The intention for a "shopping day" was born that morning as Daryl and I examined our big cardboard box in the corner of the dining room. This is a special box. It is our minimalist box, quite unlike the "big-box" that inhabits some 45,000 square feet of shopping mall (a.k.a Bed, Bath and the ambiguous Beyond). Within its confines lie the extraneous, the unnecessary, the as-seen-on-TV , the free samples, gently worn, and all of the previously loved items of shopping's past quarantined for donation.
We both have come to value the concept of minimalism. What is minimalism? It is not a reference to a breed of neurotic hipsters bent on a lifestyle that enforces relegation of items to the charity bag with ruthless disdain. Minimalism entails a defining of that often undefined area between excess and enough. It allows just enough space (literally and figuratively) for a joy that can be attained only by a conscious consideration of the items that inhabit our lives.
The minimalist awakening began in the back right corner of a towering wall of all things kitchen. I thought to myself-this must represent the Beyond? We were looking for utensils but were met with what felt like a 15- story high-rise of gadgets intended for any permutation of food processing one could ever imagine. Further wandering brought us to a back counter area that felt like walking into the dining room of a European aristocrat. There was a counter where customers could be counseled on selection of silverware or table settings. Was this necessary?
I searched my soul but could not locate a reason for a $300 set of silverware. Ours at home may have been borne from a series of off-handed family donations and cafeteria embezzlement. But it was ours, and it was enough to enjoy a meal for at least four. After some consideration, we crossed the item of our list and moved on.
The idea was to find a simple process for 2 cups of coffee without taking up too much counter space. Looking around us, it was clear that priorities were radically different. It turns out, the only french press available at this store was a hideous red Christmas sweater design labelled with a yellow 30% off tag with clearance! underlined in red. It looked lonely, actually, surrounded by a futuristic playground of coffee makers that could probably retrieve and prepare a cliff-notes of the morning newspaper in addition to preparing your brew. Was this necessary?
Our move had amassed us a collection of hand-me-down towels and we wanted to donate each of them in exchange for four matching ones; two for me, two for Daryl. Divide that goal by the number of towels poised for selection in the realm of Bath, however and one is left with approximately...too many choices. We stood there for about 5 minutes, and then let it all go. We had four salvageable towels at home that did the job. These were enough.
Consumerism felt like it was leaving our body. The experience of shopping could no longer reconcile with a set of values around possession that firmly recognizes the utility and freedom of having enough. For the first time, we felt as if we had escaped the trap; the one which promotes not those items which we needs for the minimum level of joy, but that which is designed explicitly for you to need. Whatever our need may have been before: social recognition, distraction, a feeling of success or a level of security...some basic minimalist practices helped facilitate a departure from a store without a feeling of lack or worse a shame for having been "had".
So, again, what is minimalism? To quote from The Minimalists themselves: "Minimalism simply allows you to make these decisions more consciously and more deliberately." It is a deeply personal decision and can be a difficult process of acceptance. Transitioning from a derivation of happiness from material things to that of life itself is not easy, but it is worth it.
Remember, each life is different and therefore derives joy in different ways. Decide if those old pair of socks make you happy. Hold them in your grasp and truly think on it. If they feel superfluous, unnecessary, loud, invasive, or any other adjective which could also be used to describe all that lies in the ambiguous "Beyond", then you are free to retire it from your life.
It is often in such small personal moments of disobedience that much more significant things are revealed.
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