Minimalism and Thankfulness

 

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”

 

-        Frank A. Clark

 

 

 

Minimalism is so much easier to achieve and maintain if you are truly thankful for what you already have. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget just how truly blessed we are to have such an abundance. In the western world, our luxuries are commonplace and our delicacies are ordinary. It is so rare to find even one person who can honestly say that they can go an entire day without complaining about something. We are indeed spoiled rotten! Let’s take a quick look at several personality types that reflect this dynamic between minimalism and thankfulness: searchers, hoarders and organizers.

 

 

 

Searchers

 

 

So, what does thankfulness have to do with minimalism? It’s almost a symbiotic relationship: those who tend to have a problem with minimalist concepts are those who take life for granted and are never truly thankful for anything! These “searchers” feel as though they can never get enough. The “searcher” mentality describes an insatiable personality who typically craves the latest and greatest electronics, fashion, jewelry and any other material possessions of great monetary value. While there’s nothing wrong with owning quality items, the problem lies when people use their purchases to try and fill a void inside of them that can never be truly satisfied by any material possessions. They begin to see their own sense of self-worth based, at least in part, on the value of the items they possess. To break free of a “searcher” mentality, you must discover your value as intrinsic as the uniqueness of your personality. Realize what it is that you bring to the table and the revelation that you are whole and “enough” all by yourself. At some point, you do not own your possessions, but it is those possessions that actually begin to own you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoarders

 

 

 

There are those who grew up poor or who were raised by someone who grew up poor. Occasionally, when this happens, these people are taught from a very young age to never throw anything away “just in case you need it later.” Other times, people develop an unusually strong emotional attachment to an item that is a trigger for a fond memory, was owned by someone they loved or reminds them of days gone by. These emotional attachments to material possessions cause these “hoarders” to lose the will to relinquish these items no matter the circumstances or the cost. Indirectly, these too are related to thankfulness. The person who grew up poor may not be thankful for any amount of items they receive because, deep down, they believe that no amount of belongings will ever be sufficient in a time of need. Emotional attachments to items indicate a lack of thankfulness for the memory itself; that somehow the memory alone is insufficient to retain the feelings once shared with another.

 

 

 

In cases of collections of random items, knick knacks or figurines, let the one represent the many. You may not need seventeen crystal angels watching over your mantle at home! Perhaps, if you choose one or two of your favorites among the collection and donate the rest you can truly appreciate the craftsmanship and quality of the remaining items far more than you would for a gigantic pile of them. Try it out on some of your larger collections and see if you do not indeed feel more thankful for the remaining items than you previously had before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organizers

 

 

 

Another personality type I come across more often than not is the person who does not know the difference between de-cluttering and minimalism. While it’s true that these concepts are somewhat related, they are definitely not interchangeable. A living space can be completely de-cluttered and not even a tiny bit minimalist. Minimalism is the concept or focus on having fewer items of higher quality that bring joy to your life and increase the appreciation for the fewer items that you ultimately intend to keep. Conversely, de-cluttering is the process by which some items are removed and everything else has a place, drawer, or closet to lodge itself until you intend to take it out for use again. For instance, minimalism would choose to donate fifteen of your seventeen angel figurines and bask in the joy of appreciating the two high quality ones that you chose to keep. In de-cluttering, one might remove those fifteen angel figurines and buy an expensive closet organizer system to store them inside. The difference is in what and how much you possess, not simply in appearances alone! If you do not think that this is a huge difference, then feel free to talk to anyone who moved recently and had to pack their own belongings.

The reasons for a lack of thankfulness from the organizer personality are not dissimilar to the hoarder. While the organizer’s house likely looks much nicer, it may very well be that both the hoarder and organizer personalities have the same problem: a lack of satisfaction. If the organizer personality were thankful for their belongings, then they would use and display them, would they not? Instead, under the guise of being organized, they hide their items away in a closet only to buy more material possessions the next time that there is a sale. There is a certain joy in having fewer possessions and enjoying each one that a closet full of shoes cannot even compare.