Living with less / garroting vapid consumerism

What a loser that hipster-writer is. He had all this ZOMG AMAEZBALLS cool stuff in an awesome Seattle McMansion and cleared it out to live in some tiny, bare studio apartment. And totally un-American. Think how much worse our already terrible economy would be if we Americans stopped buying useless stuff we don't really need. And his site is called treehugger.com. 'Nuff said. Now excuse me as I have to pre-order HiFiMan's I-am-sure-it-is-totally-awesome $9,999 headphones that I know I absolutely cannot live without even though I haven' heard it yet.

 

fwiw: I wonder if the writer would say the same thing if he had no access to a digital library of music, books or media. The size of the space we live in doesn't really equate to the amount of our possessions anymore. Its easier to look spartan than ever before. Now, ditch the phone and all the subscriptions: then we have an interesting conversation.

 

Probably not.

Personally, I am always feeling like we have too much stuff in our place (in a literal physical/space constraint sense, not materialistically), but as apartment dwellers my family actually lives pretty modestly in terms of accumulated "things". Given space constraints there is simply no choice and I always marvel how much personal property our friends/family with houses have. Not to say we would be any different if we had more space but apartment-living forces us to make choices and we are continually purging and donating things that are still usable when we can. Digital music has certainly freed up space as well.

 

My house is relatively clear and tidy now. It used to look as if a flood had hit it ...before a flood hit it.

I suppose I should right a book about it. Might get enough money to buy all that useless stuff again.

Would, too.

 

I grew up in a family that worked on a tight budget. My parents taught me about money because they wanted me to be aware of what it can do and cannot do.

I learnt one lesson that to this day keeps me on my feet. It is very simple: when you have something that is good do not waste it; appreciate it.

Rich or poor, when you waste the good things you have f**k you. Abundance or minimalism, not relevant. What matters is your attitude.

 

I'm all about minimalism. It's something I tend to fail at most of the time, but it's a philosophy I can get behind.

And, I struggle with it when it comes to audio gear. Relative to a lot of the people around here, my gear is pretty paltry, low-level stuff. But, to your average Joe on the street, I've thrown so much money down the drain in order to get a little better bass or slightly better instrument separation, etc.

I don't lay guilt trips on people for investing in their hobbies. For me, music and audio is a path to sanity. I'm an extreme introvert, so the time listening to headphones is much needed personal space and it helps give me the energy needed to get through the day and not burnout. So, it's a worthy investment, I think.

But, when is enough enough? You have to find contentment somewhere. At what point does it stop being about my own relaxation and enjoyment and more about gear lust?

I feel like I've finally hit my balance, but then I've thought that before...

 

Bah, I am 2nd in line for the Sennheiser $100K HP

 

Thad, I have a bunch of stuff I want to sell you......write that book quickly

 

My upbringing confronted me with visions on living life to the fullest, from hermit to prostitute. If you want that minimalist life, say no to many things.

The easiest way to minimise having possessions? Travel the earth and only take what you need to survive...

 

I can't afford to buy a car, but I am buying one. Definitely no hifi spending for me over next twelve months or so.

As to my spending over the past couple of years: I remain very glad indeed that I bought a pair of HD600s, but I am not really sorry that dreams on the amplification/DAC/speaker fronts failed to materialise. The sound entering my ears may be good or indifferent, but it is certainly not bad. I'll live with that.

As to the general, non-audio, clutter. If a person likes their clutter, then why not? Who cares if it reveals a brain that is less than pristine in clarity and orderliness?

I used to look at that LIfehacker site, as some of the stuff was actually practical and useful, but all this save-thirty-seconds-making-the-bed (I save more by not making it) and how-to-organise-your-socks stuff is just crazy. It's more than crazy: it's dangerous. The stuff I used to see on that site could tip a person with OCD tendencies over the edge. A friend of mine went from ironing her socks and worrying if they got creased again when she rolled them up (which she could laugh about) to requiring serious mental-health treatment (no laughing matter at all).

I know I can live without my clutter. I spent six months in an almost-bare-walls flat when I first set up home in India. Life was fine. I imported a container full of stuff, and life went on being fine. Either way is fine, but given a choice, my choice is clutter!

I hate it when I think of something I need, and then think, "I used to have one of those!" Inevitably it happens, because I do not still have everything I acquired over the past 60 days, let alone years. If I could magic it all back into existence, I probably would, even if only to take a new, differently-informed view of what I should and shouldn't have thrown away. When I do have a scourge, I tend to overcompensate, and be a bit ruthless.

 

What I've always found interesting is how short and fleeting that excitement/happiness is which is derived from buying something, yet how powerful the compulsion can be. Even experience of the fleeting nature of satisfaction doesn't neccesarily seem to dull the power of that compulsion. Maybe it does eventually. I hope so.

It seems to happen (at least for me) when the idea of owning something new attaches itself to a more powerful and unconcious idea: that "happiness", "completeness", or mending something that is broken - or that we perceive to be broken - lies outside of ourselves. As Purrin has said many times here: desire is endless.

Then there's just simply and consciously enjoying what life has to offer - whether that be material or not.

I Just bought some new capacitors.

 

@MoatsArt I agree that the happiness issue can really derail things.

You can extend this to relationships. People expect their partners to "make them happy". When that stops happening, they assume that something is broken and they just aren't "in love" anymore. Then they move on to the next shiny thing.

"Happiness" as such has to come from a different source. Shiny, pretty things are fleeting.

 

This is after you quit the Republican race in S. Carolina right ? ....sorry, could not resist

 

Pleasure versus happiness... former is fleeting indeed...