The modern life that we lead is complicated, cluttered and stressful. Henceforth, we need to learn about the art of living with less or the art of a minimalist lifestyle. In music, minimalism means fewer instruments and melodies, in art, fewer colours and simple shapes, in fashion, fewer ornaments and cleaner lines, and in life, it means focusing on those factors that truly matter.
The art of living with less
Today’s generation is leading a distracted lifestyle. Social media, smartphones, computers, television and video games create an environment surrounded by full of distractions. People forget how to lead a lifestyle that has the art of living with less. People forget how to stay focused on one thing by not getting distracted by other unnecessary things like notifications from smartphones.
Minimalism is a lifestyle that is taught to live with less through simplicity and intentionality. In this lifestyle, people remove distractions or unnecessary factors by focusing on things that are needed. Intentionally promoting the things that are valued the most in life can lead to a healthy life or a minimalist life and living with less.
Minimalism, as in living with less, is a lifestyle that promotes fewer commitments, less distraction, fewer relationships and more clarity with the things that truly matter in life. The minimalism philosophy encourages us to be less attached to materialistic things, less committed to unnecessary people and events and more focused on what truly brings value and fulfilment.
In daily life, minimalism refers to being deliberate with possessions, time and commitments. It can reduce stress, and provide greater clarity and an enhanced sense of purpose in life. The art of living with less seeks to create a space for what is essential and meaningful.
History of living with less
In the mid-20th century, post-war demand infused consumerism and maximalism. It was driven by the demand for infrastructure development and access to new materials. However, in this condition, some artists raised the demand of favouring simple geometric shapes and objective meanings. The desire to lead the art of living with less started with the minimalism movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
The minimalism movement emerged to move away from Abstract Expressionism. The trend of minimalism impacts various fields such as architecture, interior design and more. Through the “Black Square” painting of Kazimir Malevich in 1915 the ethos of “less is more” outbursts.
During the era of 1980 and 2000, the art of simple living started to adapt to the simple art and simple living movement. The slow food movement against the McDonald’s opening in Rome can be highlighted as an example.
The supporters of “slowness” started resisting the modern idea of a fast lifestyle. They believed prioritising quality over quantity might lead to a simple and happy life rather than adopting a fast modern culture.
From 2000 to the present, because of blogging minimalism became mainstream. The supporters and advocates of simple living and slow movements share their ideas of minimalism through these platforms. With the concept of simplicity in ancient, blogging culture creates a new spark among people to lead by the philosophy of “less is more”.
The philosophy behind living with less
Minimalism or the art of living with less often misunderstood as a deprived lifestyle. But while understanding its philosophical stand, it can be comprehended that minimalism is a lifestyle that values quality over quantity. Minimalism emphasizes intentionality that encourages one to adopt mindful choices, prioritising experiences over material possessions and seeking personal harmony rather than external validation.
Buddhism has a deep connection with minimalism. Buddha said, “When you can’t control what is happening, try to control your reaction to what is happening.” The Buddhist ideology indicates that minimalism extends beyond material possessions to encompass one’s mental state.
According to the Buddhist ideology, the art of living with less is to create a balance in life with a happier and calmer mindset. The ideology emphasises people surround themselves with a decluttered environment and a clear mindset. This can lead to emotional and spiritual growth in life.
Buddha taught us about the “middle path”. The “middle path” is about finding a balance in life by avoiding two extreme factors: having too much (overindulgence) and denying yourself everything (severe asceticism). When people indulge in a thing too much, that is overindulgence; conversely, harsh self-denial fails to enrich one’s understanding towards life, which is called severe asceticism.
Buddhism teaches that true happiness comes by taking the “middle path” from the two extreme factors. Moreover, the concept of non-attachment, freeing ourselves from clinging to possession, status and wealth is also a part of leading a life of minimalism.
The Buddhist ideology also highlighted the contentment factor in life. Contentment arises from gratitude for our current situation rather than focusing on what we lack. However, the Buddhist ideology also has mentioned four principles of minimalism by considering the consumer-driven world.
