then? Two words: Planning and Organizing. Make a list of things which we have never used or don’t see it using in the future.  Get rid of them. Be absolutely ruthless. Initially it will be difficult. That thing would not have seen daylight in ages, you might feel absolutely sad while parting with it; it’s OK.  Make piles. The ones, which need to be thrown, which needs to be donated. Once you start practicing this, just observe the joy you feel when you find huge spaces in your closets, room!!  Your workspace, kitchen, family room, bedroom, dining room.  You can observe the rooms much cleaner and brighter. And sudden clarity in your thoughts.  Our brain is always influenced by what it sees. The brain becomes confused when things are untidy.  When things are in its place, it becomes easier for the brain to access, understand and think properly.  Our physical things affect our mental behavior too. 

The vibes become positive.  Isaac Newton once quoted, “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”  Could not have been truer. 

It is a little difficult at first. But once we learn this art we find life itself becomes easier.  What is life? It is a chain of things that happen because of our actions and behaviors.  Everything is interconnected. So if we start doing little changes, things become simple and easy.  

"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” —Socrates