I'm reminded of the tiny-home movement from the 00's, and how it evolved in our cultural zeitgeist. Early on, practitioners tried to cram as much as possible into the smallest amount of space; you'd see kitchen/dining/living/TV/office combo rooms. Over time it grew obvious that minimalism is less about the amount of space consumed and more about the human interface. For instance, a space that is easy to clean with limited visual noise would score higher on minimalism than those early little multi-use rooms even if 5-10x the size. Now, a minimalist home is all about how the person inhabits it, even if the structure itself is rather large and feature-rich.
The author seems to partially grasp this notion with a clear intent (focus, spontaneity). However, the emphasis on stuff seems notably anti-minimalist. I suspect the objects in the author's life could have an even smaller role than they do. Some 3/4 of that post was dedicated to the objects; what about walking, or attention, or connecting with locals... aren't these the real challenges/opportunities?
Take for example a mentor of mine who would travel to a new continent and craft a new material life: buying a van (old and used) in the tourism off-season, finding a cheap stove, gathering some padding and bedding, etc etc, continuously replacing and evolving his kit, never attached to any object, willing to forget about the whole thing, spending maximum time in nature and connecting with friends. You almost forgot about this guy's material life because his non-material life was so rich: gregarious, generous, present in nature, skilled in his pursuits. The kit was just a tool so that he could be in the places he wanted to be in, and not the other way around. If he were to blog about his lifestyle, he would probably highlight less the object he found and more the fact that he found it because he had his eyes wide open.
That's a lot of words to say that I believe this author could focus on the spirit of minimalism and drop some of its decorations. Minimalism is not black clothing and small backpacks, but rather a clarity of mind and simplicity in approach. I don't mean to be a total drag – I support and encourage this author.
The author seems to partially grasp this notion with a clear intent (focus, spontaneity). However, the emphasis on stuff seems notably anti-minimalist. I suspect the objects in the author's life could have an even smaller role than they do. Some 3/4 of that post was dedicated to the objects; what about walking, or attention, or connecting with locals... aren't these the real challenges/opportunities?
Take for example a mentor of mine who would travel to a new continent and craft a new material life: buying a van (old and used) in the tourism off-season, finding a cheap stove, gathering some padding and bedding, etc etc, continuously replacing and evolving his kit, never attached to any object, willing to forget about the whole thing, spending maximum time in nature and connecting with friends. You almost forgot about this guy's material life because his non-material life was so rich: gregarious, generous, present in nature, skilled in his pursuits. The kit was just a tool so that he could be in the places he wanted to be in, and not the other way around. If he were to blog about his lifestyle, he would probably highlight less the object he found and more the fact that he found it because he had his eyes wide open.
That's a lot of words to say that I believe this author could focus on the spirit of minimalism and drop some of its decorations. Minimalism is not black clothing and small backpacks, but rather a clarity of mind and simplicity in approach. I don't mean to be a total drag – I support and encourage this author.