Very recently, I chanced upon the term, minimalist, while chatting with a friend. I kind of skimmed through this and it says “minimalism can assist us in finding freedom” as we “live in the moment”. Minimalism is one of the many (possibly infinite) ways on how we can choose to live our lives. My friend, who is aiming to be a minimalist, is trying to live up as a minimalist by starting with her bedroom. The word “minimalism” was constantly on her mind as she tried to restructure her room to fit the theme.
At that point of time, I thought it was really inspiring (and cool) to have one’s life centered around a defined way of living. Most importantly, it gives one’s life a purpose, something to hold on to while we live in a postmodernist world with multiple truths. I went back home and flipped through the organiser that I have been using since 3 years ago. There were multiple inspiring quotes written, especially during periods when the examinations were approaching. I reckoned that I wrote them to keep myself going, to persevere through the dreaded exams. The thought of having a main life quote, or theme to revolve around my decisions and thoughts came to me.
I spent a few days, looking through those quotes that I had written, trying to find something that greatly resonates in me. Roman philosopher, Seneca‘s “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” was the one that I eventually settled with. I thought about the quote, and decided to improvise it further.
“Luck is what happens when consistency in working hard meets courage in seizing opportunities.”
I decided that I wanted my life (at least for now) to be centered around this goal or dream. I thought it is a realistic quote that really suits me well and is something that seems possible for me to achieve. I am an average person who lacks sufficient academic abilities/ intelligence to do well so I need to work hard almost all the time to maintain being on average in a country obsessed with paper chase. It took me a bit to interpret what Seneca meant by “opportunity” and why opportunity instead of anything else. It is essential to be an opportunist, to know how to cherish opportunities to help ourselves progress further. We need to take the initiative, the courage to actively look for, and to take up opportunities so that we would not fall behind. Preparation or hard work alone and gambling on chances of success are insufficient. We can only depend on random occurrences at success (or luck) if we only have either preparation or opportunity. Based on this quote that I resonate with, I think it is pretty obvious that I am a pragmatist afraid of risks and failure and I was socialised in such an environment.
I am not very certain if I would be able to follow through the quote that I improvised. Who knows what directs my way of thinking may change in a few years, or even in a few days. Who knows I may just find an all new, different quote soon. I am not sure if my friend would follow through minimalism as well. But at the very least, having something that can positively direct your way of thinking or your life is something extremely meaningful. It shows the effort that you are making to give your life a purpose.
Shin