Tag: minimalism

Podcasts

On my 4 hour drive to Hereford today I was listening to podcasts. I have really got into listening to podcasts rather than music when I walk or drive. I find that they keep me interested and keep me more in the present than music does. Music makes me remember thus to live in the past or to daydream / fantasise which means living in a ridiculously unobtainable future.

Today I listened to a couple of podcasts by The Minimalists. Ryan and Joshua. Two very intelligent guys who definitely think creatively about life and are not just about decluttering and getting rid of stuff. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-minimalists-podcast/id1069757084?mt=2&i=1000429698510

Towards the end of what seemed like a very long journey, I started to listen to Free Buddhist Audio. This is a tremendous resource packed full of talks by very knowledgable and spiritual Buddhists from the Triratna Community. I only heard the first part of this one but what I heard reassured me. Padmavajra talked of the need to have purpose, hope and energy. Buddhists are not meant to be passive but active. Virya paramita = the perfection of energy. I need to develop a sense of calm and peace but energy is a good thing, a positive thing. I am always struggling to reconcile living in the present with a direction, goal, purpose.

I haven’t listened to all of this podcast yet but will probably do so on the journey back tomorrow!

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/free-buddhist-audio-community-podcasts/id75081757?mt=2&i=1000431410884

Minimalism

 

Every item is useful and brings me joy.

I have been watching “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things” on Netflix.  A very timely viewing experience!

I have been decluttering.  Getting rid of things so that I can move from a three bedroomed house into a caravan with ease and tranquility.  It will be quite a large caravan admittedly.  But it will contain all that I own.  And there will be three of us living there plus a dog, two cats and a hamster.  I found the first trawl through the house relatively easy.  It is a joy to rid myself of things that have not seen the light of day for years or have just been sitting on a shelf unloved and unappreciated.  I enjoy giving items to friends or donating them to charity shops because they will be used.  I am looking forward to having a space which is clutter free and attractive to the eye.  A calm space.  A space which houses beautiful, joyful and useful things.

However – I am getting to the tough part now.  The part where real decisions have to be made.  To the part where I have to be a little bit ruthless.  How many pairs of jeans do I NEED?  I am making the decision to have 10 books (I have a kindle) – 5 are chosen; how do I make a decision about the rest?  How many plates, glasses, saucepans?  What do I do with my pictures which are precious to me but difficult to hang in a caravan which has less wall space anyway?  What about that ornament that was a present from a friend?

Sometimes (but not very often and only for a few seconds), I wonder why I am doing it.  The caravan will be quite big.  The caravan will have storage space.  There can be a few things out on the sides.  However, I know that it is important to do this.  I do not need all of those things to feel happy.  A calm, tranquil place with space and clutter free will make me feel more at peace.  I do not want to continue to be attached to things. I feel that minimalism fits well with Buddhism. It’s about living mindfully. Not having and buying lots of things just for the sake of it,  just to feel (temporarily) happy. It’s about being free to live a more meaningful and ethical life.  It doesn’t mean that I cannot live comfortably.  It doesn’t mean that I cannot have lovely, beautiful things. I want my home to be comfortable to live in and to visit.  I want to make my home beautiful and pleasing to the eye.   It just means that I will try not to have more than I need to be and feel comfortable.

So I will continue making the difficult decisions knowing that, in the end, they will be relatively simple.