Earlier, the market was a part of the community. Now, it appears that the community is a section of the market. Every day we are bombarded with a massive blast of advertising telling us how we should dress, eat, sleep, live, or breathe. It appears that our lives have no more essence than a factor that fuels the growing market.
We earn and spend and earn again, and it never seems to end. It feels like as a Whirlpool of requirements. And still, there is no spark of joy, no peace, and no contentment. The requirements are like fire. The more you fulfill them, the more they grow in size, and intensity.
A few years back, I had a very fortunate experience of extreme frustration. I wanted to get out of this endless cycle of earning and spending. I wanted to give up my MNC job because it made me feel sick. Life looked meaningless.
I felt that my company uses human beings as honey bees. We deceive them with a promise of happiness, safety, and peace and take away their hard earned money. This thought is especially true in the case of pharmaceutical companies.
The Trap
Trap 1
I wanted to get out of this system. But it is a great trap. My job had a great package, excellent salary, and other perks. What will everyone say? my relatives and acquaintances will think that I am a loser. But after few months, I felt that these people do not matter that much. Why should I live my life for them, and not for me?
Trap 2
I told myself that I would not be able to live a good lifestyle if I leave this job. But, after a few months, I felt that I would rather have a simpler lifestyle than stay stuck in a sickening job.
Trap 3
Then I told myself that I might not be able to maintain even a mediocre lifestyle. What if there is some accident or other kind of financial problems? I told myself that I might not be able to provide for my family and me, if some unforeseen calamity were to strike me, so probably I should continue the job for some more time. I was so scared that I thought about the possibility of eating raw herbs (which is a very healthy practice, according to Ayurveda).
After few months, I started exploring cheaper alternatives to everything. And to my great surprise. I found that cheaper things are essentials. And you can have a much simpler and meaningful life when you align yourself with the essentials.
Trap 4
In the end, I even reflected on the possibility of even dying of starvation. However, after a few months, I thought that I would rather die of starvation then work here. And this reflection was a spring of Liberation for me.
Liberation
Once you are ready for the most dreaded; you can take up any task, make any change in your world. The initial frustration was like a gestation pain that helped me to be born in the world of minimalism.
So I left my job and frantically started exploring other earning options. This experience taught me one thing – when you are frantic, then nothing comes to you! And because nothing came to me, I looked inwards and focused on minimizing my expenditure instead of trying to earn more.
The light of wisdom dawns on you when you are ready. Or, from another perspective, you can see the dawn that has been there all along once you develop the vision for it.
I saw a documentary on minimalism, which actually changed my life. It helped me to see that what I am trying to do is not unreasonable or impractical. Lots of people around the world are already deep into what I am trying to achieve. And it made me very confident about my approach.
After that, I experimented with Ayurvedic minimalism and found that all our needs can be met without any expense at all. And I want to share my experience so that we together can stop the menace of industry giants trying to control our lives.
In this series, I am aiming to provide information on two fronts –
Minimalist Ayurvedic Lifestyle
Minimalist Ayurvedic Treatment
I will keep adding more information to make them a comprehensive user manual for everyone who wants to live a healthy and medicine-free minimalist life.
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