Principle 1: Balanced Living
The teaching of Gautam Buddha indicates that minimalism, living with less, is a balanced lifestyle by removing excess consumption and being completely self-denial towards necessary desires. Although, often the Buddhist ideology is misunderstood by referring to minimalism as a state of mind where one has to be completely denial from material desire.
However, the balanced living concept echoes the truth of “Dukkha”. According to Buddhist ideology, people need to recognise the truth of suffering arising from attachments and cravings for materialistic things. Henceforth, principle one should be followed to adopt the “middle path” between overindulgence and deprivation to lead a balanced life.
Principle 2: People over possessions
Buddhism encourages people to lead a life to find meaningful connections in the fast-moving world to end suffering. The truth of “Magga” echoes the process of ending suffering in our lives. To lead a lifestyle beyond attachment and materialism, Buddhism encourages building meaningful relationships and appreciating and being mindful of nature.
Principle 3: Practising Detachment
According to Buddhist ideology, the root of suffering lies in the attachment to people, materialistic things and expectations. Henceforth, the 3rd principle teaches us to let go of emotional attachment. That can lead to a balanced and mindful lifestyle.
Principle 4: Staying content
The ideology of Buddhism guides us to be content towards the things that we have besides practising detachment from materialistic desire. The truth of “Nirodha” teaches us to end our suffering by letting go of attachment. Being content with less can help to have inner peace and build the art of living with less.
Books on Minimalism
The Japanese author of the bestseller book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying UP”, Marie Kondo introduces minimalism with a new perspective in her book. She introduces the “KonMari Method” in her book through which she guides how to focus on keeping belongings that “spark joy”.
The bottom line of Marie Kondo’s minimalism book is to reduce clutter in life which might help to lead to more freedom, more space, more calm and more appreciation for the things that “spark joy”. Prioritising the things that highly matter in life Kondo emphasizes her readers to create a serene environment that improves mental clarity and emotional well-being.
Another Japanese author, Hideko Yamashita, introduces the concept of Dan-Sha-Ri through her book “Dan-Sha-Ri”. In the concept of Dan-Sha-Ri, three meanings are hides; Dan means refusing, Sha means disposal and Ri means separating. Throughout the book, Yamashita encourages her readers to adopt a lifestyle that has mental clarity, personal growth and intentional living.
Another significant book, “The Art of Discarding”, written by a famous Japanese writer Nagisa Tatsumi echoes the concept of decluttering mental burdens and material possessions. The bottom line of this book is the art of living with less can be achieve by discarding the physical and emotional clutters.
A renowned Japanese monk from the Komyoji Temple of Tokyo, Ketsuke Matsumoto, wrote the book “A Buddhist Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind” by taking into consideration the art of living with less. In this book, some practical steps with spiritual guidance are highlighted to lead a mindful and peaceful life by discarding distractions.
The benefits of living with less
Enhanced productivity:
The possessions we have in our lives consume a lot of our time than we realise. With a lifestyle of living with less can help to priortise things that really have value; rather than unnecessary things. Clutter or stress in life can be distracting; henceforth removing them can increase productivity levels.
Less anxiety and stress:
In our modern life, we have to handle several complexities in our homes, workplaces and many more places. Handling clutter and getting distracted from them can increase the level of stress and anxiety. Having a life with less expectation might reduce the anxiety and stress in our minds.
Simple living habits by prioritising smaller things that matter in one’s life can create a calming environment. This can provide mental clarity and relaxation.
High concentration:
Adopting the art of living with less can promote high concentration levels. When one is handling a few distractions, then it becomes easier to focus on that particular thing to take out a significant solution to that problem. By eliminating unnecessary distractions from day-to-day life, one can improve the quality of life and productivity.
More freedom:
Living a life of minimalist desire can minimise living expenses, increase savings, lowering unnecessary spending and provide financial freedom. Moreover, with the minimalist mindset, one can lead the one-in and one-out rule in their life. To lead a clutter-free life, one might adopt the rule that buying one thing needs to let go of an old thing. This can help in maintaining a minimalist lifestyle.
Great well-being:
Health is always our wealth. Focusing on quality over quantity can cultivate deeper interpersonal relationships with ourselves through self-care, exercises and other meaningful activities. Minimalism encourages people to be more mindful and intentional in their choices. It can lead to increased satisfaction and happiness with our well-being.
