Minimalism is a slow process of realization. Rather than setting up a flag to classify oneself into a certain type, it is a natural progression of personal self-integration and realization.When I was a child, I liked to collect candy paper, matchbox paper and star cards, and when I became an adult, I would collect letters and diaries, and when I went on trips, I would search for some treasures, always thinking that it would remind me of the good old days. Then because of repeated moves, one day suddenly realized that these items have been lying in boxes or dusty corners, year after year… So I abandoned them! From then on, you don’t have to keep the good things for yourself. I have materialistic desires, but I don’t follow trends, and I have no desire for brands. I gradually like Indigo and Scandinavian style, believing that experience and experience are more fascinating and lasting than material things. Eat meat, more love tea and fruits and vegetables. Gradually, I don’t go to many social occasions, and I can spend more time seeing my favorite people or being with myself. Irrelevant to religion, more understanding and practice of meditation. Slowly I’m thinking more about giving to others rather than constantly grabbing. Even last year, I went to Northern Europe and lived with my Nordic friends for a few days to experience their simple and mindless life. Then I saw Gao Xiaosong’s article [In Scandinavia, I feel ugly inside]. To be fair, China and the Nordic countries are simply at different stages of economic and human development, so there is actually no comparison. The minimalist style of the Nordic people is not unrelated to the natural environment they live in, while free education, free medical care and free retirement have fundamentally solved the pressure of these three mountains. The majority of people in China have experienced the era of material scarcity, through the hoarding of material things can get a sense of psychological security, is also the survival philosophy of that generation; and nowadays, although society is rich in material things, but the existence of those three mountains is still an indisputable reality, so for many people, still have not got rid of the need for security, which of course includes me. But there is no doubt that I agree with Shorty’s article.

What really made me make up my mind was this book I read during New Year’s Eve [Minimalism: Discover the life you want under everything you have], which contains a sentence: “The more you have, the more you are possessed”. Simple but profound – yes, behind the possessions is the money spent, the energy and time spent on managing them, and the internal conflict of thinking about whether to have them or not. Every time I move and pack, I always have the most clothes, but they are the same pieces that I wear; I have two big boxes of training materials and tools accumulated in my career, which are bulky and take up space; I have various APPs and public numbers in my phone, which create slight anxiety when I look at them or not, and they take up my time; there are also various new and long-unused items …… I once talked to a friend about how I missed my old apartment because a few big cabinets hid all the things I didn’t use, and what was placed outside was really simple and beautiful, which had a positive impact on the sense of space and energy field of the whole residence, and of course, affected people’s emotions.

What is the essence of minimalism? Not asceticism, not contempt or aversion to material things, not dogmatic reduction of things to the minimum, but by cutting out unnecessary things, but to find and focus on the people and things that really care and have value, to get the pleasure and freedom of the soul.

When you get home after New Year’s Eve, start immediately with the easiest thing to do: clean your clothes. The reason why it is the easiest is because it is easy to find the meaning of cleaning: to donate to people in greater need. In the past, cleaning up clothes was a tangle, but today it was much quicker than usual. Here is a spontaneous advertisement, every time I donate clothes, I will look for “flying ants”. This is a platform that advocates zero abandonment of idle, old clothes environmental protection public welfare treatment. It gives me peace of mind to know that these clothes are either going to the place where they are needed or being recycled. The public number is booked, packed, and someone will come to collect.

Although there are still some temporarily unwanted clothes that have not been cleaned, there are three large bags, which is a success!

According to the bricklayer, minimalist life can be divided into material minimalism, information minimalism, life minimalism, work minimalism, and spiritual minimalism. People are always averse to giving up and losing. It is the hardest part to do subtraction. Let go of obsessions, learn in progress, practice in progress ……