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Minimalism & Wealth- Making What You Need Be What You Want

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Minimalism & Wealth- Making What You Need Be What You Want
              It seems odd that I would start a spiritual wealth quest blog with the topic of minimalism. The first important realization and liberation along the road to real wealth is that "things" do not equal wealth.  How many of us own things we never use, but that were bought because it seemed “cool" or was seen as a mark of "status"? These things- "stuff" in the common parlance- might feel good when they are purchased, but that doesn't mean it serves a purpose other than the temporary easing of a desire. That easing neither lasts, nor really works in the long term. True wealth is neither about collecting stuff, or having lots of things. Things, in this way, have to be evaluated not so much from the perspective of outside status, but the personal value that comes from their use and the joy that comes from true wealth.  Material goods have to be understood almost in the vein of conduits for personal joy.  Either a thing contributes to personal joy, or it merely takes up space.
              I am not arguing that having nice stuff is pointless, nor I am arguing for a monk like existence.  However,  the value of things have to be re-evaluated in line with personal values.
To this end let's ask a lot of hard questions together about the things we own. "Have I used the item in question within the last three months?  Have I used it within the last month? Do I have  a reason to use the thing within the next month?  Do I remember why I bought this item? Does using the item bring me a sense of joy or allow me to accomplish things I wish to accomplish?  Does it serve any purpose in my current life as it stands?  What changes would have to occur in my life for this item to used?  Am I willing to make those changes to make this item have value?  How do I feel about the item right now?  What are the costs associated with using this thing?  Does the costs justify the value?"
              Lets take for example, this laptop I am using right now to write this article. I own an Apple laptop, which is a status symbol in many ways.  I do use the laptop all the time- to communicate, write, even at times to watch movies.  However, the laptop requires power which costs resources, maintenance which costs time and experience or hiring people with that experience, and potentially repair costs. Now, I can admit to myself that Apples are way more expensive then PCs.  In fact, Apple is the computer of choice for a certain social class.  First, it's ok to admit that, and in fact, I am ok with that fact.  However, the choice to purchase that laptop was not wholly based upon it.  Is the laptop something I use?  Yes.  Does the laptop bring joy to me, yes.  Is it valuable in terms of the works I have produced on this laptop and in terms of personal enjoyment, yes.
              The personal value of the Apple laptop should not be the social standing that buying it produces, nor should it be the thrill that comes with satisfying the urge to belong to a social class that Apple has carefully crafted, but rather it should come from the personal value I have acquired through its use.  The same is true for many other products I have purchased- they do have value.  Unfortunately, many more things I personally own probably do not have any personal value anymore.  I bought them for little concern for anything but a quick thrill, and now they have very little personal value. 
              So there are two aspects that are related.  How to justify getting a thing and what to do with things that no longer have personal value?  Purchasing anything, even small items should be a conscious choice in line with one's personal bigger purpose. Aligning purchases to a bigger purpose has a lot of benefits.  First, stopping the purchase impulse, and making sure there is a purpose, means that generally speaking, the potential personal value of the purchase will be far greater.  Essentially, if you know something is in line with a purpose, chances are you will use it.  If followed, it also means that most people will purchase a lot less. If you can pause, and even ask all the above questions, you can even use those questions to decide whether or not it is worth it to get something.   A car is often a troublesome point.  A car is very useful, however is horribly expensive.  Do the expenses outweigh the value?  In making the decision, perhaps a person would also weigh ecological factors.  In New York city for instance, does a car justify its perceived personal value?  In Columbus, OH, which has a very substandard and poor public transportation system, perhaps the answer is different.  This is not to say one way or another that the decisions are good or bad, only that we can personally make that decision for each item.  As it turns out, doing things in line with a greater purpose implies having a purpose.  This as it turns out is a lot more difficult for many of us then it would seem (and that will be a future blog ).
              However, there is probably a lot of things, that do not seem to have personal value.  What to do with these things brings up a few interesting points.  Although it's not obvious, having stuff you do not need actually costs resources.  Think about it, could  you live in a smaller apartment if you had less things with no personal value?  That would mean an increase in available resources.  That line of thinking does not even cover maintenance costs (such as with cars and computers and clothing).  Would you have more space for that art project you wanted to paint yourself or similar project?  Even having goods, in some cases takes resources and the idea is to start to move to apply resources toward a purpose, towards a goal, or a vision. Of course, you could just throw the materials out.  This seems horribly wasteful from a wealth and resources perspective.  Allow me to suggest a few other options.
A)  Ebay, Craiglist, and other Classifieds
              Someone out there is buying, if your price and timetable is good.  Chances are people will buy something you are selling- though this might take a little work.  Converting those items back into money is indeed a good way to get rid of things that no longer have personal value.
B)  Give it to a friend who needs it
              It might seem odd, that after I said do not give throw away some of these goods, that I am saying give it to a friend.  Tactically giving something to a friend who is in need, strengthens that friendship.  It converts a thing that has no personal value at the time, to an applied social value.    If wealth is the pursuit of resources in line with Joy, the value of this gift could go through the roof.   From my personal experience, I know I had giving people furniture,  art pieces, and more.  They received enjoyment and function from items  I had given them.  Some of those people later, got me solid business, great stories, and even in other cities put me up for a few nights.
C) An Interesting way to Network
Perhaps you do not have a friend that needs the thing you have.  Take this interesting example
of a classified add
              “Free chair in exchange for a cup of coffee and an entertaining story”
              You never know, where it will lead just with that.  Again, a thing with little perceived personal value has potential social value.  We live in a society starved for connection and merely by providing an opportunity to connect with no other exception converts a thing to a potentially valuable social exchange.
So ask yourself, does having all that stuff make you happy, or are you already finding ways to minimize and use that culling process to feed into a bigger goal?
Andrieh Vitimus is a Asowege Houngan with the Roots Without End Society, a Usui Reiki Master Teacher, a licensed hypnotherapist, and a NLP practitioner.  Andrieh Vitimus is a spiritual counselor and life coach who employs a down to earth approach to life's problems while utilizing Spirit to assist with real life problem solving.  Andrieh's hands on approach puts the power back in your hands to transform your life into what you always dreamed it could be, through dedicated and sensible real world steps.  Check out http://www.andriehvitimus.com/contactandrieh for more information.
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