Fumio Sasaki is one of many practitioners of Danshari within Japan. His book ” Goodbye, Things: On Minimalist Living” is like a bible for those looking to start their Danshari journey. Fumio Sasaki is undoubtedly the poster boy for Danshari minimalism.
Early on in his book, it becomes quite apparent that Sasaki had issues, BIG issues. A self-confessed hoarder of anything he could attach meaning to, Saskai had a hard time throwing anything away. New purchases and prized possessions slowly becoming a physical and mental burden. Allowing him to be consumed by insecurities and lack of self-worth, Sasaki found himself staring into a lonely, depressive, alcoholic abyss with only his possessions for company.
Unlike Sasaki I am not looking into the abyss, however, I was inspired to write this post after the discovery of 6 long blue tubes, each containing a movie poster. Tubes caked in dust but “filled with memories” I justify to myself. These tubes are from my 30th birthday party, the only party I’ve held since my 21st. This party was a big deal, I hired a venue in central London, put money behind the bar, lots of food and additional bubbly. A Hollywood themed party meant all the guests came dressed as characters from cinematic history. There were 2 Supermen, 2 Indiana Jones, an Incredible Hulk, a Jedi who looked more like Laurence of Arabia and others; I was Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, we all looked great. For added effect I made party bags filled with goodies including all my favorite sweets from when I was a child, finishing off I decorated the walls with these movie posters, it was a wonderful night and a happy memory.
I believe our possessions, be they gifts, purchases or anything we can justify not to throw away. They are all bookmarks, milestones or perception of a future self. We hold onto high school books, filled with red biro and the occasional “good job” scribbled by a frustrated teacher or photos of lovers and “best friends”.
What’s the point of keeping hold of pictures of an ex-girlfriend when you’ve both moved on and have new lives? The BIG questions are “why do we hold on to the past?” and “Why do we fight the future?”
I am now 36, people have come and gone, friends are no longer friends, families have gotten bigger some have gotten smaller, things have changed and yet these blue tubes remain.
Time for these posters to go and for me to look forward.
If you’re interested in reading Sasakis’ book, Goodbye, Things: On Minimalist Living, you can get it here http://amzn.to/2yEruCm .
Danshari 