Minimalism is dead.
Minimalism is alive.
Or, you know, here’s another idea: minimalism is just fine, thanks.
That’s not a bold proclamation. It’s not controversial or unique or even that newsworthy — but it’s the truth, I think, and it’s the perspective I’m left with in the aftermath of that one popular blogger saying bold, stupid things about a movement that has come to affect countless people all across the world.
Here’s the thing: minimalism is about what is important to you. Not me. Not other bloggers. There isn’t a single person in this universe who can look you straight in the eye and say “this is what minimalism means to you,” and there isn’t a single person who has the right to make a broad-sweeping generalization about something that means so many different things to so many different people.
Minimalism is fine.
I’m still a minimalist. If you made the conscious decision to simplify, to de-emphasize stuff and ‘fluff’ and to focus on what you value most, I have big news: you’re (probably) a minimalist too. I include the (probably) there because I can’t make that kind of judgment call — it’s up to you.
You might not like the label. That’s fine. You might not even consider yourself a true minimalist in comparison to those people with less than 100 things. That’s fine too. Why? Because it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to live by anyone else’s definition of what a minimalist is, and you don’t have to stress and try to play by someone else’s rules.
It’s up to you. It’s about you. That’s the key to minimalism, I think, and an idea worth remembering as we move into the future: minimalism is about what’s important to you.
Nobody can change that. Nobody can tell you what minimalism means to you. And nobody, lastly, can tell you that minimalism is dead. It’s not up to them.
It’s up to you.
Simple as that.
Please retweet this. Let’s remind ourselves what minimalism is actually about, and let’s celebrate the knowledge that so long as every one of us lives simply, strongly, and happily, the ‘minimalist movement’ will be as it should be: alive and well within you and me.
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31 Comments »
I'm a writer, minimalist, and health dork with three goals in mind: to teach you how to lose weight, move more, and be happier by living a simple, natural life. It works. Like what you read here? Get 3NL delivered straight to your inbox!
Matt,
Another great article, short, sweet to the point and a fresh point of view. Glad to see sane heads prevailing in this issue. Sometimes the best thing for a movement is to let early visionaries move on and new voices carry on. We appreciate yours and hope the postcard thing is getting going.
Thanks so much, Gena! The postcards are stumbling along, haha, but I can’t complain.
I think you’re right — with Ev’s public departure, it seems time for the ‘next generation’ of minimalist voices to step up and start filling in the blanks. Let’s hope these voices remain similarly sane.
Nice work!
I actually don’t know which blogger/ blog post you were referring to, I tend to subscribe to blogs I find interesting then start deleting them if they start ranting like morons. Sounds like someone I probably culled long ago!!
I have no problem with the more radical ideas that exist out there. It’s not my thing. I have too many hobbies (art, SCUBA diving, exercise – all of which I love passionately and do frequently) to really be a radical minimalist, my SCUBA gear alone takes up the whole boot of my car, which I would obviously need to keep as there is no practical way to transport 30kg or more of gear without a vehicle. No problem. I have always kept my view of the thing, and thought it cool that others could have theirs. Where I get really irritated is this idea that we ALL have to do it *their* way or we are idiots. I think people who say that are the idiots. Obviously controversy sells quite well to some people, but I really despise it.
Norcross of Restlike Like Me said it best I think when he said, “I’m sorry, but if no one is getting shot at, it isn’t a revolution.”
Minimalism has always been around in different forms (Zen buddhists, Capuchin monks and others historically will agree) and isn’t going anywhere!
Matt,
I think you hit the nail on the head with this article! Great work!
Bernie
I think you hit the nail on the head with your hilarious Minimalist parody video.
Great work with that, by the way. The ending was killer!
Thanks, man.
It’s all hype anyway. You make it to be whatever you need it to be in your life, right now, right here. I say fuck it and just do whatever the hell you want. Listen to no one, including the experts and leaders of the field, if what they say is irrelevant to what you want from your life.
Agreed, Nina. Do what you want as long as it makes sense to you.
(And do it in Chile, apparently, since I’m so jealous about all the pictures you’re posting!)
I’ve been waiting for this “minimalism is dead” announcement for the past 3 months. It’s the nature of innovators to move on to the next big thing. See the wikipedia article Diffusion (business) for an outline of the process.
I agree with Mia that minimalism has always been around. And some of us were born with minimalist instincts – as a teen in the 70′s I told my mom that I wanted to own no more than I could fit in a rucksack. She probably assumed that made me a hippy, although my roots are more in the beatniks. For those that are interested, the “next big thing” after minimalism is also just repackaging and you can find some pointers to the historical sources in the post “Cybernetic yogi snake oil” on my blog.
My guess is that in 6 months time we’ll see clearly who was into minimalism for monetising their blog, the buzz of a “new” idea or because it was what the cool kids were doing and who actually adopted minimalism as an expression of something essential about their own personality and their relationship to the world around them. Personally I never wanted to be part of the innovators’ temporary minimalism, I’d rather help develop diffusion minimalism so that as many people as possible adopt its principles in whatever ways best suit their own situations. I’d already been a non-conformist minimalist for a quarter of a century when I heard of the movement and I expect to still be a bad minimalist if I’m still alive 25 years from now. I hope you all will be joining me!
I hope so too, Hope.
I also admire that you call yourself a bad minimalist, heh, when your perspective is probably the best I’ve seen on it yet. Kudos for understanding the ‘principles of simplicity’ better than most bloggers, and kudos too for sticking with them long before (and, I’m sure, long after!) the ‘minimalist fad’ has faded from the public eye.
I could not agree more with you Matt…
Like Mia, I must have weeded out that blogger. ;o)
You’re not the only one!
Thanks, Marie.
I too would like to know what blogger you’re referring to so I can also be outraged. Link please?
http://fuckminimalism.com
Ah right. The old Paris Hilton approach – if you cant dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with controversy! Sounds like a pretty blatant sales tactic to me. Well, even more so than his usual…
That’s my issue with it too. Well, you don’t need to come out and say something silly like “EFF minimalism,” but wrapping it up with a link to a minimalism product is a bit heavy-handed for my taste.
Anon posted the link in case you missed it. Feel free to go stare in amazement.
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I couldn’t agree more Matt!
Thanks, Steve!
THANK YOU.
Was growing increasingly tired of his BS.
My pleasure, man. I get the feeling you’re not the only one.
I noticed he seems really into labels and putting people and “movement” into tiny, tidy boxes. Not much different than working for a corporation, honestly. I agree with Nina and Matt, do what you want. Do what makes sense for you. Who cares about the label around it. The label is only of use to identify and communicate that idea. It’s not to confine or compartmentalize.
“Do what you want. Do what makes sense for you.”
Words to live by, Susan. I agree with that wholeheartedly.
P.S. Check your inbox in a bit!
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Matt, thank you….a SANE voice speaks out!!!! It’s up to each of us to build the life we want and NOBODY has any say whatsoever but us. Minimalism is alive and well…..for anyone who wishes to embrace it.
Exactly! It’s all up to us, in the end, labels or definitions be damned.
Hm…so what would happen if I posted a conversation between us, highlighting his humanity?
I requested permission to do it…and I haven’t heard back. I think it’s the polite thing to do, don’t you?
Y’know, I don’t see how that would upset or offend him in any way, but I guess that depends on how the conversation panned out.
In any case, it’d be interesting to see a post discussing his human side given all the anti-cyborg sentiment floating around. Run with it! I don’t agree with most of his tactics (especially the profit-slanted effminimalism.com linked to above), but I’m perfectly willing to believe he’s a nice guy — and a nice human — despite all that.
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