Minimalism: In Pursuit of Less

These are truly complex and tough times for us, as a species. On the face of it, COVID-19 is a health crisis, but it brings with it other forms of challenges, or shall we say, opportunities for growth. The first few days of lockdown initiated us into a phase of restricted access to what I earlier took for granted – access to groceries. I found myself freezing all vegetables and herbs and cooking just as much as needed and using as less as possible.

Thanks to technology, we are still connected to our loved ones, albeit virtually, else social connection which is like the glue that holds us together as a society, would have also led to a crisis of a different kind. Meeting everyone in the virtual world brought with it a new found appreciation for human connection. To me, this seems to be phase 2.0 in living with less, in all realms, physical, social, and mental.

Till a couple of years ago, my way of celebrating was shopping, my way of de-stressing was shopping, getting energised was shopping, and letting go seemed incomplete too without acquiring something to fill the void that had just been created – in short, shopping. I don’t think I ever stopped to think why. But after life presented me the opportunity to be of service to my precious father who fell seriously ill, things began to change.

Visiting a hospital can be an extremely humbling experience; we get in touch with our own mortality and begin to question what means the most to us. That tough phase disguised personal growth for me – mall hopping was swapped with hospital visits, but on a more serious note, I truly felt like my growth had been accelerated. There was no time to acquire new things anymore and, upon reflection, I realised I didn’t feel like I was missing anything either. I wondered why I had never before paid attention to my pattern of constantly acquiring more.

It is so easy to get distracted in a mall if we are unclear about what we truly want; and so too in life. Physical minimalism and mental minimalism seemed closely intertwined –  I knew I needed to get rid of the clutter to arrive at what truly matters.

What came next was a seemingly unrelated coincidence: I was invited to talk to a bright bunch of nine-year-olds about ‘feeling more satisfied in life’. One of the means to achieve that, I told them, was through ‘giving’. At the end of the session I gave them a 30-Day Giving Challenge where each day they had to give something – either something that they own, or their time, attention or appreciation.

Once home, I felt it would be unfair if I did not put myself through the same challenge. So I teamed up with my five-year-old and we decided to give something every single day for the next 30 days. The exercise turned out to be tremendously rewarding. Every day we would think of what we could give – we would go through our cupboards to see which clothes we could give away, which shoes, which toys, and some days we would give food, our time, or other resources. 30 days later I was convinced that I need much less to live a satisfied life than I thought, and that if we are really intentional, we can get creative and give more! Our de-cluttered home had more space and good energy, and fewer distractions. I felt like I had more mental space too.

The process of giving made me question if I really needed all that I had acquired in the first place. I began to look at my thoughts, emotions and old memories with the same lens too, especially those that didn’t serve me any longer. They didn’t need to be ‘given away’ as such but ‘purged’ – a spiritual cleaning if you may.

I got initiated into physical minimalism by chance, but I am grateful because it triggered in me something more profound – mental minimalism. COVID-19, is now taking things to a new level in terms of questioning myself about consumption of all sorts, including consumption of news and information. It is possible to spend hour after hour checking the latest news, and speculating about the worst possible outcome without access to facts. However, taking in just as much as required to take the next best step keeps life simple.  I had previously wondered what it would be like to get rid of the chaotic chatter in my mind that was very often not related to the present. With minimalism, I began to realise that it feels really good. Crisis makes us ask crucial questions about what will make life meaningful for us. It has the potential to bring focus to just a 4-5 point agenda in life. For me, it is the following, in no particular order:

(a) nurturing deep relationships with those who have embraced me with my idiosyncrasies

(b) learning and sharing what I am passionate about

(c) creating physical and mental well-being, and

(d) exploring the world, and the minds of interesting people.

So far, to me, mental minimalism is a skill that I am working on so that attention is easy to regulate and I can focus on things I want to focus on, while disengaging from that which saps my mental energy. Tools that helps me are journaling and asking myself questions like:

> What will make me feel like I used my life meaningfully, when I look back after a decade?

> What are the most meaningful relationships in my life?

> In what ways can my gifts create value?

> Which healthy habits do I want to inculcate?

> What practices can I turn to when I get out of alignment and the chattering resurfaces?

I would love to hear your tips on cultivating physical and mental minimalism. Do share; let’s learn from each other.