Minimalism.

Recently I’ve moved to a new apartment with my sister. I deliberately told myself that I will incorporate more "zen” into my life. This is a lifestyle I chose for myself as zen living is basically simple living. Being from the country, this simple living is ideal for me. But what does simple living mean in the first place?

What simple living means is that you live off that which you need. It means not having excess but at the same breath not having little. And a way to find the balance between having too much and too little is in the Buddhist definition of minimalism.

I refer to the Buddhist definition of minimalism because there’s a modern, more extravagant definition that prides itself on having as few things as possible. You will find people pride themselves by saying that they use one soap to wash their clothes, their body, their face, their dishes and their house. We all know that the green bar can do all those things. I don’t know about you but I’ll feel very uncomfortable using the same soap I washed the toilet with to wash my face. This modernised definition takes minimalism to the extreme, taking away its true essence.

The Buddhist definition of minimalism states that one should only have things that one need. And to identify things that you need, think about the functions of those things. An example could be your bedroom. How do you achieve a zen-like minimal state for your bedroom? The key question is to ask, what is the function of the bedroom? The primary function of the bedroom is to rest. So in your bedroom, you should have your bed and only your bed. The secondary function of the bedroom is to prepare yourself for work or the day in general. So, you should have a wardrobe or some storage unit for your clothes and lotions. Thus, to achieve a minimalist bedroom setting, you should have your bed and a storage unit for your clothes and lotions.

Anything else might be excess. The function of the bedroom is to rest your body, so it will not be wise to have your television set in there. Yes, not all of us are blessed with apartments that have different rooms, but the premise remains true. If you are a student living at a res, chances are that your room has a bed and a work table. If you are fortunate enough, you might have your fridge in there as well. That’s all you need in your room.

But let’s remember the definition of minimalism according to Buddhists. Minimalism is living off the things that you need. So if you like me and you are a bit anti-social and have a low social IQ, chances are the room will be your escape from the world. So in the room (assuming I am still a student living at res or a commune), I will need a two-plate stove (to avoid conversations in the shared kitchen), a vaskom (because sometimes the showers get super busy and I’m conscious about my body), a fridge, a bed, a work desk with a chair and wardrobe to store my possessions. Those are the things that I’ll need if I lived in a single-room apartment such as res.

What I will not need is an extravagant décor piece to sit on my desk. I have no need for such a thing. I will not need more than 6 shirts. I will not need more than 3 pairs of jeans. I will not need more than 2 cups, 2 plates, and 2 sets of cutlery. Anything beyond that will be excess.

But for someone who is social and has many friends, they might need more than 2 cups, 2 plates and 2 sets of cutlery because the chances are high that they usually have friends over. If someone is a fashionista, chances are high that they will have more than 6 shirts and 3 pairs of jeans because dressing well is their lifestyle.

The essence of minimalism is to reduce the excess that blocks one’s mind. And the physical and material things are the manifestation of what occupies the mind. When someone has a lot on their mind, this reflects with the things that occupy their physical space. But one might argue and say that Steve Jobs probably had more on his mind than the average person but he was a true minimalist. We might look at his jeans and black turtle neck jersey and think he got it at Walmart (the equivalent of PicknPay Clothing). But that’s not the case. That uniform was designed by Issey Miyake who was a world-famous designer.

Why would I mention Steve Jobs and his uniform in the context to having a lot on one’s mind? Two reasons. The first one is that even though one would say that Steve Jobs had a lot on his mind, he meditated a lot. He was considered a hippy by many who knew him. Through mediation, the mind has the opportunity to see the thoughts that occupy it. Mediation is like the sweeping of the mind.

I who practice zazen, when you sit and meditate, there are so many thoughts that cross your mind. But being in that moment, the mind has the opportunity to process each thought. It has the opportunity to retain useful thoughts and discard useless ones. Through mediation, you can clear the mind and this will reflect in the physical space that you occupy. As seen with Steve Jobs’s clothing.

The second reason I mentioned Steve Jobs and his uniform is that the uniform was designed especially for him. It is said that Steve Jobs drove luxurious sports cars. He was once quoted as saying the reason that he drives these cars is that he loves the design of them. The key to minimalism is having only what you need. So if I going to wear two pairs of jeans a whole week, those jeans must be of great quality. If they are not of great quality, they will wear out quickly. I talk about jeans because I learnt this lesson last year.

