Walden: How to achieve minimalism can be achieved from three aspects.

After living in seclusion in Walden Lake for more than two years, Thoreau wrote a collection of essays called Walden Lake.

This book has been passed down from mouth to mouth, and the poet Haizi once said, "The best book I have ever read is Walden Lake."

And when he was about to commit suicide on the track, he took the book with him.

These two short years changed Thoreau's life.

Thoreau wrote in the book that he personally built a wooden house to shelter himself from the wind and rain, grow food, live according to the time of the sun every day, work at sunrise, rest at sunset, get close to nature, as if he were part of a natural room, and live a simple and quiet life every day.

Tao Yuanming lived for two years and returned to his original life. He told people a truth with his own personal experience:

Life is actually very simple, and all the troubles are just too complicated for people to think.

When we decided to let go, we got the freedom of life.

As the saying goes: "The family has two thousand gold, but three meals a day, and the family has a thousand hectares of fertile land, but seven feet of sleep at night."

People seem to think that if they have more material wealth, they can live a more relaxed and happy life. However, when they really have it, they find themselves living more tired. They seem to have a lot, but actually they have nothing.

If we throw away those unnecessary things and leave only the necessities of life and return to the essence of life, will our life change?

Thoreau decided to do such a thing more than a hundred years ago.

So in March of 1845, he lost everything and came to Walden alone.

First, he built his own wooden house, cut down trees to make wood with a borrowed axe, and reclaimed land by the lake to solve his own food and shelter problems.

In the process of a person's life, because there is no one else to rely on, he needs to do everything by himself. Therefore, he learned many skills, such as fishing and hunting, and lived a truly self-sufficient life.

Everything in life has become simple, just live according to the laws of nature.

Spring is the season of sowing. Sow the seeds of plants, water the seeds, watch the seeds sprout slowly, drill out the soil and grow up in the long wait. 、

In autumn, that is, the harvest season, he divided the harvested grain into two parts, one part was sold to buy necessities and the other part was used as food.

During the break, you can sit leisurely by the lake and enjoy the beautiful sunrise and sunset, or you can sit at your desk and read and write articles.

Through these experiences, Thoreau realized that material desires make it difficult for people to feel happy.

Just like now, in our fast-paced life, we are controlled by material desires and can't stop chasing, especially when we see our peers driving good cars, living in good houses and wearing famous brands.

But material desire is a bottomless pit, and you can never fill it. One material desire is satisfied, and the next one comes again. This endless pursuit will only make us deeply involved, unable to extricate ourselves, and lose interest in life from now on.

As Thoreau said:

"Most luxury goods, most so-called comforts of life, are not only unnecessary, but also greatly hinder the progress of mankind."

Clothes are not used to determine a person's status, but to hide the body and make yourself comfortable;

A house is not used to judge a person's material level, but to shelter from the wind and rain and protect his family.

Cars are not used to show off wealth, but to travel instead of walking and save time.

Lin Qingxuan said: "The more fragrant, the simpler."

When you stop pursuing those flashy things and only buy the necessities of life, you will find that you don't need so many things, your world becomes simple and clear, life is actually very simple, and happiness is also very simple.

When people are young, they want to make more friends. As the saying goes, there are many friends and many roads.

But after a certain experience, you will find that no matter how many friends you have, it is useless.

To maintain a relationship, you need to invest a lot of time, money and energy.

We have spent a lot of social costs, which will not only make us work hard, but may also lead to nothing in the end.

This is the same as buying stocks. Even if you invest more, you may not be profitable, but you may also lose money.

So we should reduce those meaningless social activities, use these time to recharge ourselves, improve ourselves, learn to get along with ourselves and enjoy loneliness.

For example, when Thoreau lived alone in Walden Lake, he had no neighbors, friends and social circles.

I live alone in a wooden house in the Woods, and my neighbor is about a mile away from him.

In such a world where he is the only one, he communicates with nature.

For example, communicate with flowers, observe the moment when flowers bloom, observe the picture of fish jumping out of the lake to catch flies, and observe the footprints left by small animals.

So the little animals are happy to visit his house, and he treats them politely.

He thought, "Maybe they love this lake for the same reason as me." .

He is friendly not only to small animals, but also to every passerby. His house has never been bolted, and passers-by are welcome to visit.

If he happens not to be at home, when passers-by visit him, passers-by can directly enter his room and eat the food prepared by him for free.

The guests came to visit and share their lives with him. He is like a tree hole, listening to the guests without any utilitarian purpose.

Such simple social communication makes Thoreau's life simple, without any purpose and utility, only spiritual communication.

Thoreau realized the sincere feelings of human beings in the exchange of their hearts.

In fact, the meaning of life is not what kind of person you have made, but what kind of person you are.

Let's say goodbye to those meaningless social activities!

Og Mandino wrote in The Greatest Salesman in the World:

"Many of us have two kinds of burdens in our lives: one is full of yesterday's worries, and the other is full of tomorrow's worries.

You can choose another life, throw them into the sea and throw them into the garbage. No one asks you to bear these two burdens. "

All our troubles come from our own eyes and we can't let them go.

For example, before Thoreau went to Walden Lake, he was full of troubles about life.

At that time, he had just graduated from Harvard University. Like every college graduate, he doesn't know what his future is like, what he should do, and he is full of confusion about the future.

When he came to Walden Lake, his attention was focused on flowers, trees and everything in nature, and his life changed.

Worries about the future no longer exist. He began to care about food and drink, what's the weather like today and whether there is a good harvest this year. At this moment his thoughts fell on the things around him.

Trouble sometimes comes from an empty life. Life is full, and troubles will stay away from you.

Thoreau lived in Walden Lake for a period of time and sighed:

"Excess wealth can only buy superfluous things, and nothing is necessary for the soul."

Lin Qingxuan once said: "The only way to enjoy happiness is to keep your own little world, wash your mind, let go of your obsession and take your time."

We often say: Nine times out of ten, life is not satisfactory.

If you always keep that 89 in mind and forget that 2 1, you will only add to your troubles and get yourself into pain. It's not good for you

Why not let go of yourself, let go of what you can't do, forget what bothers you, live every day in the present and do everything well in the present.

GrahamHill, a senior minimalist, once said:

"The real beauty in life is not concrete things, but emotional relationships, experiences and meaningful work.

My space is small, but my life is big. Have less and get more. "

If a person wants to get the best living condition, he may have to start from three aspects:

1. Streamline materials;

2. straighten out the relationship;

3. straighten out your mentality.