Finding happiness by reducing possessions
Published on: Saturday, November 10, 2018
SHARJAH (United Arab Emirates): There was a time when the Japanese apartment of Fumio Sasaki (pic) was cluttered with so many things that he had only space to sleep.That's when he realised that he was surrounding himself with things that he doesn't really need. This included a collection of some 1,000 books and magazines.Thus began a life-transforming process of becoming a minimalist, partly inspired by a movement that started in the US in 2008.
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Fumio started his quest to become a minimalist five years ago, when he realised that happiness was not about acquiring wealth or material possessions."Why people want material things or higher income is because they want to compare with others," Fumio told an audience at the ongoing 37th Sharjah International Book Fair."The more your income, the more material things you want to acquire. It is status that suddenly becomes important like even measuring it in terms of the number of followers on Twitter or how many likes you get in social media."It becomes endless," said Fumio who finally even gave away his television but maintained a simple Mazda for ease of travel when he decided to move to the suburbs.
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He also drew his inspiration from the examples of Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi, all of whom abandoned their comfortable lives for the sake of others.Citing the co-relation between GDP growth and happiness in Japan, Fumio said it was clear that happiness had nothing to do with a nation's economic performance. He said happiness also does not cost money and one can find it in abundance by getting close to nature like the jungle, river or sea.
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"Just like how our ancestors did," he said."Happiness can also be having sweet memories with someone, be it a friend or family," adding one can still be happy without money, material things or status or the "three evils"."Sure we need money. I don't deny it. But how much do you really need and you don't need to waste on this and that or be bothered about something that won't bring you real happiness."Having seen how being minimalist has changed his life, he decided to write a book about it titled "Goodbye Things". It became a hit in Japan and he quit his job as an Editor of a publishing firm to do freelance.Fumio said the idea of being minimalist is best achieved through self-realisation and cannot be forced. He suggests people start like how he did by throwing away expired food in the fridge.He also switched his eating habits by changing his menu to the extent "that if people see my lunch box they will think I'm very poor".He acknowledged there are some minimalists who take it to the extreme like wearing the same clothes all year round."Start with something small. Reduce your belongings a little and you will feel the difference."Just by reducing goods will change your outlook on life. More important than reducing goods is changing your way of thinking. I stopped comparing myself to others and this was a big change to me."It gave me peace of mind."Fumio said traditional Japanese culture is also minimalist and cited the tea ceremony where there is no furniture and Japanese paintings or Haiku which is in only in black for its beauty."But most Japanese have forgotten this tradition and have become materialistic."The bachelor has his fair share of supporters and critics back home but admitted he had little success convincing his own family.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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