catherine: Despite my ardent anti-theism I am incredibly intrigued by the minimalist lifestyles of Jesus, Buddha, St. Frances, and even Mother Teresa. Gandhi too (minus the creepy stuff).Originally Posted by catherine
I think you were just pushing her buttons and she became defensive. That's another whole question, though.. none of my business.
I don't see any correlation between minimalism and hard-heartedness. Was Jesus hard hearted? Buddha? Tolstoy? St. Frances? Mother Teresa? Sorry about the religious references--I DO know who I'm speaking with here, but the point is, these people were NOT known for being hard-hearted, and you could also describe them all as "extreme minimalists." The whole idea of minimalism is to keep material distractions at bay so you have more TIME for more meaningful, deeper relationships. You discard THINGS so you can embrace PEOPLE, and I do believe that is a driving force for many minimalists--certainly not all, though. I wouldn't want to generalize.
You might be right about her being defensive, though the conversation didn't really become intense until she said that. I explained to her that when I lay down for the big sleep that I'd certainly want all my stuff donated promptly. I tried to explain that I care about people and not so much about things. I said caring little for stuff means I can invest so much more in people -- like my involvement in the Recovering From Religion and Life After Belief support groups or the environmental groups and community groups I take part in. I'd rather spend time helping a friend cope with coming out as Atheist to his family and friends than spend time shopping at a mall or sorting through my collection of widgets.
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