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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.