“I’m confused on what to wear?”
“There are so many restaurants in the city, where should I go?”
All of us face these and other similar questions when we encounter too many options in our life. Amidst this chaos of the world, creating your own little city that is simple is what I call ‘Simplicity’. Creating a simple atmosphere around you, which not only affects your life but also affects the lifestyle of people around you, is simplicity.
Does it mean that we are not supposed to explore any options and live a boring life? No, that is not what simplicity means. Life is a one-time experience and you must cherish and enjoy it. Simplicity is not about limiting or suppressing your needs and developing a mindset of scarcity. Rather, it is an idea of having things you ‘need’ and not what you ‘want’.
Our mind’s wants are unlimited; it keeps on raising its demands as the older ones get fulfilled. If we obey all the orders of the mind, then it will create whole another world inside our house by dumping all kinds of unnecessary things. Even at this moment, I can guarantee that if you clean up your house, you will find many unnecessary things that you do not use. How did they end up there? Any idea? Your mind! Your mind wanted it, but you did not NEED it.
Out of all the clothes that you own, you wear about 20% of your clothes at 80% of the occasions, as mentioned in the book “Simplify” by Joshua. Becker. The other 80% are worn hardly at least once or twice a year, and some of them are not even looked at. On the other side, India accounted for the largest number of people living below international poverty line in 2013, with 30 percent of its population under the $1.90-a- day poverty measure, the World Bank said. We request you to favor these people and donate those clothes which are untouched in your wardrobe.
You will find many such things over and above clothes that are unnecessary for you but may be of some use to somebody else. This is one aspect of simplicity, which creates cleanliness and space for you along with creating the utility of the product by fulfilling the needs of another person. Even websites like eBay, Olx, and Geebo works on the same concept. They provide a platform for people to sell their old things and others in need to buy it from there.
This process of removing unnecessary things is called ‘decluttering’. This process can be done with material things as well as with our thoughts. The habit of simplicity applied to physical as well as the mental level will make it a lifestyle. It is very necessary that along with decluttering our physical space we clean up our mind of negative and unwanted thoughts.
In our next article, we will provide you with a detailed explanation of how to inculcate simplification in all aspects of your life. Until then, understand the idea and make it a lifestyle.
