I was reading a couple of articles lately and I came across one that explained in 10 points why this person believed minimalism to be toxic. The arguments ranged from things like, "It hurts your potential and ambition."... to, “It deprives you of buying what you want”. I read the entire thing waiting for it to teach me something but it was one big nothing burger.

I find it increasingly difficult to believe that in 2019 there are still boxes to neatly package and categorize absolutely everything in life. The black-and-white minimalist still throws shade at the minimalist who doesn't find color to be indicative of whether or not they live a true minimalist lifestyle. Yes, I find it somewhat icky that we have to make everything so all-or-nothing.

Minimalism has abolished the ball and chain of having to strive to acquire the unnecessary. It’s given freedom to people who wouldn’t dare travel because they couldn’t leave their “stuff” behind... and it has given more meaning to yet others who where constantly trying to climb the never-ending Jacob's ladder to reach the Joneses.

I feel many of us don’t understand the power that the philosophy of minimalism has in how we purchase, how we spend our time and how we work towards our future – and that of our children. No, I don’t believe minimalism is toxic. I *do* however believe that our *lives* have become so toxic that the notion of pairing down, letting go and not constantly hoarding makes us feel like living a minimalistic life could even harm us instead of benefiting us.

Minimalism takes on various shapes and forms. For some it is stoic and it keeps them in check... while for others it is freedom. No matter what the arguments are, the principles of minimalism are there to free people – not hold them down. It has done exactly that for me in times of plenty and in times of little.

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