I've come to realize through an incendiary thought process that what I'm really looking for more of is 'less,' and as recently as right now, I still believe that while I want more of things, I want less of the things that bring us less.
I've always told myself that you should never get overtly attached to something that you can't fit through your front door in a housefire. My main point in this philosophy is the specific inclusion of only the people you care about in this life, and the specific exclusion of those things that get in the way, and obstruct our paths of safety and fluidity. Easier said, "people can walk through doors better than your foolish wants and needs, and ultimately are infinitely more important." I think minimalism takes care of this philosophy.
Too often, I am completely amazed by how insipid people can be. Taking in, consuming, and returning only a fraction of the energy or worldly effort it took to acquire whatever it was they desired to acquire. This lustful ownership over things, be they ideals, material belongings, people, financial entities, or whatever...it bores me.
Some might say, "well where do you stand?" "Are you so swamped in abnegation that you don't believe that we have to claim ownership over anything?" Actually...nobody I know would say that to me, but I'm finding the holes in my own argument, and for each of them I have a rebuttal. Of course we all claim ownership over the things our heart desires. I have friends who desire any and all the world can throw their way from a material standpoint. I'm dumbfounded by it, but it's natural human existence. I have friends who take on a more ethereal approach to their ownership who not only publicly state, but privately live their lives to make the world max out it's potential and be something worthwhile. I defer to the latter of course and my preference for self-awareness is usually found in my friends of the latter. I often find myself loving my friends of the former, but end up patting them on the heads in an almost patronizing way and saying to myself, "it's okay...you can't help it...you don't know any better." Asshole-ish? Maybe. But maybe not.
Maybe some people just are more self-aware. They see the efficiencies and inefficiencies of life. Unfortunately for them, they also are privy to the catatonic despair that can creep through your synapses when you see the world from a different angle. It can become disconsolate. A feeling of hopelessness can find a fertile breeding ground in a mind of this type. People whom I've noticed, and in my opinion don't have a certain matter of self-awareness, aren't as easily victimized by the 'hopeless factor.' Their limits are met by the meeting of their desires, and at times, they become sedentary and fortify their 'position of acquisition.' This is especially true when you contemplate how easy life is when you accept things only superficially and don't utilize inquiry, completely devoid of any functional intellect. But living life that way is not really living, is it?
When you have something that satisfies you, be it worthwhile or not, your sights go no further than that object leaving you in it's grasp. Of course, this is all subjective. All of this is my opinion and the whole argument is based on what I (or anybody) would deem worthwhile or not, but my point here is to at least bring light to the dynamic. So where does that leave the seeker who is never satisfied and always looking for the next best thing? Trapped. It leaves them trapped.
Trapped to the pursuit. Which in effect, is the actual object which keeps them from fluidity. You see, we all have the things we desire in life, whether it's a new car, a successful career, a fabulous lover, a rolodex of memories, world travel, financial security, happiness, contentment, and on and on. The thing is though...nothing is guaranteed. None of these desires can be met, and all of these desires can be met. That's the beauty. Nothing is guaranteed. But my reason for supporting minimalism is in this point: Being attached to things you have no control over or to the pursuit of things that have control over you is going to make you a prisoner. Having fluidity to claim ownership over only the most basic and important necessities in life is going to give you a better chance at fulfilling these desires...and with self-awareness, you might just find that there's an acceptance out there that you couldn't have imagined.
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