part0011

We live in a world where money is the main currency. Not too many people can live a life where money isn't changing hands, or being transferred into accounts. Thankfully, money isn't the only way that people can exchange goods and services.

Community networking and exchange groups are a wonderful way for people to give, to trade, to swap, and to advertise. Many minimalists are attracted to these community networks for a myriad of reasons. The key word here is community. A strong community and network can be a great support system for people looking to reduce their dependence on money. It is also a wonderful opportunity to connect to like-minded people.

For example, I am a member of a community network in Tasmania. The network is run by volunteers, and offers any number of goods and services with options to either barter, buy or sell in cash or credits, or a combination of both.

The reason I mention the above is because money, or more to the point, the necessity of money, is often seen as the show stopper when it comes to taking any decision about minimizing or down-sizing in our lives. There are always options and alternatives available to you. You just need to look for them.

The Internet has totally revolutionized the way we live. Minimalists have so many options open and available to them because of it. The world has become a much smaller place. The Internet gives you access to everywhere.

How do I use the Internet as someone who lives a minimalist lifestyle? I can live anywhere and take my businesses and my information with me. I can contact anyone anywhere in the world to seek information or advice.

For example, in my first year living this lifestyle, I took a one way ticket to the UK with a backpack, an entry-level tablet, and barely enough money to cover travel costs and some other basic needs. For nearly eight months I traveled throughout England, Ireland and Wales. I stayed with host families and worked my way around the UK for accommodation and food.

And for the record, apart from the cost of trains, planes, ferries, and buses, my spend came in under 100 pounds, or around $US130. Not bad going for near-on eight months!

I managed to use my little tablet (a gift from my work colleagues when I left work) to organize communications and book travel. This was done on free WIFI. I was able to research the areas I was going to, and organize the trip in advance. This was completed on the standalone host sites, email communications, and via Skype when necessary. And all free.

When I need accommodation these days, I advertise for free on various online platforms, use social media, or it is simply via word of mouth.

A major catalyst towards a minimalist approach and mindset is centered around travel. When you travel light, you have mobility and freedom to move quickly and purposefully in any direction you choose. Some minimalists travel the world with a small 35-liter backpack. These people get on and off planes with minimal fuss. No luggage delays and no problems. Generally they can get off the plane and onto a bus in mere minutes from touchdown. For me, that is near perfect minimalism in action, at least in a travel sense.

From a personal perspective, I didn't do this when I did my UK trip in 2015. Despite my best intentions, and the help of a girlfriend to help me to minimize my luggage, I took way too much gear. The purpose it served? It slowed me down. It was heavy to lug around, not to mention the fact that it got lost and delayed somewhere in China for a day. Life is a wonderful teacher. Less is indeed more in many situations in our lives.

I have got much better at this. In between my stays at various places, I often go camping to either fill in time between these stays; I get out and make the most of good weather and beautiful locations. Packing the essentials, and buying light gear certainly helped get the weight down.

Importantly, the theme here of being weighed down by life, or feeling heavy, can be a powerful metaphor. As we seek to make the connections to help us lighten the loads in our lives, we in turn give ourselves opportunities for real change and transformation. More about this later.

And of course if we are traveling through life with less stuff, we in turn have either more money to save or to put towards other endeavors, or indeed we have less money to spend on stuff that doesn't matter anymore.

This is another one of those fundamental areas in life that is usually at the top of the list when it comes to barriers to living a minimalist lifestyle. Of course I am not talking about decluttering a cupboard, or cleaning out the garage when I talk about barriers to the lifestyle.

What I am talking about is when a person entertains a shift or a move that challenges the existing paradigm, or completely breaks free from it. Employment options and opportunities can stop people in their tracks as they see no way out. So in other words, the regular nine-to-five mentality and the regular pay packet that goes with it.

This is where the minimalist transformation, as I call it, can start to gain momentum in your life. When you set out on a journey to change and transform your life, and use minimalism as a tool or mechanism to do that, you soon start making new lifestyle connections. Those connections come about by recognizing patterns.

Transformation, as stated earlier in the book, is not to be confused with change. Within the context of work and employment, a person might choose to change jobs because of any number of reasons. The fact they have changed jobs, does not mean that they have changed within themselves. They have merely gone from one situation to another.

A person seeking to transition to new ways of working and seeing their life, is starting that journey towards transformation. Something has changed on an inner level that compels or drives that person to move in new directions. Their old way of seeing things, or a particular situation for that matter, has changed because they now see beyond the limitations or the rules within the old way of working or doing things.

Do you see the difference? So many of us stay in situations because we simply do not see a way out of them. Once you start making changes, even small incremental ones, you are providing yourself with new ways to live your life. If you keep doing this, you will see new opportunities open up for you. Being open and ready to embrace new opportunities is an important part of making this transition.

I have lost count of the jobs I have had over my lifetime, let alone over the last several years! If I had a fixed idea on what I could and could not do, and I was too fundamental about it, I would considerably limit my opportunities.

One of the most powerful reference points in my life in relation to work, was when I left my long term employment at the end of 2014. In less than one week, I had gone from being a government professional to a part-time cleaner. To put it another way, working throughout southern Tasmania regulating and working with, and for, hundreds of Tasmanian businesses, to riding my mountain bike to clean a house for a couple of hours work.

Try visualizing that for a moment. If I had not been aware of what was ahead of me when I left, I certainly knew it when I was on my hands and knees scrubbing out a shower and a toilet bowl. As I say, it all happened within a week. It was a truly liberating experience. I certainly felt alive.

So much depends on what drives you, where you are going in life, your values, and of course, your 'why'. When you know where you stand, it makes it so much easier to move forward towards the future. And standing is so much easier when you are not surrounded by clutter and stuff that distracts you, and blinds you from the opportunities that are both in front of you, and ahead of you.

When you think of money and currency, it is always wise to look beyond what is merely in front of you. I knew what I needed to do to get to where I wanted to go. At times I have worked for little more than peanuts, and for leftovers of leftovers, to get to where I needed to get to. If I got caught up in the transaction of money and value, I would not have made the moves I did, or had the experiences I was able to have. The key message here? Understand your value, but also be open to all kinds of currency, and understand that there is always something to gain, give, or learn in life. Adaptability and flexibility are good personal attributes to develop.