On Minimalism

I touched on the topic of minimalism in an earlier post called Voluntary Simplicity. 

A guy named Jeroon defines minimalism (from the perspective of art, architecture, industrial design) thus:

Minimalism is the removal of all non-relevant elements in order to reveal the essence.

He pared this down from a larger conversation on the subject here.

Cafe, Tlaxcala, Mexico

Serena, The Everyday Minimalist, explains what being a minimalist means to her here:

A Minimalist’s Train of Thought

Less money spent means more money saved

More money saved means the longer you can live in financial peace and security

Financial peace and security comes from owning less

Less stuff owned means less to carry around, move or have to travel with

Less responsibility for your stuff also means less maintenance and more time

The more time you have, the more relaxed you will feel

The more relaxed you are, the less you will care about stuff

If you care less about stuff, it means you’ll care less about image

If you care less about image, you will care more about experiences and memories

If you care more about experiences and memories, you will be happier with less

If you are happier with less, you’ll never want or need for more

The less you want or need for more, the more you will feel free

- The Everyday Minimalist

Her story reminds me of a conversation I just had last week with someone whose niece travels so much on business, she has no need for an apartment. Therefore no need for utility bills. I'm not sure if she even owns her own vehicle. Most meals are reimbursed by her employer. Furthermore, the company flies her back home (to her extended family's base) every month. I think she's an accountant. Will she do that forever? Not likely, but for now, it's fun and probably enables her to save buckets of money for the future.