Acquire a New Habit In The Lockdown- Minimalism
Quite a few of you know that I am in Mumbai since February. We’d packed in very few clothes because we didn’t plan to stay here beyond 2-3 weeks. But then, as my mum often likes to quote – Man proposes, God disposes. With not much going for us when it came to choice of clothes it was getting quite boring for us. Just when we thought, we should raid the malls, the novel virus started making itself visible here. And being the microbiologist that I am, I didn’t want to risk going out in public places. In our household, restricted social mobility came much before lock-down became an official imposition.
Priorities changed overnight. When you start taking stock of your dwindling aata, dal; clothes slide down the priority list. So far, we are managing fairly well. A word that I am getting reminded often now is – Minimalism. One of my first few blogs, when I started blogging, a little less than three years ago, was on this topic.
I’d written about it because I appreciated people who were brave enough to go against the tide and embrace it as a way of life. In the times of plenty, that we live in, it isn’t easy. But now as we face an impending financial crisis worldwide, it may no longer be a choice but a necessity for some.
For those of us who would be fortunate enough to go back to their old ways, I have a line that we can ponder on- Owning less is good but wanting less is better. Owning less is often considered an index of affordability, wanting less is going to another realm altogether. It has no bearing whatsoever with our financial status.
I know it’s hard, which is the reason I say that the ones who adopt it willingly, are brave. For Indians, it shouldn’t have been an alien concept because our traditional learning has always laid emphasis on detachment from materialistic possessions. But paradoxically that hasn’t been very potent in curbing our hoarding tendencies.
It’s a matter of choice but as the lock down progresses, I urge you to consider the middle road. Unlike the hard-core minimalists, we may not be able to forsake all our pleasures. But can we at least lower our baseline and work up our way through that? Not just on a temporary basis but when our good not-so-old days are back again.
Subject every possession, that we have or we want to acquire, to a screening process. (If we have time to count the number of peanuts in bhujia, might as well ask ourselves a few questions). Be honest with your answers (duh..)
- Do I really need it?
- Why do I need it?
- Is it because everybody who’s a somebody has it?
You may shake your head in the negative on the last one but introspect hard. It’s not just kids who grapple with peer pressure. It just gets ingrained in us in childhood and stays on till we start acknowledging its effect and get over it. If you have valid answers to these, by all means go right ahead. Otherwise please stop.
For those who claim that minimalism works for them say that they save a lot of time, energy (and money) which can all be put to better use. That doesn’t mean one has to become a miser or a saint. ‘Wanting’ to own less will give you a freedom that can only be experienced when you practice it. And now is a good time to start. Unclutter your life, literally and otherwise, detach yourself and see how it sets you free.
As everyone is talking about acquiring new hobbies and habits, do give a thought to minimalism. Leaving you with a quote from Hairat Allahabadi, though I realise it sounds more ominous in the current times;
Aagah Apni Maut Se Koi Bashar Nahin,
Saman Sau Baras Ka Pal Ki Khabar Nahin.
(No one can foresee when death will knock at one’s door. We plan for a century when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring for us)