Brooklyn Bridge Edit

Photo I edited of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Guggenheim Design

Edited picture of the Guggenheim museum in New York.

Becoming a Minimalist

A few months back I decided I was sick of having so much stuff, when I moved house it seemed like I had boxes upon boxes of things I hadn’t touched in years. When I moved into my new place I decided enough was enough and threw away 4 or 5 bags full of stuff I hadn’t used or even looked at in a long time. But I wasn’t satisfied, I still felt weighed down by my belongings. Since then I have gradually thrown away and given to charity a lot of my possessions, but even now I still feel like I can throw things away that I never use, and more importantly, don’t add anything to my life. Why do I need that old shirt that doesn’t fit me any more, which I haven’t worn in 2 years?

I started this trip towards minimalism after a feeling of being weighed down by the amount of things I had when I moved house, I had bags of hangers that never got used, I had hundreds of pieces of paper and enough clothes to open a second hand shop. My wardrobe was over flowing with t shirt from years ago and shirts that didn’t fit me any more, all for those ‘just in case’ moment that never come round. I still have a long way to go till I am comfortable with the amount of possessions that I have but I am slowly become a minimalist and it feels great! I still own a lot of things that I know I will never use but just can’t seem to throw away or give to charity, maybe one day I will go on a big binge and throw it all away but until then I am slowly heading the the right direction one day at a time.

Here’s how I started my road to becoming a minimalist. I first started thinking about all my belongings, I’d question why I have it and when I last used it, this gave me a realisation that the majority of the things I own I never use. A quote in the film Fight Club by Tyler Durden has been in my thoughts a lot recently “The thing you own, end up owning you”. I still own things that I enjoy having such as musical instruments, these things bring happiness to my life and bring a purpose, but now I can concentrate on the things I love without the distractions of the things I never used and which over time become a burden and clutter. I don’t have as many distractions in my home now, I used to have things everywhere in eyes sight but I now feel fresh and much less stressed in my environment.

The path to a materialistic life is a very steep and slippery slope. Materialistic people never seem happy with what they have, there’s always something else they ‘need’. Becoming happy with what you have and embracing the things you use on a regular basis, there’s no need to own the new fragrance that the adverts tell you will pick up all the women, there’s no need to always be looking for the next thing to make you happy as it will only make you happy for a short period of time, then after that you want something new. But I am not saying don’t own anything and never buy anything. The minimalistic lifestyle has lead me to buy things of quality and not quantity. I’d much rather have a really well made and well fitting t shirt than five cheap and baggy t shirts for the same price.

Inception and Philosophy

If you are an Inception nut like me then you will love this video. It is a lecture by Kyle Johnson at Google Talks, he is the author of a book called Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream.