Life is an endless process from enjoying order to encountering chaos. We definitely don’t have enough time to understand the order of life (although what is order and whether there is one at all). Jordan Peterson
urged to clean up your room first.
People perceive minimalism superficially - get rid of the unnecessary, be content with little. Beautiful and fashionable minimalist interiors promise happiness, but there is no happiness without meaning. It’s not the empty desk that’s important, it’s the path to the empty, clean desk. You can throw everything off your desk but still be unhappy and continue to feel tired and panicky.
We can no longer imagine ourselves without these things. They help us every day and make life more interesting. At the same time, we are burdened by lack of focus and the need for maintenance. We live and don’t think about it, but it’s not so fun anymore and we feel tired.
Yes, we will have to live with all this!
We won’t be able to refuse this. But we have to figure out what is needed and what is not. You can start right now, or tomorrow. But smart and attentive people will definitely have to figure it out. The rest both swam and will float with the flow, taking every day for granted.
If we create things, then we need to be even more careful. Our future is not about governments and corporations, but about what surrounds us every day. This affects us more than elections, wars and disasters.
Road sign in Minsk. Yakub Kolas Square. 2024.
You can go into the forest - return to your roots, giving up everything overnight. Those who understand the origins will see the ugliness of the modern world. It’s bad if such departure is just a manifestation of cowardice.
This is our world. We have the power to make it the way we need it. All we have to do is understand ourselves what we really need and simply create it, leave it or throw it away.
Since ancient times, people have tried to illuminate their lives as much as possible, because darkness is frightening and arouses exploratory and conquering interest. But today this leads to light pollution 1 of cities. And if we understand light not literally, then it is the desire to “illuminate” as much as possible around us - more information, more “useful” surfaces and screens, more contacts with people per unit of time. Sounds good, but it has a terrible effect on us every day - defocus, laziness and loss of interest, because there is so much around us right now.
You need to be able to turn off everything for yourself, and then gradually return only what is truly significant. Here is your true interest right now and nothing else exists at all - the candle flame. At this moment, the surrounding emptiness creates space for perception of the most important thing. After a while, when your eyes get used to it, you begin to distinguish the details of the space, you will see more context, more colors. The space will acquire more meaning, because it surrounds the object of your interest now.
For example, you are sitting opposite another person. You are calmly communicating. Pay attention only to this moment. Turn off and remove your smartphone from the table. Instead of a noisy and crowded cafe, sit on a bench in the evening park or in the kitchen with a cup of tea. The person opposite you is a candle flame - only its light is important now, only it illuminates the space.
This can be applied to the project you are working on, to information, to rest. It is not for nothing that people prefer a paper book instead of a digital one - nothing should distract attention, including the medium.