Materialism vs Minimalism

Some members of the travel community take the opposite approach. They aim forminimalism or even asceticism. Their intentions are good, but some people use minimalism as a proxy for virtue.

The less I own, the better I am.

It’s the satisfaction of not needing anything, which in and of itself constitutes total freedom—freedom from our hyper-capitalistic society as well as freedom from the most basic and consuming parts of the psyche which, ultimately, want you to be unhappy.

At first, straight-up not buying things might seem profoundly limiting, especially when so much of our routines and self-identities are maintained by spending money. But take a deep breath, look around, and realize that if you can figure out how to severely limit your spending, you’ve just earned total freedom: a ticket out of the invisible consumer prison that keeps the vast majority of people locked into mass hysteria.

After over 15+ months away from what I would call the ‘real world’ I realized that the calm and contentedness I feel is not just a result of doing the things I want, but it’s also due to a sort of Zen-like state brought on by this (not new, but) revived mantra of simplicity.

Spending less simplifies decision-making

What I seem to be coming back to is that the framework ‘don’t spend anything’ is far more satisfying than the framework ‘you have it, might as well spend it’. Why? Because I no longer have to think about things I might buy. That mental bandwidth now goes to things that are actually important and that I care about.

Reducing options might seem counterintuitive to those who think that more is always better. Turns out, it’s not. Not for traveling, not for living.

Knowing you can live on less decreases the fear of doing so.

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition I feared?” –Seneca (Pulled from the 4HWW)

Losing your job sucks, but knowing that you live on almost nothing gives you the confidence that no matter how bad things get you’re going to be fine. Once you’ve been there it isn’t such a big deal anymore.

I could live on board nails. –Thoreau in Walden

Conclusion: The First Step is Admitting there’s a Problem

I’m not convinced that it’s ever too late to check out of this system, but it seems to strike a nerve with people when I make statements like “you really don’t need x-y-or-z to be happy.” Their expression seems to say “how the fuck do you know what I need to be happy?”

The freedom I’m talking about is available right now, today, to anyone, and it doesn’t cost anything. It’s still available no matter how much money you have in the bank, and it never goes away.

Don’t waste your entire life trying to earn it.