The Minimalists are a pair of prolific, eloquent writers and audio system named Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Over the previous decade, they’ve develop into identified for his or her books and podcasts on tips on how to simplify life, declutter belongings, and use time meaningfully. A documentary movie known as “Minimalism” (reviewed right here on Treehugger) launched much more folks to their life-style, and one other e book is due for publication this 12 months.
Now The Minimalists have one other undertaking within the works – a YouTube video collection known as “Let’s Discuss About Much less.” To date it has 5 episodes, starting from two to 4 minutes in size. Every is a spoken presentation of an essay written by Milburn, and every addresses a distinct drawback with our consumerist tradition and the way it may be remedied by means of the lens of minimalism.
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The primary episode examines the phrase “minimalism” itself. “Minimalism is the factor that will get us previous the issues,” Milburn begins, then explains that every particular person could make it their very own. “It isn’t the label that issues anyway. It is the intention and the actions behind minimalism that make it price pursuing.” This can be a theme I’ve written about earlier than right here on Treehugger, that minimalism is not all or nothing and should not scare folks off.
“Minimalism will not be black and white – I imply that actually and metaphorically – and folks ought to be at liberty to interpret it as they please, primarily based on their private pursuits and aesthetic. For instance, an individual ought to be capable of establish as a minimalist whereas dwelling in a brightly coloured area, adorned with a handful of funky bohemian furnishings.”
The second episode delves into the contentious matter of social media and the way simply we get sucked into senseless scrolling. It is unimaginable to get “caught up,” as a brand new Instagram function says. As a substitute, as Milburn places it cleverly, “The one approach to keep away from getting caught up on the internet is to keep away from getting caught up in the net.” Keep in mind all the time that, irrespective of how arduous we strive, we’ll by no means attain the tip of the Web.
The third video addresses expertise and the highly effective device it’s, however one we should use fastidiously and for constructive functions. All instruments could cause each hurt and good, so it is as much as us to make sure we’re utilizing them for the latter.
Subsequent up is a thought-provoking evaluation of the idea of busyness. This, Milburn explains, differs from “being targeted”; though each states could seem related, they’ve very completely different outcomes. He quotes Thoreau, who mentioned, “It isn’t sufficient to be busy; the query is, what are we busy about?”
Lastly, a dialogue of the financial system, which challenges probably the most commonly-heard argument in opposition to minimalism – the notion that, if everybody practiced minimalism, the monetary system would collapse and we would all be doomed. Milburn argues in response, “Consumption is not the issue; consumerism is the issue.” Consumerism is unfocused, misguided, and seductive, and it promotes shopping for way over what’s required to cowl one’s fundamental wants. Minimalists, against this, buy possessions fastidiously, asking vital questions on an merchandise’s worth. They help native companies, which is a vital element of supporting the financial system, therefore the concluding line: “Maybe the easiest way to stimulate the financial system is to begin specializing in the group.”
The movies are brief and simply digestible. They provide the psychological reset that so many individuals crave in a extremely accessible format. After all, sitting right down to learn one in all The Minimalists’ acclaimed books can be an much more efficient approach to soak up their message, however this video collection could be a good introduction to their work. When you decide to banishing busyness and cease the scrolling, then you definitely’ll have a lot extra time to take a seat and browse the books of their entirety!