There’s a famous Zen story that goes:

A monk told Joshu, “I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.”
Joshu asked, “Have you eaten your rice porridge?
The monk replied, “I have eaten.”
Joshu said, “Then you had better wash your bowl.”
At that moment the monk was enlightened.

I’m not going to try to explain that story, as I am far from enlightened enough to understand it. Instead, I’d like to focus the wonderful simplicity of that advice:

Have you eaten your rice porridge? Then you had better wash your bowl.

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We all have desires – it’s part of the human condition.

We want to be loved, to have friends, to experience joy, to have security.

But a desire for things is not as natural as we’re often led to believe. Sure, we all have desires for things: nice cars, nice clothes, nice houses, cool computers and iPhones, beautiful furniture and notebooks and shoes and jewelry and bags and bikes and on and on.

But these desires are manufactured in us, by advertising and marketing. They play on our natural instincts: for hoarding (security), for the pleasures of food and drugs and sex (desire for joy), for fitting in with clothes and bikes and gadgets (desire for friends), and so on.

Desires like these lead to all kinds of problems — in fact, all the problems of modern society. They are rooted in the immense power of corporations in our society, and their drive for massive profits. Problems result that include obesity and related diseases, massive consumer debt, shallow consumerism, overwork (to make money for all these things), lack of true human connection, and more.

And while desires are perfectly natural and unavoidable, if we can learn to let go of the manufactured desires, we’ll start to free ourselves from the chains of consumerism.

Start to become aware of these desires – recognize their signs in you. Pause before acting on them. Take deep breaths, go for a walk, get some perspective. You don’t really need more things, and buying is not the answer. Make do without and find happiness without more stuff.

Let the desire go, and feel the lightness, the freedom. Become liberated from desires, one at a time (not forever, but for the moment). You’ll love it.

Less can come in many forms. You can have fewer things, you can do fewer things, you can use fewer things, you can focus on fewer things.

But less isn’t just fewer: it can also be smaller.

Small is often downplayed in this world of “bigger means better”. But small is beautiful, and often better.

• Smaller banks aren’t “too big to fail”, requiring bailouts when they’re mismanaged, and yet they make very important community loans.
• Smaller teams are more nimble, can adapt to changing environments faster, don’t require as much management or communication overhead, can work cheaply and from anywhere.
• Smaller cars use less gas, are more maneuverable, cause fewer deaths, use fewer resources.
• Smaller homes require less heating, less cleaning, less maintenance, force you to simplify, are cozier.
• Smaller programs use fewer computer resources, take up less computer power and thus help the environment, work faster, get the job done with a minimum of fuss.
• Smaller suitcases (such as a small backpack) are easier to carry around, fit easier in overhead compartments, don’t require you to check luggage and worry about luggage not getting to the right destination, are easier to pack and unpack.
• Smaller websites (in terms of file sizes) are easier to load, faster, more responsive.
• Smaller companies are also more responsive, less expensive, hungrier, more focused.
• Smaller people are often faster, more nimble, humbler, take up fewer resources, and are very very beautiful (my wife is an example).
• Haikus pack a lot of punch into three tiny lines.
• Smaller posts don’t take as much time to write or read, which is good for a lazy blogger. And a busy reader.

Small is beautiful. Aim for smaller when it makes sense, and enjoy the wonder that ensues.

Many of us are slaves to the news, to the need to keep updated with what’s happening in the world, in our business niche, with our friends.

We are info junkies in some way: we watch TV news all the time, or entertainment news, or keep up with lots of blogs, or our RSS feed reader, or Twitter, or Digg or Delicious, or email, or one of the many news aggregator sites.

It consumes much of our day, and creates a kind of anxiety we’re barely aware of, this need to keep up.

What is this need based on? Why can’t we get free of it?

Actually, we can get free. I’ve done it in my life, to a large extent. Let’s examine the two questions.

What is this need based on?
In short: fear.

If we really think about it, we’re not gaining much by keeping up with all this info. How is it adding to our lives? How is it helping us to create, to live happy lives, to do what’s most important to us, to spend time with our loved ones? If anything, it takes away from these things.

Let me repeat that point: this obsession with keeping up with information takes away from the things that are most important to us.

But we try to keep up because we’re afraid:

• we might miss something important, and seem ignorant
• we might miss out on an opportunity
• we might not see something bad that we need to respond to
• something bad might happen to us if we aren’t informed

These fears seem reasonable, until we test them. Then we can see that they’re not really grounded in anything other than societal norms, and a “need” created by media corporations and similar companies. Read more »

Some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about minimalism and living the minimalist life, for those new to the concept.

Q: Why be a minimalist?

A: It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value.

Q: Isn’t minimalism boring or too sparse, with nothing in your life?

A: This is a misconception about minimalism — that it’s necessarily monk-like, empty, boring, sterile. Not at all. Well, it can be, if you go in that direction, but I don’t advocate that flavor of minimalism. Instead, we are clearing away all but the most essential things — to make room for that which gives us the most joy. Clear away the distractions so we can create something incredible. Clear away all the obligations so we can spend time with loved ones. Clear away the noise so we can concentrate on inner peace, on spirituality (if we wish), on our thinking. As a result, there is more happiness, peace, and joy, because we’ve made room for these things.

Q: What is minimalist living?

A: It’s simply getting rid of things you do not use or need, leaving an uncluttered, simple environment and an uncluttered, simple life. It’s living without an obsession with material things or an obsession with doing everything and doing too much. It’s using simple tools, having a simple wardrobe, carrying little and living lightly.
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