Fumio Sasaki

Holding on to things from the past is the same as clinging to an image of yourself in the past. If you're the least bit interested in changing anything about yourself, I suggest you be brave and start letting things go. ”

Whether we live alone or with other people, few acknowledge the presence of another roommate. This roommate is named 'Things' and the space that 'Things' occupies is typically a lot larger than the space people have for themselves. ”

Unhappiness isn't just the result of genetics or past trauma or career trouble. I think that some of our unhappiness is simply due to the burden of all our things. ”

I used to pretend to be an expert on various kinds of music, even if they didn't really interest me. ”

You can't help but fixate on something that you're about to throw away because it's right in front of you. ”

We think that the more we have, the happier we will be. We never know what tomorrow might bring, so we collect and save as much as we can. This means we need a lot of money, so we gradually start judging people by how much money they have. ”

Some of you may think that I'm a loser: an unmarried adult with not much money. The old me would have been way too embarrassed to admit all this. I was filled with useless pride. But I honestly don't care about things like that any . The reason is very simple: I'm perfectly happy just as I am. ”

The important thing is not the measurement of how many or few things you have, but your own state of mind and how you feel about the things you have and don't have. ”

To me, DIY means minimizing dependency on what others make for me. ”

I wasn't always a minimalist. I used to buy a lot of things, believing that all those possessions would increase my self-worth and lead to a happier life. I loved collecting a lot of useless stuff, and I couldn't throw anything away. ”