Better sleep:
A better sleep quality always leads to a healthy lifestyle. A calming environment for sleep can be easily created by an organised and clutter-free bedroom. Minimalism can decrease visual distractions and promote mind relaxation. This can help to get a better sleep environment.
More time and energy:
Focusing on some specific things that create value in our lives can save additional energy and time that we are spending on thinking about those matters. Detachment from materialistic desire, stress, and distractions can save a lot of time. This time and energy can contribute to increased productivity.
Challenges in leading a minimalist lifestyle
Social pressure:
Our modern culture prioritises consumerism and materialism ideology. Everyone surrounding us followed those ideologies; henceforth living a minimalist lifestyle might be challenging in such a society. There will always be societal pressure from others.
Family pressure:
Most of our families are led by several societal and cultural values. Therefore, the lack of support from family to adopt a minimalist lifestyle might be challenging. The approach of living with less by going against family tradition might be challenging.
Letting things go:
Besides family and social pressure, one of the significant challenges we face to lead a life of living with less is letting things go. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to part with our possessions due to sentimental attachments.
Lack of consistency:
The art of living with less requires consistency and maintenance. We must consciously evaluate new items we introduce into our homes to prevent unnecessary accumulation and uphold our minimalist lifestyle.
Overconsumption of social media:
The social media culture brings the trend of oversharing and overconsumption. Scrolling over social media can attract a lot of unnecessary things that can consume our time and effort. This can create a distraction from our real goal and create difficulties in leading a minimalist lifestyle.
Fear of judgements:
Judgment surrounding minimalism often stems from misconceptions about its practicality and extreme nature. The judgements made based on these factors might discourage one from embracing a minimalist lifestyle despite knowing its benefits.
Steps to embrace a minimalist lifestyle
Decluttering the space: One needs to be decluttering the space into categories of keep, donate or discard.
Priortise small changes: Rather than taking a big step, one can easily start with small steps like prioritising quality over quantity.
Recognise the core values: Take a long time to understand the core value in oneself, and then take the steps of letting go of invaluable things.
Maintenance through practice: One can easily stay consistent with the minimalist lifestyle through daily practices of mindfulness, embracing creativity and being kind to oneself.
FAQ
What is minimalism?
Minimalism is a lifestyle that promotes fewer commitments, less distraction, fewer relationships and more clarity with the things that truly matter in life. The minimalism philosophy encourages us to be less attached to materialistic things, less committed to unnecessary people and events and more focused on what truly brings value and fulfilment.
What are the benefits of minimalism?
The benefits of minimalism are enhanced productivity, less anxiety and stress, high concentration, more freedom, great well-being and the like.
What are the challenges of living with less?
The challenges of living with less are social pressure, family pressure, letting things go, lack of consistency and more.
Why is it hard to become a minimalist?
Besides family and social pressure, one of the significant challenges we face to lead a life of living with less is letting things go. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to part with our possessions due to sentimental attachments, for which it is hard to become a minimalist.
What is the famous book on minimalism?
The Japanese author of the bestseller book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying UP”, Marie Kondo, introduces minimalism with a new perspective in her book. She introduces the “KonMari Method” in her book, through which she guides how to focus on keeping belongings that “spark joy”.
How does social media create challenges to lead a minimalist lifestyle?
The social media culture brings the trend of oversharing and overconsumption. Scrolling over social media can attract a lot of unnecessary things that can consume our time and effort. This can create a distraction from our real goal and create difficulties in leading a minimalist lifestyle.
What is the relevance of the “Black Square” painting with living with less?
In the mid-20th century, post-war demand infused consumerism and maximalism. It was driven by the demand for infrastructure development and access to new materials. The minimalism movement emerged to move away from Abstract Expressionism. The trend of minimalism impacts various fields such as architecture, interior design and more. Through the “Black Square” painting of Kazimir Malevich in 1915, the ethos of “less is more” outbursts.
What is Buddhist ideology on minimalism?
Buddhism has a deep connection with minimalism. Buddha said, “When you can’t control what is happening, try to control your reaction to what is happening.” The Buddhist ideology indicates that minimalism extends beyond material possessions to encompass one’s mental state.
