nate-lewis.com/blog

Actually accepted back on June 13th or so. Just figured I would share — absolutely thrilled, to be honest.

I received one for my 29th birthday.

From Becoming Minimalist:

via 10 Reasons Why Minimalism is Growing [a.k.a. 10 Reasons You Should Adopt the Lifestyle].

10 Reasons Why The Minimalist Movement is Growing.

1. Worldwide Financial Turmoil - Rising unemployment, stagnant wages, and falling stock prices have forced families and individuals to reevaluate their purchases. Many have begun living on tighter budgets. As a result, many consumers are choosing to identify the difference between essential and nonessential purchases.
2. Environmental Concern – Many people are choosing to live a minimalist life out of concern for the environment. They understand that less consumption equals less use of the earth’s natural resources. And they are choosing to make a difference rather than stand idly by on the sidelines.
3. High Levels of Personal Debt - After years and years of living beyond our means, people are beginning to get the picture. Many are wisely choosing to get out from under the crushing weight of debt. The wide-spread popularity of Dave Ramsey and Adam Baker is proof of that growing trend. And as a means to reach that end, people are choosing to buy less and save more. It is a trend that hopefully continues.
4. Increased Global Social Awareness - Injustice, poverty, and malnutrition have always existed. But as new technology has made the world smaller by making global images/news more accessible, our awareness of the disparity has increased. Some are responding to the call and using their finances to make a difference on a global scale by feeding the hungry, providing clean drinking water, fighting back epidemics, and speaking up for the voiceless wherever it is needed.
5. Minimalist Art / Modern Aesthetics - Good art enters the soul and makes new ideas plausible. The term “minimalist art” (first used in 1929) experienced its major growth during the 1960’s and 1970’s when stripping art down to its fundamental features began showing up in painting/sculpting/music. Soon, it transcended into design and architecture and began to define the term: modern design. As a result, it has entered our soul and made the idea of minimalist principles plausible as a lifestyle as well.
6. Personal Computing Advances – Personal computing advances have made minimalism far easier than ever before. Today, computers replace the need for cd’s, dvd’s, paper files, photo albums, calendars, calculator, books, phone books, notebooks, newspapers, etc. The inherent necessity of keeping these physical items in our home is a thing of the past. Thank goodness.
7. The Benefits are Desired Today More than Ever – As our world continues to grow in complexity, there is far greater personal demand for many of the benefits that minimalism offers. Minimalism offers a life with less stress, less distraction, more freedom, and more time. All things that people today are desperately searching for more than ever.
8. More Online Presence – Proponents of the minimalist lifestyle are making it more accessible and attractive to others by writing about their experiences online. Bloggers such as Leo Babauta, Dave Bruno,Colin Wright and Tammy Strobel are making it easier than ever to find advice, encouragement, and inspiration for the minimalist lifestyle.
9. New Lifestyles Are Available Like Never Before - The Internet is making new lifestyles possible. No longer do people have to be tied down to a typical 9-5 job. Everett Bogue quit his job so that he could live and work from anywhere. Chris Guillebeau will teach anyone to start their own small business. Countless others are choosing to make their living online. And many of them are choosing minimalism to make these lifestyle choices more accessible. After all, traveling the world becomes much easier when all of your belongings fit into a backpack.
10. Realization That There’s More to Life Than Possessions – Consumerism is alive and well. Advertisers continue to tell us that our next purchase will bring us satisfaction and people continue to believe it. But there is a growing trend of thoughtful people who are beginning to see through the falsehood and challenge this claim. They have tried finding happiness through possessions during the world’s latest economic boom… and have been left unfulfilled. As a result, they are beginning to seek happiness and fulfillment in other places: relationships, social causes, and significance.

For my next going away email, whenever I have to write it:

And so I realized that I had a responsibility to more than just me, and that I was going to have to change. You know, we can do it. I was going to have to change. And I was afraid to change, because I was so used to the guy who only just walked. I was so used to that person that I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t know who I would be if I changed. But I know I needed to. I know I needed to change, because it would be the only way that I could be here today. And I know that a lot of times we find ourselves in this wonderful place where we’ve gotten to, but there’s another place for us to go. And we kind of have to leave behind the security of who we’ve become, and go to the place of who we are becoming. And so, I want to encourage you to go to that next place, to let yourself out of any prison that you might find yourself in, as comfortable as it may be, because we have to do something now.

From this absolutely amazing TED talk.