I watched a program called Minimalist, or something like that, on Netflix. It was about guys who live with the barest minimum of “things” or “stuff,” and how much freer and happier they are because of it. How they left high paying jobs to pare their lives down to nothing so that they could haver better lives and be free. The two main characters don’t seem to live anywhere but on the road promoting their book and lifestyle but they seem sincere and nice. The program is about consumerism and the horror of it all. Seeing the few very select shots of Black Friday they showed would be enough to turn anyone off. The show is about walking away, or living with just what you need. Most of the people on the show were young.
Fewer and fewer people want to spend their lives working 12 hours a day, in order to buy stuff, pay bills and then grow old and die. I don’t blame them. Living inexpensively is the way to go. I need art and books around me but not everyone does. You can have those things in a small or minimal space and truthfully, most of us do have more space than we need. Many people don’t use all the rooms in their house, especially dining rooms, since the kitchen is where everything happens, now that life has become more casual. Smaller space means lower bills, or no bills, if you can make that happen by living on someone’s property for little to nothing.
Most of the guys on the program were single and that makes a difference. One man had six kids and there were families shown as well but their spaces were not shown and that had to be for a reason. It was said that their children had few/controlled toys, etc. but we didn’t see anything but a wall or, in one case, empty counters that made their home look as if no one lived there. Cold, barren and sad. Not for me. A couple who was going to have a baby had a lot of ideas, which is always funny because once the baby arrives their ideas may go out the window, as they say.
It was an interesting program and fast-forward is always available if you don’t want to watch a certain part, but if you’re thinking about living your life in a different way, you might want to check it out.
