Two Years Down

It’s kind of coincidental that I resuscitated my blog around this time of the year. On 2018.06.19, two years ago today, I registered this blog and wrote my first post about the start of my journey to living a more authentic, minimalist lifestyle, and a lot has changed since then. So I thought it’s time I reflect on that original post with some quotes from then, and what’s changed since.

“Applying this concept has really changed how I feel about what “stuff” does to your life, not for it. This started with “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki”

“where it began”, posted on 2018.06.19

One thing that certainly hasn’t changed is what kicked this journey off for me. Sasaki Fumio’s book “Goodbye, Things: On Minimalist Living” is still the catalyst for this minimalist change. In fact, I’ve read this book again at least once more since this original post, and it’s help me come to terms with some of the more difficult experiences I had in removing ‘things’ from my life.

At first it was easy to conceptualise the lifestyle and make it my own, but acting on the idea proved to be very difficult – it’s hard to remove things from your life, especially those that you’ve kept for a long time, or have memories attached to. This book really helps to break those self-constructed barriers down and look at minimalism from the viewpoint that it’s a desirable enough outcome to pursue.

I had also (proudly) cited my desire to reduce the number of headphones I had by keeping:

“- Apple AirPods
– Audio Technica in-ear studio monitors 
– Beyerdynamic over-ear studio headphones” 

“where it began”, posted on 2018.06.19

Hilariously, all of these headphones have been sold. I replaced my AirPods with AirPods Pro for their exceptional noise-cancelling capabilities whilst travelling (and how incredibly compact they are for any situation!), purchased a pair of Sony WH-CH700N over-ear bluetooth headphones to replace my Beyerdynamic and Audio Technica headphones with something more comfortable to use over long periods of time without tiring my ears out, but also with active noise-cancelling capabilities.

“The initial impact of minimalism has seen me reduce my spending (so I can save for Japan), focus on owning only the things most important to me which are high profile, which in turn is simplifying my life”

“where it began”, posted on 2018.06.19

I’ve saved a lot of money by becoming minimalist, but I’ve also made a lot of money by selling the things that don’t feel relevant in my life anymore. I had a pair of expensive Yamaha studio monitors for accurate audio reproduction, a Novation Impulse MIDI keyboard and controller with sustain pedal, an extra desktop display, a condenser microphone and reflection filter array, which were all sold, amongst many other non-musical item. I’ll talk about this process for me in a future post.

At first, it kind of seemed like by spending more on the things you care about, you might find yourself buying the best-of-the-best in all categories, but this isn’t the case. Minimalism is a shift in mindset, especially as a consumer. It means that you no longer feel the compulsion to buy, much to the distain of advertisers, doing their best to try and draw you in to make a purchase.

There’s nothing wrong with buying. Just last week I bought a new pair of jeans. the difference is that I needed them, not wanted them. distinguishing the difference between the two is what can determine a minimalist or maximalist outcome. The difference between two years ago and now is that minimalism was an idea, a concept in my mind that perceived a better life. Now, I’m living it.