Ownership and Convenience

I don't own a car. A lot of people are surprised by this. They tell me they could never live without one. It is far too convenient. And I agree. But is it necessary? Do we really need all of the things we own? How many things do we own because we think we need them? Because we want them? Just in case we might use them one day?

It seems to me that our culture has been severely brainwashed with the illusion of necessity. Everyone needs to have their own things. Every house has a vacuum so it is conveniently available anytime you need it. Instead of five houses sharing one vacuum cleaner and only using it when they need, we all have our own collecting dust in a closet. How often do you really need to use something like that?

Advertising has a lot to do with this. Cars are a big one. We are all sold on the idea that we need to own a car. It demonstrates status and wealth and success. Working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. Four coworkers could share a ride to the same workplace. But then they wouldn't have the perceived success we all so crave in this era where status is only a Tweet or a Facebook update away. I'm not saying that I am against buying a car. But I do think that a lot of us buy things we don't really need just because we think we are supposed to. Instead, whenever I buy something, I seriously question the purchase. Do I really need this? Will it add value to my life?

I recently bought a queen-sized bed. It was a big purchase. But I had been sleeping on an air mattress for the past four or five months. Upgrading to a real bed was a huge step up for me, for my health. I sleep better now. This clearly adds value to my life. Buying a car, on the other hand, would grant me much more mobility, but the level of cost associated with it would ultimately restrict my lifestyle and take away much of my freedom. 

What about your next big purchase? Or even a little one? Is it adding value to your life? Or is it costing you more freedom than it offers?

Finally, I leave you with a bit of wisdom from Tyler Durden, my first minimalist guru:

The things you own end up owning you.

10 Great Minimalist Quotes

1 “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” 
- Joshua Becker

2 “It's not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.” 
- Nathan W. Morris

3 "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." 
- Lao Tzu

4 "It is a preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly." 
- Bertrand Russell

5 "There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little." 
- Jackie French Koller

6 "Contentment comes not so much from great wealth as from few wants."
-Epictetus

7 "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."
- Seneca

8 "Ultimately most of us come to believe there’s more value in a paycheck—and all the stuff that paycheck can buy us—than there is in life itself.” 
- Joshua Fields Millburn

9 “Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify, simplify! ...Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.” 
- Henry David Thoreau

10 “You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.” 
- Chuck Palahniuk

Right Speech

This concept of the Eight-Fold Path of Buddhism basically sets the foundation for the proper way of living. One thing I really like about the idea is that the way to a good life is not set in stone. It isn't like the Ten Commandments and is open to interpretation. Some critical thinking is useful here in understanding how to best apply the concepts to your own life, because everything is not black and white; there are shades of gray when it comes to ethics, morality, and goodness.

One of the nodes I have been focusing on lately in my own life is Right Speech. I often say the wrong thing without even knowing it. We all do it. We say something to offend, or insult, or make someone feel uncomfortable without the intention to do so. We make a fool of ourselves by saying something false, or say something we believe when we couldn't be more wrong. Sometimes we say things to impress or to show off or say something judgmental about others. A lot of the time we just say things that do not need to be said.

When I think about what is the right thing to say I often think of the old adage, "If you have nothing good to say, then don't say anything at all." I don't always believe this statement, as sometimes we have to be critical of things we can't stand for, sometimes we have to defend others in the face of discrimination or ridicule. Right speech doesn't always mean we have to be positive, it means that we have to say the best thing to lead to a good life. Sometimes this means not being a push-over.

More than this saying, I like to follow my favorite piece of advice from the Tao Te Ching.

Those who know, do not speak.; those who speak, do not know.