OneBagger, VanDwellers

This holiday season, eschew the norms of hyper capitalism and think again.

When I was younger, maybe about five years ago, I was all for spending money to accumulate "stuff". You name it, I probably wanted it. At first it was cool useful stuff, cameras, computers, cellphones, and the works. Then I went to college, and  through the co-op program, I got a series of internships. During the first one, a ton of my useful wants was fulfilled. The next thing that happened was collectibles. It wasn't a matter of was any of it useful, it was the fact that this collectible, limited edition (of 500) bust of Keanu Reeves as Neo from the Matrix was on sale for only $20. It was that if I was going to have a Pop! figure of Captain Picard, I might as well have the entire bridge crew. It was frivolous purchases like that which eventually made me realize that none of the things I bought were needed. It was an experience.

From then on, I've really just stopped buying anything at all. None of the newer things that I bought changed my life in any way. Aside from that initial feeling of satisfaction, nothing else came from that. It might be that if you look around your surroundings, there's a ton of things that are just there and don't add anything to your life. Yes, maybe that abstract art piece on the wall adds something to your life, but then again, without it, would your life be any different?

I'm not advocating a path where you abandon all material possessions, just one that says, the next time you want to go to Crate&Barrel for something new to put on your dining room table, stop.

There's a movement of minimalists, who advocate the abandonment of all non essential belongings. Often times, these are people who do so because they're going to some foreign country for an extended amount of time. There are others who do so because they feel like paying rent is not for them. Some of these go so far as to live out of a van, or even have all their belongings be able to fit in one bag.

Though I for one, would not prescribe myself the nomadic lifestyle, there is something zen about the intentions of these minimalists that make their philosophy one that attracts my attention.