No Excess

A thought:

Owning too much stuff is a “net negative”. Better to own a few things than many things.

But then begs us the question:

What few things should I allow into my life?

Some thoughts:

  1. I haven’t really discovered a good definition of “high quality”or “great” goods yet. It seems the best definition is “luxury”— which I don’t necessarily like, because it evokes the moralistic judgement of “excess” and moral degeneracy.
  2. Desire to own but a few things— and I think it is good to agonize over your purchasing decisions. Take a very long time to decide whether to admit an item or thing into your life, and if you decide to get it— hold onto it steadfast.
  3. There is a massive hidden cost to ownership. It seems for the most part, ownership is a “net negative”. Ownership doesn’t scale well. This means, the more stuff that you own, the more stuff that owns you!
  4. The point of life isn’t to compete and see who can collect or obtain the most items or toys. Better to own a few rare, unique, and powerful tools than to own lots of mediocre or common items.
  5. To simply purchase an item seems too easy, basic, and ignoble. Better to customize, bespoke, or to create your own things (with the assistance of an artisan).
  6. Strive to strip the superfluous from your life. Strive to achieve the maximum effectiveness, the maximum efficiency, with doing the maximum with the least amount of excess of waste. Anti-muda (waste) thinking.