Minimalism burns scented candles....

Minimalism burns scented candles [see photo]. Candle one is "individual needs". Candle two is "individual habits". Candle three is "individual beliefs".

Inside a minimalist mind the focus is on "individual needs" first and foremost. To place the importance of this focus one only has to recognise that many, if not most, humans these days focus on "collective wants".

In these strange times in world history the human mind is being tortured by the complexity of issues like Climate, social justice, group think, global integration, gender, race, etc. This level of complexity is hard to resolve at the communal, ideological, or global level and so there are many competing models for the satiation of "collective wants". Today there is a "collective want" for everything from Open Borders [the free movement of people around the world] to a universal welfare system [ideas like a universal basic income for everyone]. In response a surprisingly simple consensus seems to have arisen as humans work through this complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty. The consensual point seems to be that the group [not the individual] is the new focus for human evolution.

Minimalism with its focus on "individual needs" is becoming increasingly important today because it offers humans a logical refuge from the group-think nature of "collective wants". The minimalist mind shifts the focus from "us" [a Clique, ideology, theology, cohort, etc] to the "individual" [him or her]. He or she can use minimalism to "think different" in ways that make life better. Starting with needs [not wants] he or she can then begin to change daily habits. As habits change so too must belief sets.

The three candles of minimalism therefore are burning bright whenever one focuses on needs, habits, and beliefs.

Richard