When I first came across the word "minimalism" it was in relation to the music of the brilliant Eric Satie (who has already been discussed on OFFBEAT a couple of years ago), and I was still a child - too young to understand the same term being used in any other context. Minimalism in music does not deal with Satie's own compositions, as such. Instead - it is used to define the music Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass and La Monte Young. However, all these composers have spoken about Satie's profound influence on their own work.
Anyway - I am not writing about minimalist music right now - thats for another day, another Offbeat program. I started thinking about minimalism as a lifestyle (even though that sounds utterly pretentious, bah) when I had to embrace it twice, in the last year. The first time, I had no choice, and I've written about this in an earlier rambling when talking about possessions. However, more recently, I've embraced it in a way I would have never thought possible even three or four months ago.
This time I'm not just talking about having to "up and leave" due to a health crisis, or something like that. This has nothing to do with "de-cluttering" one's life, or becoming a self-sacrificing "sadhu". This is something completely new, a desire to be free from material possessions, however precious and enriching, if they are a burden in any way or form. Let me explain without revealing too much of my soul: remember, the last time I wrote about having to reduce all the "stuff" I owned, including my piano, books, CDs (thankfully no furniture or heavy electronic equipment) , I said I had managed it somehow. What I failed to add was that I had reduced, yes, from say a house full of "stuff" (seriously, boxes, bin bags, crates, a whole van load) to maybe four boxes, and two suitcases worth of actual, material possessions. What was left over was stored for safe keeping with people. Since I had no roof over my head that I could call my own (but look on the bright side, no crippling rent every month), nor did I have any real idea of what I was going to do next, it seemed like the most viable option. The contents of these four boxes: mainly music books that I just could not part with, including nearly all my Bach concerti scores, my music teacher's copy of the Schnabel edition of Beethoven sonatas, my Bach/Gould/Bernstein LP, my Adrian Mole books, stuffed toys from my childhood, my first saree, and some CDs/photo albums. Now here's the bizarre thing: as the days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months...(yeah yeah get to the point my impatient subconscious says) and I was living literally, out of a small backpack, I realized that I was actually able to survive without all those things. Not just survive, but stay content. Needless to say, I spent alot of time in the library, but things were okay. And because I didn't have any great need to buy more things, I was focussed on trying to get better health wise (as in recover completely, not just deal with symptoms) without thinking about where next month's rent was going to come from - I admit, not having the option of social welfare is actually no bad thing, especially when it comes to being frugal/minimalist. So on one hand: hardly any money. On the other hand: even very little money goes a long way when one has no place to put "stuff" that one buys. And if you're a freak who has a third hand: it is possible to make music without money/stuff.
This time I'm not just talking about having to "up and leave" due to a health crisis, or something like that. This has nothing to do with "de-cluttering" one's life, or becoming a self-sacrificing "sadhu". This is something completely new, a desire to be free from material possessions, however precious and enriching, if they are a burden in any way or form. Let me explain without revealing too much of my soul: remember, the last time I wrote about having to reduce all the "stuff" I owned, including my piano, books, CDs (thankfully no furniture or heavy electronic equipment) , I said I had managed it somehow. What I failed to add was that I had reduced, yes, from say a house full of "stuff" (seriously, boxes, bin bags, crates, a whole van load) to maybe four boxes, and two suitcases worth of actual, material possessions. What was left over was stored for safe keeping with people. Since I had no roof over my head that I could call my own (but look on the bright side, no crippling rent every month), nor did I have any real idea of what I was going to do next, it seemed like the most viable option. The contents of these four boxes: mainly music books that I just could not part with, including nearly all my Bach concerti scores, my music teacher's copy of the Schnabel edition of Beethoven sonatas, my Bach/Gould/Bernstein LP, my Adrian Mole books, stuffed toys from my childhood, my first saree, and some CDs/photo albums. Now here's the bizarre thing: as the days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months...(yeah yeah get to the point my impatient subconscious says) and I was living literally, out of a small backpack, I realized that I was actually able to survive without all those things. Not just survive, but stay content. Needless to say, I spent alot of time in the library, but things were okay. And because I didn't have any great need to buy more things, I was focussed on trying to get better health wise (as in recover completely, not just deal with symptoms) without thinking about where next month's rent was going to come from - I admit, not having the option of social welfare is actually no bad thing, especially when it comes to being frugal/minimalist. So on one hand: hardly any money. On the other hand: even very little money goes a long way when one has no place to put "stuff" that one buys. And if you're a freak who has a third hand: it is possible to make music without money/stuff.
Only after the last tree has been cut down
Only after the last river has been poisoned
Only after the last fish has been caught
Only then will you find you cannot eat money
-- Cree prophecy
Only after the last river has been poisoned
Only after the last fish has been caught
Only then will you find you cannot eat money
-- Cree prophecy
I've seen how people live, particularly in the West. It's getting like that in cities in India too, and of course China has already succumbed to the greed that has the West ruined. The quest for a big house, and then beautiful, expensive furniture to put in the big house, and then a beautiful, expensive extension or fancy garden to add to the big house, and then the big car, and then the other big car to park next to the first big car. Now that's very well if you're truly happy with the big everything - but with all this comes the obsession to keep everything in immaculate condition. The worry that if the big house was broken into, or if a cat pees on your big, expensive sofa that your whole house and life is ruined. All you end up having is a big house with many, many things. Just like every other house on the street with the big houses. Buying, buying, buying, filling, accumulating - honestly, what is the point? The irony is that most houses of this sort LOOK minimalist - there is never any "obvious" clutter that's visible. Like if you do a search on google images for "minimalist living" those picture perfect living rooms come up!
