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  1. After reading this, I realize I’ve been a minimalist much longer than I have claimed the label. Our walls have always been bare, I’ve always regularly cleared out the excess from my digital life, and shopping (even for groceries) has never been something I enjoyed, just for starters.
    For all 40 years of our marriage whenever my husband or kids ask what I want for Christmas or my birthday, my standard answer has been “a grand piano”. I say this because yes, I really would love and use daily a grand piano, but also because there is no way on earth we could afford or house one and we all know that. Its my way of saying I sincerely don’t want anything at all. Now that we have grandkids they insist I come up with something else, so I go with “soap”. My grandkids give me fancy homemade soap and I haven’t had to buy any for the last 5 years. Life is very good.

  2. Hello,

    Thank you for sharing this very interesting piece of writing!

    I have searched the web for a description of ‘a very simple personality’ in an attempt to understand which personality category I best fit into, and noticed that minimalism is one of them.
    People tend to see minimalists as cheapskates or stingy beings, but the truth is that we don’t need many material things to be happy. We feel fulfilled with a limited range of objects and resources that serve our purposes in very meaningful ways. The same idea applies to the social life sphere; a few real friendships can optimise minimalists’ emotionality and personal development better than 1000 followers on Instagram.

    Also, I have decided not to learn to drive to avoid pollution, stress, costs and worries. Everyone is discombobulated when I tell them that at the age of 37 I still haven’t learnt to drive and I am not interested in learning either. I just feel much freer not depending on a car and all the burdens that go with it. The public transport system in Montreal is pretty good; I can sit back and relax while looking out the bus or subway windows.

    Moreover, I tend to enjoy and get to know well the place I live in rather than think about travelling elsewhere. Sometimes locals know other countries better than their own nation, which sounds ironic.

    In a nutshell, having less doesn’t equal enjoying less. In fact, the equation of happiness for minimalists comes down to the following rule:
    Simplicity = a less stressful and more enjoyable and qualitative life.

    Some of the proverbs and sayings that illustrate what minimalists are like are:

    1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
    2. Slowly, but surely
    3. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
    4. Quality over quantity
    5. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (not in the eyes of the mainstream society)
    6. A blessing in disguise (What may look bad at first ends up being a precious stone)
    7. All that glitters is not gold (Mainstream society may cast a glittering light on a flamboyant and conspicuous picture of the reality they want to portray as ‘happiness’, but we, minimalists, have an eye that is not easily caught by it.)

    Thank you for reading!

    Jonatan

  3. peter davies says:

    spot on i am as you say, nothing in the material world or spiritual world attracts me, and i love the freedom of it.

  4. Absolutely Agree with this!!!

  5. All of this is me I never want anything for Xmas or birthday I just don’t like stuff I like white empty house with no clutter, to much clutter makes me ill, I’ve always thought I’m a bit strange but it seems there are lots of us about

    1. Absolutely Agree with this!!!

    2. I am just like you with regard to birthday or Christmas presents. I neither like much stuff on the walls such as cramped decorations or several pieces of furniture. I would make my own dinner table from cardboard boxes.

  6. This is a great read and was an enlightening experience for me. Recently I’ve been told by some close to me that I need to “want more.” I tried to explain that what I want can’t necessarily be found in buying things I think I don’t need. I struggled to define to myself what this was if I truly was limiting myself because of a deep rooted fear or if I just wasn’t interested in “things.” This article assisted in helping me define that. I resonated with numbers 1-6 and number 12 the most. Thanks for writing this.

  7. Thanks for this article. Fairly new to minimalism and already trying to define this as a new chapter in my life. I share many of the traits you outline but particularly the need for white space both physically and mentally. It’s definitely a challenge as I have a wife and 2 children so life is pretty hectic in one form or another! My wife is slowly moving in the same direction – so hopefully we will both enter into it all fully and connected.
    Quick question that I’d hoped you could help with… do you have any examples or advice around scenarios when one person wants to embrace minimalism but their partner doesn’t want to go in the same direction?
    Thanks again for the article – looking forward to checking out the rest of your website.

  8. Its such a pity that more people, especially Christians, don’t commit themselves to living simply, in order to follow Christ more closely and also so that others may simply live. The idea that development and progress are about having more and bigger possessions should be rejected as dangerous and destructive.

  9. Brijesh Dharmajan says:

    You defined a minimalist person the best possible way.. This gives great joy to me that I possess these qualities..