The Bare Minimum
By: Cassie Vergara
Tags: Minimalist, Minimalism, Climate Crisis

We live in a world where everything is a necessity. Society had repeatedly told us to be the best that we should be in order for us to have a better future. The career, a high paying job, the house, the car all of these is a prize we ought to win. Things that makes our life easier, is somehow things that slowly deteriorates us inside. Too many of us had been drunk in the idea of being competitive. As if we are always in a race against everything and everyone, so to be able to maintain being in the lead, we constantly put pressure on attaining the best. If you are not fast enough, you will be left behind by everyone else.

We live in a world where we often associate the hard work, the strenuous job, the career that burnt us into something of an accomplishment. Most people got entangled in the web of accumulating material things to fill in the void, and to keep up with the world, they worked hard and hoard or wear brands as badges of how much their worth in plain sight displayed in the things they own. We kept living a life in false hopes, totally unaware of how the culture and mindset we grew up to is misleading us.

The minimalist movement have found a fresh comeback that is so timely and significant in the recent times where humanity has been forced to face the effect of the wrong doings of our fore fathers. Years and years of polluting and degrading the environment so we can have all the comfort of the modern times today. The idea is simple yet profound. Acquiring less and decreasing our carbon footprint will help minimize tons of waste from plastics, textiles, and e-waste from electronic devices we used up. Choosing to keep the essential is not only a personal journey but a mindful act in response to saving our planet.

The impending doom of climate change and environmental issues are not the only major concern of humanity. The challenge of mental health and well-being is an occurring personal crisis which is often underrated and unnoticed. Hoarding and accumulating material things invites jealousy and anxiety. Perfect recipes for unhappiness. Holding on to so many things makes us forget the most important and valuable things in our life. Simple things that brought meaning in our lives. There were countless accounts from people who chose to simplify their life by having less, found that physical and material things are non-permanent source of happiness, accumulating things are short-term source of bliss.

So, why people are still blinded by consumerism?

We have the options to do what we think is right intuitively based on our lifestyle, however people need to embrace the idea that not all things revolve around them. Outcomes of the decisions that we have chosen has consequences and these are either for the better or worse. On a definitive way, the connection of all things still remains the only dominant truth in the world. While we value branded clothes and shoes, or a lavish lifestyle, time will only prove the expiry date the advertisements didn’t mention on their tag. Immaterial things such as time lost, moments spent with loved ones, a peaceful walk with the one we value evokes a deeper sense of worth. The connection we established with another human being builds our confidence and makes us the better version of ourselves for our self and those of others.

When you know that all things are temporary, you’ll not hold on to them tightly. Opening our mind to the inevitable that nothing lasts, makes things easier to set free. When you chose to keep only the necessary, you’re creating a space for you to breath. Freeing up the space in our life for the more valuable things not only impacts the environment, it also connects us to our planet as a citizen of the world.