minimalist life

via my post on by the river

I was walking Laya through Memorial Park this evening. This is an old park built on the river and close to the business hub of Riverside. Many people visit the park during the day. The usual suspects are fishermen, dog walkers, joggers and the occasional photographer. I saw one such photographer today with his subject, a young female model. The young model was perched on the wall against the river and the photographer was using the backdrop of the river and the bridges as his canvas. I paused by the wall to feel the cool breeze coming off the surface of the river and let Laya sniff around. I was only a few feet away from the photographer and heard his directions. “Look Here”, “Look Away”, “Relax”… a typical portrait photographer.

As we continued walking and passed the duo, the girl happened to glance towards Laya and broke out in a simple smile just as a few strands of her hair wandered onto her face in the breeze. The photographer noticing the distraction stopped focusing his camera and waited for us to pass. Then continued, “Look here, relax your face…”. He missed the best moment of his model’s expression, a genuine smile.

A genuine smile is hard to come by. Even more difficult it is to replicate. It is one of my favorite human emotions to capture. I capture it by being patient in a crowd (hence the above picture).

The photographer resisted thinking out of his channeled procedure of work. His procedure: look at light, adjust shutter speed and aperture, focus camera, give directions, take picture, next pose, repeat…
Is your procedure of work interfering with the quality of your work?
Did you create that procedure?
Can you change it?
Even more important, does your manager empower you to change it?

Back in the day when I was considering a drastic career change, everyone told me what to do based on what procedure they have been following for years. My uncle told me this and only this, “Life is like driving a car on the highway. You grip the steering wheel only so tight, not too tight, not too loose”.

I wrote about my re-entry into the real world. I said it starts with buying a car. I have been living car free and braving the elements on my commutes on either a bicycle or a 125 cc motorcycle. In most people’s opinion, considering the size and nature (lack) of urban planning in Jacksonville, that is not realistic. I agree.

The Space of Common Reality

Please be tolerant of my mathematics terminology.
The real world is actually a very subjective composition of places, things and ideas that exist as a subset of the general set of reality. We will call this subset “common reality” to avoid confusion. I have not been living in it. My world lies outside this subset, residing more in the greater set of reality. This greater set of reality is not an easy place. In order to live in this greater set, it takes a fair amount of computing to fight numerous constraints that define the space of common reality. External constraints like traditions, religious views, cultural and general upbringing (a priori) etc also define the space of common reality.

What’s in this Space?

Rules and reason reside in this space. Rules like the duties of people, the right time to start a family, the right house to buy, the dress code, the living room set, cable tv, one car per adult are just some of the things addressed in this space. These rules change with location. The more diverse the location, the more different the rules. Rules were created by society to fight biology and improve the welfare of the human race. I dont think they were every supposed to be stagnant.

Why Challenge Rules?

Vicissitude is evident. Rules should change with it. What is the purpose of a collar any more? Why should everyone need to own a car? A culture of abundance is going to fail because the earth is limited in supplies and abundance will not last. I challenged the rules to fight the culture of abundance and improve my welfare. In each step of the fight, I found constraints. Lots of constraints.

The Equation of Life

Life is like an equation of constraints. We can try to find an optimal solution by maximising or minimising the outcome. The sheer volume of variables in life keep the process of finding a solution lengthy. Each constraint renders a solution. That is how I started riding a bicycle, sold my expensive car, moved to another part of town (increased commute), bought a motorcycle, discovered the effects of cross winds on a light motorcycle, decide to purchase a decade old car. Each decision was the solution to a constraint. Each eliminated constraint brings me closer to that optimal solution while generating newer constraints.
The solution to life is a lot easier for an equation with less constraints. It reminds me of monks and sadhus. It points towards minimalism.

Technology cloaks the interface between the human touch and the fundamental task. This is not always a bad thing of you consider jobs in the foundry, mining, waste management etc.

Tea bags take the human touch out of brewing tea with tea leaves. The best tea I have ever had was at a tea garden in North Eastern India and it didn’t come from a tea bag. A motor vehicle takes the human touch out of commuting. Rarely do people want to walk or ride a bicycle to a business even though most commutes in USA are less than 2 miles.

A vacuum cleaner is guilty of taking the human touch out of sweeping floors. I have hardwood floors, so a broom is more than sufficient to remove dust, immaterial of what swiffer commercials say. I take a broom, start at one corner of the room and methodically sweep to the other corner, collecting the dust and pet hair in its way. Staying mindful about sweeping helps you not miss any spots. Not rushing through it ensures a high quality job.

As a bonus, a slow mindful sweeping job is very relaxing. It slows the pace down to a constant rhythm forcing the mind to focus on the immediate present. Having a small apartment does not make it a bothersome chore.

My greyhound is deathly scared of the broom. This is the only drawback.