A Minimalist's Guide to Entertainment

Nature's Entertainment
Source:  Flickr: Dana Le

Being a Minimalist means that I am selective about how I spend my time and energy.  However, I do have a few hobbies I enjoy greatly that require owing possessions: reading, scuba diving, surfing, and camping.  While some things can be rented, owning those items allows for a greater margin of safety and the ability to take off and do them at a moment's notice.


While entertainment, relaxation, and enjoyment are an important part of your health and personal development, some forms of entertainment can distract from what we want to accomplish and clutter our lives.

You may want to read the article The Purpose of Recreation to better understand the purposeful balance fun plays in our lives.

Hobbies that will be time and space stealers: collecting things like antiques or baseball cards, video games, or gambling.

Hobbies that sharpen your brain, provide enjoyment, and take up very little space: reading (kindle or library), chess, or photography.

Living in a technologically infested world, your options for entertainment are endless.  You can play video games with someone from China, have your wii analyze your yoga positions, or play virtual golf with a wall projector.  However, have we lost touch with simple and natural entertainment?

This past vacation I spent several hours watching a storm move across Lake Tahoe.  It was exhilarating watching the lightening break the darkness with a wrathful like vengeance.  The sound of the thunder rolling through the mountains almost made me cower in terror, as it seemed to shake the ground with sound waves.

I thought, this is what is was like a hundred years ago.  This is what people did for fun.  There was a purity to such a simple form of entertainment.  I spent many afternoons, watching the small wind driven waves hit the shore, chased after crawdads, and sat on the porch reading books.  It is times like these that we realize that a simple life can be abundantly joyful.