By "affluent," I don't mean the homes of people like Bill Gates or the CEO of Citigroup. I'm talking about those I would consider to be in an economic level above mine. I'm not sure what you would specifically call it....probably because I'm not really sure where I fit into the overall scale. As someone who is self employed, there are times I might feel flush and others when I feel that I'm not much better off than the average sales clerk at K-Mart. Such is the nature of working for oneself. The lives of the very top class are so out of line with most people's reality that I can't really have any meaningful discussion about them. Their lives are dominated by numbers I can't wrap my mind around.
Meeting with people in the "next level up" is always interesting because it is easy to see myself existing in that sort of life. IF something had been a bit different...if I had chosen a different career in a different place at perhaps a different time, it might be me.
Characteristic of the "next level up" is, of course, a larger home and perhaps a spare one somewhere else... both well appointed in more exclusive neighborhoods. With bigger homes comes more stuff. Expensive cars, a boat, custom furniture, a fridge in every room. Things. Gadgets. Lots of them.
My mind often goes through the motions. "Wow...nice. That media room would be great to have. Oh, and the Porsche... Maybe if I....... If I had only gone through with my fleeting thoughts about law school....Maybe I should have stayed with that old bat shit crazy girlfriend because her parents were loaded...." Despite being what I consider to be a minimalist...existing with and being happy with just enough...sometimes I just WANT because I can picture how cool it might be to live in that huge house or lounge around on that boat in an expensive bathrobe without a worry about utility bills or property taxes.. Don't we all? I know it would be cool.... until I got used to it. Then it would just be something else I spent a lot of money on and didn't use very often. Knowing that doesn't stop the desire. I just try to recognize what is driving it.
What I see is what marketers portray. Smiling people next to in-ground pools landscaped with exotic tropical greenery, ruggedly good looking men laughing with statuesque women while driving expensive, leather scented sports cars..... People want that. They just do. We're taught to think products and things can make us into those smiling people.
While I'm sure there are plenty of affluent people who are extremely happy with their lives, a good many I meet don't seem to be. Often I sense that their lives are complicated. The money they earn and the possessions they have purchased with it have served to make things less simple. The want of money can make us seek out a vocation not for the love of it, but for the superior levels of income it provides. Is work fulfilling? If it sucks, do the things purchased with the money make it all better? Does it all create more pressure, more stress? Some problems are completely independent of the size of our pile of stuff. Relationship issues....problems with the kids, coworkers, lawsuits, the IRS, health issues... Big screen TV's and a well appointed pool house can't help with any of it.
So, my question is: Can one be truly minimalist, if one still occasionally wants? Is true minimalism achieved only when the mind is completely unaffected by the conspicuous consumption of someone who can easily afford to do so? I'm not talking minimalism in the completely aesthetic sense, but in an overall sense. After all, I've seen plenty of "minimalist" flats in Architectural Digest. A million dollar flat, glossy white, overlooking a big city with one sinuous and rather uncomfortable looking $20,000 lounger in the corner. I'm not talking about that.
Could it be said that in some ways, is minimalism a borne out of lack of income? Is it a way to live a happier, lighter, less stressful life without requiring things or endless supplies of cash? If someone is lucky enough to be born with a huge trust fund, is it less likely he/she will embrace minimalism? I ask these questions often and never seem to have a good answer. My guess is...minimalism is an idea that can be embraced in varying degrees. My guess is that wanting is OK as long as we understand why and don't act on the impulses. I am truly happy with what I have and relish the thought of enjoying my life with less junk weighing me down. I can fantasize, can't I? Might there be vegans who crave a steak but don't eat one? One is no less vegan for wanting to tear into a juicy grilled Porterhouse...as long as the steak is never eaten. And so it goes with minimalism.
I like living with less even though a fridge in every room would be pretty darn neat.
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| C'mon. How could this not be great...for a little while. |
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