For about 4 months, I had to walk an hour’s walk to work and another hour’s walk back from work. The jeans I had, I bought at Mr Price. They could not endure the daily walking. They didn’t survive to see Winter. As opposed to when I was a waiter and I bought more hard “industrial” jeans that could endure a similar distance in walking and the further 8 (sometimes I’d push double shift) hours of walking around and serving people.

Because as a minimalist, you’ll live with the essentials that you need, and you want those essentials to last you a lifetime. So let’s say you work out and for you to hit those extra reps, you need to be listening to gangster rap through your headsets. If you buy quality headsets such as Skull Candy or Volkano, chances are those headsets will last a great deal of time. I have a pair of Philips headsets that I bought in 2015 that still work perfectly. That’s the essence of quality and why as a minimalist it's best to buy quality as quantity isn’t our goal.

Because the flip side is that if you buy cheap headsets from Pep, chances are they will not survive a month. Especially if you work out with them. At the gym, headsets fall. With most cheap headsets on that first fall, that’s game over. Now what happens is that you have to buy another set. That old broken set now is coiled up and placed in the corner of your gym bag. It will be worse if you didn’t learn your lesson and you go back to the same cheap brand you bought.

Now you have to occupy your physical space with more things and worse, with things that are broken. If you are like me and were taught not to litter and try your best to respect your environment, you won’t throw away those broken headsets because electrical products do not belong in the household trash can. As I write this, I can mentally see the boxes I have of broken electrical toys and gadgets I have had over the years back home. Something that now that I’m taking this zen living more seriously, I’ll have to find a way to discard those broken toys and gadgets safely.

For those who seek a simpler life, minimalism is the way for you. And you don’t have to be a Buddhist or a hippy to embrace this life. When Christ said to give to God what is God’s and what is Ceasar to Ceasar, a minimalist interprets that as Christ speaking this philosophy of simple living.

To some of us, God is not a figure somewhere in a mystical place called Heaven. I believe that God is each one of us. So when Christ said that, to someone like myself, that’s Christ saying feed yourself (you, your God entity) what you need and that which you don’t need to give it to Ceasar. Ceasar being the opposite of you, your God entity. And it isn’t that profound when you think of it.

If you take out physical work out seriously or you are a professional athlete, what your body needs is good sleep and good nutrition. What your body does not need is too much alcohol and lack of sleep. That is the opposite of your God entity. The explanation of this God entity I’ll explain in another post as I don’t want us to lose focus on this one. For this post is discussing living off that which you need and only that which you need.

What you need is what is keeping you alive. If you are a food content creator, a chef or someone who enjoys cooking, then what you need in the kitchen will be a bit more than the average person. Those different spices and different applications keep you alive because you can exercise your creativity which is a component of what God, the Creator, has gifted in our God entities that embody our spirits. If you make the mistake and embody the corrupted form of minimalism that prides itself in living off the little as possible, you might see that air-fryer as an unnecessary appliance. When the reality could be that the air-fryer could have unlocked greater creativity in you.

I believe that minimalism is for everyone. Everyone can live off the bare basics that they need. But it begins by taking stock of what is in your mind. Through mediation, you conduct a mental stocktaking of your thoughts. And also through mediation, you can further conduct a spring cleaning of the mind to retain the thoughts that keep you alive and eradicate the thoughts that are draining your life force.

Once the mind is under your firm control, your physical space will reflect the state of your mind. At the end of the day, as the great Morpheus once said, reality is nothing but the interpretation of the mind. What your mind sees and believes, will be your reality. And it will manifest itself in the physical space you occupy. It took me a great deal of time to understand this concept. Because most of us got introduced to this concept by reading Think and Grow Rich and listening to motivational speakers. We thought one needs to think of millions and they will manifest themselves. The older one got, the wiser one became to realise that’s not how that principle works.

