Shiny new toys

Macbook-air-iphone-moleskin

I’m typing this post on my brand new MacBook Air. Yes, I spent money and bought something.

I’ve been thinking about getting a new laptop for a little while- I’ve been mulling a lot over it. My old laptop is a MacBook in white- they don’t do those anymore- about five years old and a little slow at times but still working well most of the time. In a nutshell, still very usable. But..but…those new MacBook Air models are so gorgeous and light..no harm just looking, touching and drooling over them surely? Living simply and minimally does not mean no temptations- in fact you get tempted more often. The difference is how you deal with those temptations. In the old days, I would have sprouted Oscar Wilde’s quote ‘The only way to deal with temptation is to yield to it’ Not anymore- thank God!

Nowadays, I deliberate a lot more over major consumption decisions- asking the what, why, how and ifs.I realized as I put more thought into it, letting my brain rather than my heart take the driver’s seat most of the time, my desire for the object in question usually diminishes. The desire might come back again but its hold on me gets weaker each time. There were so many times when I realized I have more than enough, I need nothing more- and trust me, that is such a free, light and contented situation to be in. If you really need that something, it’ll keep coming back even after  much deliberation and then you it might be you actually need it and that it’ll make your life easier or more enjoyable. Simple living and minimalism is not about deprivation but focusing on the essentials.

So, after weeks of mulling and two hours at the Apple Store to do more mulling, I made my decision. I left the store with my wallet a lot lighter and my bag a lot heavier. I decided that since I run a few online businesses and I’m thinking of working freelance from now on, I need a more robust and portable laptop. The new laptop will be essential in making my work more enjoyable and productive thus saving me time. I could have chosen another brand or a cheaper laptop but I like Apple’s products for their quality and design and I prefer to invest in beauty and quality.

I headed off to a cafe for a cup of coffee after my retail shock. There was this guy who came and sat on the table next to me. He took out his laptop. It was a really old model of the MacBook, probably about eight years old; the keyboard was no longer working and he had to plug in a separate keyboard for it to work-he proceeded to type away happily and effortlessly. My simplicity and minimalist conscience went ‘Ouch!’. Is someone trying to tell me something?

So with all these increased  awareness and deliberation over consumption decisions, have I learned anything? Yes, and they can be summarized into the points below:

  • Gratitude- being grateful for what I already have and it’s a lot
  • Value- what value does something bring into my life and is it worth the time I’ll have to spend working in order to earn the money needed to buy it
  • Self awareness- most importantly I always learn something new about myself, and sometimes even the world around me.

Yes, it was a real pleasure writing this post on my new toy. No regrets.

SHARE THIS STORY
Facebook
Twitter
POSTED IN

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

COMMENTS (5)

  1. This post made me smile. 🙂

    My boyfriend and I, both have 7 years old Dell laptops. We both dream of Apple computer for their quality, but mostly for their simplicity. But we have other priorities for the moment, so the dream have to wait and since Microsoft will stop all support for Window XP next year, we decided to upgrade his computer by adding RAM and bought an upgrade for Window 7 (my laptop was already upgraded at maximum, hard drive change included). We’ll be able to kept the two laptops for a few more years like this, before switching to Apple. I wonder sometimes if we will be able to pass the 10 years with both laptops. I’ve only seen this twice, with an old PowerPC Macintosh and DOS computer, who survived the 2000 bug.

  2. Sounds great and was the other person really happy with the 8 year old model? It might have recently crashed on him and he lost all of his previous data, it is slower and probably heavier too. So he might hate having to lug it around even with an external keyboard. I say you got the better deal.

    1. You’re probably right. Lugging all that kit around is not inspiring nor practical..at least for me. I’ve very happy with what I’ve got- got loads done and more importantly enjoyed doing it!