Commitment to Minimalism and Sustainability

I know these concepts are not important to everybody. They have become important to me, and I have developed some practices of my own that I apply in my personal life and to my organization work.

Minimalism is a modern concept, the term first being used in the 20’s. Before the industrial revolution most people had no choice but to be minimalist. Everything took time and effort to create. From the food we ate, to our shelter and furniture, right down to the threads in our underwear, everything was made by the efforts of a person!

In our current time, to have something made by one person is a rarity, and an expensive commodity. The availability of everything, all the time, has created a world of clutter.

But minimalism doesn’t have to be extreme. It lives on a spectrum, like so many things in our world. What if we pare down our belongings and practices to reflect what is truly valuable to us? What usually happens is we realize we need less than we think, we collect less, we have more time, money and energy for the important stuff.

Sustainability is simply the ability of us humans to coexist with the planet and its other inhabitants. Doesn’t that sound nice and simple? Turns out it’s not always easy, but what if we just try? Again, there is a spectrum!

Minimalism and sustainability are inextricably linked. In attending to one, we attend to the other.