In my case, I actually stopped enjoying all my music books once I owned so many that I could hardly keep track of which student had which book, or the time to sit down and read every book I ever owned. As someone who never even had a piano when growing up to be a concert pianist, I don't know when or how I too got sucked into collecting so much stuff. And I don't mean it in the same way as someone who is genuinely passionate about something and simply through their own interest or passion ends up owning quite a lot of say records, or DVDs or paintings. If you can get enjoyment from every single CD or DVD, or gaze for hours at the beautiful picture on your wall then fantastic! This is why there are some things I wont get rid of, because I use them constantly, and derive much pleasure from them.
So back to minimalism as a lifestyle choice. I hate these stupid generic words so much, I don't know why I even bother using them. Anyway - after much pondering (deep, deep, pondering, about the true meaning of life, just like all those pseudo-Buddhists!) I realized that I could be content with the same things in my one bag/backpack for the rest of my life. I hardly have any clothes or shoes, so it's not hard to fit everything you really, really want/need/care about into one bag. So by default, I am now a minimalist! The same things that appealed to me about going on trekking/hiking trips in India and Nepal as a teenager appeal to me now. I used to record my thoughts and impressions into a cheap little tape recorder and through my notebooks and diaries then, I do the same now (thank you, Dublin City FM for letting me do this no matter where I am in the world!!). I sleep in a sleeping bag a couple of nights a week, when I'm travelling. I do not really care about looking a certain way, or buying the 1203872543 things that will help me maintain a certain look or lifestyle. As for my records/CDs/books - for all the cribbing we (yes, I'm guilty of this too) do about how evil MP3s are as compared to vinyl, tapes, CDs - I'm beginning to realize that there are some advantages. The records I really, really cannot part with (1 LP and about 200 CDs, ha) fit into my backpack courtesy of a really big CD holder wallet. Anyway, I'm not about to start lecturing on Zen living (too late, too late, my subconscious says) - point is, you have to decide for yourself how you want to live each day. Freedom means different things to different people - for one person freedom may mean never having to work a 9 to 5 job again (not me). For another, it may mean being a bachelor for life (not me). For a third, it may mean a round the world trip - forever (sure). I don't know what freedom means to me (all this freedom stuff is making me think of that song from Team America - Freedom isn't free).
In my case, I actually stopped enjoying all my music books once I owned so many that I could hardly keep track of which student had which book, or the time to sit down and read every book I ever owned. As someone who never even had a piano when growing up to be a concert pianist, I don't know when or how I too got sucked into collecting so much stuff. And I don't mean it in the same way as someone who is genuinely passionate about something and simply through their own interest or passion ends up owning quite a lot of say records, or DVDs or paintings. If you can get enjoyment from every single CD or DVD, or gaze for hours at the beautiful picture on your wall then fantastic! This is why there are some things I wont get rid of, because I use them constantly, and derive much pleasure from them.
So back to minimalism as a lifestyle choice. I hate these stupid generic words so much, I don't know why I even bother using them. Anyway - after much pondering (deep, deep, pondering, about the true meaning of life, just like all those pseudo-Buddhists!) I realized that I could be content with the same things in my one bag/backpack for the rest of my life. I hardly have any clothes or shoes, so it's not hard to fit everything you really, really want/need/care about into one bag. So by default, I am now a minimalist! The same things that appealed to me about going on trekking/hiking trips in India and Nepal as a teenager appeal to me now. I used to record my thoughts and impressions into a cheap little tape recorder and through my notebooks and diaries then, I do the same now (thank you, Dublin City FM for letting me do this no matter where I am in the world!!). I sleep in a sleeping bag a couple of nights a week, when I'm travelling. I do not really care about looking a certain way, or buying the 1203872543 things that will help me maintain a certain look or lifestyle. As for my records/CDs/books - for all the cribbing we (yes, I'm guilty of this too) do about how evil MP3s are as compared to vinyl, tapes, CDs - I'm beginning to realize that there are some advantages. The records I really, really cannot part with (1 LP and about 200 CDs, ha) fit into my backpack courtesy of a really big CD holder wallet. Anyway, I'm not about to start lecturing on Zen living (too late, too late, my subconscious says) - point is, you have to decide for yourself how you want to live each day. Freedom means different things to different people - for one person freedom may mean never having to work a 9 to 5 job again (not me). For another, it may mean being a bachelor for life (not me). For a third, it may mean a round the world trip - forever (sure). I don't know what freedom means to me (all this freedom stuff is making me think of that song from Team America - Freedom isn't free).
Look at it this way - now, I use the library to type all my psychobabble that is written in my notebooks on to the blog. That way more people can read my crazy rants, ramblings and ponderous thoughts (and learn about Glenn Gould, music, helping animals etc). Now if I can just get back to the Nepal Himalayas, I'd embrace my vagrant status with renewed enthusiasm. One lives in hope.......!
