Minimalism is Not Living in a State of Lack

I am a minimalist. And I have not given away everything I ever owned or am left with 12 pieces of clothing or 30 household items to spend the rest of my life with. That may be the goal, though, to be realized as I learn to meet all my life’s needs with as little as possible. That said, I am not living in a state of lack. Point of minimalism being, I am not living in excess either.

I enjoy being well dressed. And without being boastful, I often get complimented for the way I carry myself. But for that, I never indulge in shopping heavily because I do not mind repeating my clothes. To look sharp every day, one does not need new clothes, but just smart clothes. I buy clothes from time to time when the old ones wear out, and not because it is salary day or sale season or simply a weekend. I exactly know what I need when I enter a store and come out with just that. And it is always something that meets my needs (preferably multiple needs), suits me well, and will last long. I am a classic kind of a girl, perfectly okay not wearing or owning trends.

I often accompany my girlfriends on their shopping trips, but only buy something if I have a genuine need for it. I try on a dress and spend a good amount of time thinking if it meets the criteria I shared above. I believe this is where consciousness comes into effect. By not indulging in something I don’t have a substantial need for in life, I am acknowledging the fact that I already have everything I need to live a comfortable life. And that is a sign of abundance in material and in spirit, and not lack.

“This dress looks really good on you, just take it, don’t think so much” is barely reason enough for me to purchase it. When I know I have a need for anything new, I drown myself in the pleasure of searching, evaluating and finalizing across stores and websites until I find what I need.

Living well is my highest priority in life. I have several articles at home which make my life convenient and my time more productive. I am only ensuring that I do not have multiple things serving the same purpose. For instance, my current social commitments involve hosting friends and colleagues at home from time to time. For that I have endeavored to build a robust crockery set of 12 pieces only; and have warmed up to the idea of borrowing crockery for any number beyond that. I am simply refusing to stock countless utensils in ten different sizes, linen overflowing out of cupboards, and the unidentified miscellaneous that lies unseen, untouched in the store room for ages, “carefully preserved” for the rare occasion when there will arise a need for them.

Lack is a subjective notion after all. A lot of times, the value of our material possession is considered as a measure of our success and worth. By that measure, lack most commonly gets translated to mean a lack of material possessions, invariably as a result of lack of means.

A stark truth that also opposes the idea I shared above is that, a lot of times, lack of means does translate to a minimal lifestyle. The idea behind writing about minimalism is to emphasize on the importance of a need-based lifestyle, not so much as on whims. In a utopian world, it might even mean there is enough for everyone and no one is reeling under pressure to keep up with inflated social standards based on one’s ability to accumulate material possessions. So, while minimalism may be a forced reality for a significant population of the world, the feeling of lack affects the most privileged ones. As one decides his or her definition of lack, one would realize minimalism is everything but living in a state of lack.