Someone who thinks of millions will not magically get millions. In fact, it is a fallacy to think in that light in my opinion. But one who thinks about money, their mind will see the book about wealth creation and not the latest love story at Exclusive Books. The one who thinks about nutrition will see the fruits and not the bottle of soda. Yes, they will see the Coke (it’s near impossible to ignore Coca-Cola advertising) but their mind will associate that Coke with sugar that experts claim to be tantamount to alcohol.

Thus, this will force the mind to focus on those things that preoccupy it the most. One who does not have control over their thoughts, their mind is busy. And this busyness will manifest in their physical space. They will have one too many shirts, one too many shoes, one too many appliances, one too many everything. Their minds are focused on so many things at once, it has no place to settle. And if you have been in a room with a lot of things (whether tidy or not) because there are so many things in that room, you cannot fully settle in that space. You could be sitting on the available seat but your knee could be hitting the tabletop. You could be sitting on the edge of the bed but your feet close to shoes or something on the floor. That room with its many occupants, invade your physical space and therefore your mental space as well.

Reality is the interpretation of your mind and your mind creates this reality through its interaction with the world through your five senses. Hence decluttering your mind will reflect itself in the physical space you occupy. You will not be able to declutter your mind if your physical space isn’t decluttered or in the process of decluttering. You cannot go to the mountaintop to meditate and clear your mind only to come back to your apartment that is littered with things you do not need. It will counter the effects birthed through your meditative exercise.

It is important that as you declutter your mind to also take the initiative to declutter your physical space as well. An exercise by Fumio Sasaki that can assist one to declutter their physical space is to get rid of forgotten things. What this means is that if you open your wardrobe and you see that one shirt or dress tucked at the corner, and this item of clothing has not been worn in years, it is best to discard that piece of clothing. Because clearly, it serves no function. Perhaps you bought in the heat of the moment when you saw that take two for three sale. The reason behind getting that item does not matter. What matters is what function the item currently serves in your life. And if it serves no function, discard it. So if there is something you have forgotten and haven’t seen in a while and perhaps see it during your spring cleaning, don’t think about it; just discard it.

Give to God what is God’s and give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s. Feed your mind what it needs and reject anything else that your mind does not need. Assess the physical spaces that you occupy and begin looking at what you need and what you do not need. What you need serves a function. A bed serves the function to facilitate rest. A bed is not to serve as a coffee table or a work desk. It will be wise to differentiate between the two.

Yes, if you stay in a single-room apartment (or res) the bed might serve as an extra chair for guests when they visit. But you will know it serves the function of rest. So if you are social and expect a friend or two to visit from time to time, invest in getting a chair or two to host your guests. Perhaps those foldable chairs that you can tuck away in the wardrobe so that they do not occupy your physical space when you not using them.

Minimalism is a lifestyle. So this reduction of things and assessing what you need and what you don’t need is an everyday thing, not a single one-day event. Every time you clean your room, it gives you the opportunity to see whether there are things that serve the function they should or not.

Perhaps you have been working out for a couple of months. So obviously, some of the clothes that you bought before do not fit you anymore. They no longer serve the function of clothing you. At that time, it is best to discard them to allow yourself the opportunity to get new clothes.

And if you are a student or you are newly employed, perhaps you can’t afford extremely expensive quality clothing. But try not to be tempted by the sale at the discount store. Aim to buy the best quality clothing that your budget can allow.

Personally, my weight is seasonal. But generally, I am a big boy. Medium-sized clothing fits me perfectly. But sometimes I can easily get to 100kg (as I am now) and even though medium seized clothes fit me perfectly, they highlight my beautiful belly. When I’m at my leanest, those medium-sized clothing showcase me as the Zulu warrior that my surname suggests I am. But when not lean (like now) they still showcase me as a warrior, but one who hasn’t seen war in a long time. And I’m conscious of my body. To avoid buying clothes all the time, I buy large-sized clothing. For my body, large-sized clothing is ideal. They accommodate me when I’m lean, and they also accommodate me when I’m not. This offers me the opportunity not to invest in clothing every time my body changes in weight.

A key thing to remember, minimalism is based on what you need. Therefore, our needs are different and our approach to minimalism will be as well. It is not a blanket approach. The examples used are to try to help you figure out how you can embody the minimalist approach in your life. However, this is a journey. One that I have committed myself to. And I hope you will find gems that will be useful in your journey through these posts.