What is a Midlife Minimalist?
I’m sure that if you were to ask 100 people what a Midlife Minimalist is, you’d get 100 different answers. I’ll share my thoughts.
In my mind, a Midlife Minimalist is:
Too much? Too little? Or just righ?
Someone who is at a certain age (your number here) and forward thinking. A person who is ready or would like to be ready to make the rest of their life, the best of their life. One who understands this concept; as Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn so eloquently stated, “Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life. For there, lying upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the objective of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.” And that the mass of material things may fill the outside but they do not sufficiently nourish the inside.
I focus on 4 categories that need attention; material things, finances, body/mind and spirit.
Material things: Determine what is important, valuable and essential - keep it. Discard the rest. For us the goal was this: If we own it, you can see it. In other words if you come over to our house, we have and we use what you see. We have no offsite storage units, no closets full of clutter, no garage full of boxes… We have nice things, we just don’t have a lot of them. And if we don’t use it, we don’t have it. That was the plan. It works for us.
Take a hard and serious look at where you are financially and start setting goals. Of course it can be difficult and painful, but that’s just a sign that it needs to be done. Believe me, 5, 10, 15 years from now, you’ll be so glad you faced reality and made proper financial adjustments. It will change your life. Consider “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. If that’s not you, it could be.
As I write, we’re still in some form of lock down due to the pandemic. Health concerns are a high priority. As we age, actions we take, foods we do and don’t eat can have a positive impact on our energy level and how we feel. Eat well and exercise, it’s that simple (and that hard).
Please be aware that our minds can be as cluttered as our homes. Take space for quiet reflection and meditation. I’m not pushing a doctrine, just suggesting that the mind needs rest too and daily, quiet contemplation is a good place to start.
A Midlife Minimalist has a goal, a worthy goal of learning from the past and now taking specific action to embrace life and make the best of the future.
When I first began investigating this topic, I was put back by some extreme models. I imagined that our guests would be subject to card tables and chairs, one set of plates and we’d be dressed in the same black thing every day. That not us. We have a home, couches, colorful clothes, blue suede shoes, baseball gloves, soccer balls, TV’s and books. We didn’t join a monastic order (although I have a tremendous amount of respect for those that do), it’s just not us.
Our goal was simply to get our minds clear, our home and finances in order, eat right and exercise and apply a mindful spiritual practice that works for us. We wanted our home to be as it has been, a comfortable gathering place for friends and family. A place to share meals, create memories, build a rich life. We have stuff, but we’re minimalists.
It’s a doable and worthy goal and truly a lifestyle change that can change your life. We’ll be exploring more right here at this site.
JS
Increase the peace.