Sometimes, Less is More
LIFE: The Minimalist Dichotomist
Good news! Yours truly is on his way to being a homeowner. Yeah, got the bug from my mom who was always decorating here and there, looking to make our house as homey as possible. That made me just always want my own space. Not house, not apartment. Never anything as specific. It was just — space. A place to call my own, that I could put all my creative efforts into “developing”. A space which, upon entering, would subtly let you know that this is a place where I felt most comfortable, almost like an extension of my personality. From basketball art and abstract pieces resting on the walls, to making the area feel lightweight, yet comfortable enough to spend a lot of time in. People who know me know I am also a pacer. I walk while I think, but I can sit for hours with a good book. This is just one of many dichotomies.
Anyhoo, since I’m still currently living in a rented apartment which never got the official title of “my place” (also the reason behind why I never made it 100% homey), I started thinking which objects will have the great honor of accompanying me to the new Jantoljak residence. While doing so, I decided to share my philosophy about material possessions with you, dear reader. I call it, The Minimalist Materialist. Dichotomy, it’s been a while, eh?
The first (and only, this isn’t Fight Club) rule of Minimalist Materialist states that you can have as much attachment to material things as you need/want, but like with everything else, there is a limited number of deserving inanimate objects. If you love too many objects, the attachment becomes trivial and, quite honestly, detrimental to you as a person. Long story short, you end up buying and owning way too much shit you don’t need. And you can, and absolutely should care about objects. Maybe it’s that baseball card your dad gave you and it reminds you of the good times, maybe it’s a pen you signed your first contract with or a book that changed your life. Most of the time, you don’t actually love the object, but it serves as a connection to something that’s important to you. This reminder is meaningful and absolutely deserving of a place, and space, in your life. But NOT ALL OF IT.
Take books for example. You can’t tell me you love every single book you own or that you plan to re-read every single one that is sitting on the shelf. Sure, there are some you cherish, some you can and plan to read over and over again (hey there, “Mamba Mentality”), but there are less memorable ones, less useful, that are still in your possession because you never gave them away or (asshole move) threw out. Items like these are what I call space takers. Something that doesn’t actually add value to your life, but is there. Weighing you down, because you think it still holds enough value. This happens because there was a time when you REALLY wanted that book. At that time, it did add value to your life. But you read it, it was just good enough and now it just kind of sits there. Maybe you still think you’ll enjoy it one day, but never ever seem to want to pick it up.
There is a wonderful truth to (damn it, it IS Fight Club!):
“Things you own end up owning you.”
The more material objects you end up caring about or, in our case, think you care about, make your life more complicated, more obsessive, more burdening. If you have a thing, you have to take care of the thing. Cars need to be serviced and washed, statues deserve polishing, software requires updating. So, the more things you own, the more things you have to think about. Right to the point where you can’t move without taking 200 boxes of crap with you.
I get it, I love sneakers. I have too many, but I also have a self imposed limit. Point is, you can absolutely care about stuff you already own but my general rule of thumb is to reduce the quantity to what you can fit in one medium size box (this does not apply to clothes, simply because it takes up more space). A good exercise is asking yourself:
“If I had to leave with just one box, what would I always take with me?”
For new stuff, the question should be: “Does it actually add value to my life” or “Am I really looking forward to buying this thing?” If the answer is yes — buy away and… polish, update and service. If you end up servicing all day on most days, you care about too many things. Time for a masked yard sale.
SPORTS: Ball is Life… in the Bubble
The NBA has recently finished its longest season in history, and what a season it was. When covid first hit the court I was at a point of — no cancellation, please. With everything going on, we’re about to lose basketball, too? Don’t end the season, find a way. Just find a way. Here was Lebron chasing history, here were the Bucks with the reigning MVP on the other side waiting. For Kobe. Just to see it played out, to see if my Miami Heat championship mid-season bet had any legs. It seemed like the last ray of sunlight back then. In 2020, like anyone else, hoop heads just needed a win.
Little did we know what Adam Silver, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association had in store. Not only did the season continue, it did so leading by example. From raising awareness and pushing against social injustice, the league’s work and donations made to the covid vaccine research, to players emerging as leaders in political and social participation, ensuring pay for some of the arena workers during the stoppage. From 0 (zero) covid cases in the NBA bubble, serving as a blueprint for all other sports to one of the most exciting post seasons ever played — and its storybook ending. With one last “Mamba on 3!” it was everything but a fairy tale, but a tale we all needed. Shut up and dribble? Never again, and we’re all better for it.
Alright, time for some sporting insight. I wonder how much the collective bonding experience did for the future chemistry of teams that had a deep run, like the Heat and the Lakers? There is no denying that the 3 plus months spent in the bubble, away from their families, took a tremendous toll on the players, but it also allowed them to experience things that would usually only happen on an extremely long, strange trip. Except this wasn’t one, not in that sense of the word anyway. They had roomed for weeks with one another, with more time for practices and bonding. Regardless of how close-knit the Heat were before these playoffs, you can tell the bubble had an impact. Look at Lebron and AD coming into the bubble and examine their mannerisms of late. Winning the championship had a little something to do with it, too, but it’s undeniable that NBA teams don’t usually spend this much time together. This bonding experience could be a major factor for some teams going forward.
Does the Lakers championship come with an asterisk? It does. Sure, Scottie Pippen can talk about travel, or lack of, until he’s blue in the face but, much like him being underpaid for most of his NBA career in red, the truth is purple and gold. Indeed an asterisk. But that asterisk represents incredible perseverance, ultimate dedication, inescapable humanity and added degree of difficulty which makes this championship one for the ages. One Mamba would be proud of. A true team, defense-first win. By the Lakers. By Showtime, no less. Lebron committed to defense, deferred to AD, who deferred to Lebron. With Kobe watching from above. Everyone contributed, from KCP to Alex Caruso, your favorite every-man — bringing us hope that every middle aged, balding man with a desire to lift can still make it to the NBA, Howard and his redemption story arc, to fucking playoff Rondo, who was turning heads left and right, and the clock back to his clover days.
Vogel’s Lakers acted like a mimic octopus, adapting to everything the world and the league could throw at them. For a season that demanded nothing less, they are the most deserving of champions. In the end, when the Sacramento Kings tweet out a congratulatory message to their long-time rivals, you know it meant more. To everyone.
Mamba on 3.
