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Minimalism is a lifestyle\/movement that\u2019s been around for centuries, and waxes and wanes as part of the cultural zeitgeist. Several years ago it resurfaced in a big way. Blogs about being zen and simple living rocketed up in popularity, and people started taking the \u201c100 Thing Challenge<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Minimalism has even been touted a couple times on this very blog, and I really like the idea of it as a whole. There is something very inspiring about living Spartanly, and there are some definite benefits to doing so. It helps you not get caught up in the consumerism trap, and keeping your life free of excess stuff unburdens your mind from that weight, allows you to be mobile and travel light, and helps you save money and focus on that which is really<\/em> valuable.<\/p>\n But, it\u2019s one of those things that can be taken too far. Despite a desire I sometimes get to embrace minimalism wholly, there have always been a few things that have made me uncomfortable about it:<\/p>\n What first got me thinking more critically about minimalism was an article I read a few years back in the New York Times<\/em><\/a>, which begins thusly:<\/p>\n I LIVE in a 420-square-foot studio. I sleep in a bed that folds down from the wall. I have six dress shirts. I have 10 shallow bowls that I use for salads and main dishes. When people come over for dinner, I pull out my extendable dining room table. I don\u2019t have a single CD or DVD and I have 10 percent of the books I once did.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The author of the piece, Graham Hill, then goes on to explain how his current lifestyle is a big departure from how he had formerly carried on. Having come into a huge windfall after selling an internet start-up in the 90s, Hill indulged in big-ticket purchases and found his life inundated with stuff. That all changed when he fell in love with a woman from Andorra, and he packed his possessions in a backpack to follow her around the world. By traveling light, he was able to reevaluate his relationship with mere stuff, and now intentionally lives \u201csmall.\u201d<\/p>\n I both enjoyed Hill\u2019s story and felt bugged by it, and I couldn\u2019t figure out the reason for my latter reaction until I came across a little essay by Charlie Lloyd<\/a>:<\/p>\n Wealth is not a number of dollars. It is not a number of material possessions. It\u2019s having options and the ability to take on risk.<\/p>\n If you see someone on the street dressed like a middle-class person (say, in clean jeans and a striped shirt), how do you know whether they\u2019re lower middle class or upper middle class? I think one of the best indicators is how much they\u2019re carrying.<\/p>\n Lately I\u2019ve been mostly on the lower end of middle class (although I\u2019m kind of unusual along a couple axes). I think about this when I have to deal with my backpack, which is considered d\u00e9class\u00e9 in places like art museums. My backpack has my three-year-old laptop. Because it\u2019s three years old, the battery doesn\u2019t last long and I also carry my power supply. It has my paper and pens, in case I want to write or draw, which is rarely. It has a cable to charge my old phone. It has gum and sometimes a snack. Sunscreen and a water bottle in summer. A raincoat and gloves in winter. Maybe a book in case I get bored.<\/p>\nStrict minimalism is largely for the well-off\u2026<\/h3>\n
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