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The Paradox of Minimalism

The Paradox of Minimalism may be summed up in one sentence:

"If less is more, how little is too much?"

There are NIL Google results for that phrase, a quotation now attributable to Possom Cohen, New Zealand.

Time becomes more valuable as one ages. This is a classic example of the Paradox of Minimalism.
The Paradox of Minimalism is related to the passage of time and to The Holiday Paradox.

Why Does Time Seem to Speed Up with Age?
July 1, 2016
Scientific American

Bonnie Raitt addressed the passage of time and the Paradox of Minimalism in her song "Nick Of Time."

Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time

"I see my folks are getting on
And I watch their bodies change
I know they see the same in me
And it makes us both feel strange

No matter how you tell yourself
It's what we all go through
Those lines are pretty hard to take
When they're staring back at you

Oh Oh Oh, scared you'll run out of time

When did the choices get so hard
With so much more at stake
Life gets mighty precious
When there's less of it to wa-a-a-aste

Mmm-m-m-m-m-m
Mmmmmmm, scared you'll run out of time"

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There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.”

― Woody Allen, Annie Hall: Screenplay
The Paradox of Minimalism is epitomized in the opening sentence of this 2016 New York Times article:

"It has become an ostentatious ritual of consumerist self-sacrifice; people who have it all now seem to prefer having nothing at all."

The Oppressive Gospel of ‘Minimalism’
By Kyle Chayka
July 26, 2016
NYTimes

The Paradox of Minimalism also describes some very rich people giving away most of their material possessions.

“The richer you are, the less you have.”

Another ironic example of the Paradox of Minimalism is the recent KonMari decluttering craze:

konmari.com
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church hurt 

church hurt is where you experience a degree of distance, pain, or judgement from your church community. Essentially, you are just unable to “find your place”. This is prevalent in the Christian community, but can be extended to other religions.
Now that I am an adult I am beginning to heal from the church hurt that was inflicted on me as a child.
Word of the Day on May 27, 2026
Huge. Surpassing normal expectations.
I was fishing with a Spinner Bait and a HONKIN pike came after it and hit it . Felt like a lawnmower running over a brick.
honkin by R. LaJoy December 26, 2005
Word of the Day on May 26, 2026

Stealthie 

when you're holding up your phone and making faces at it, as though you are taking a selfie, but you're really taking a picture of the person across from you or the wall or anything else that seems interesting but you don't want to be caught dead taking a picture of.

This action is often made more convincing by wiggling the eyebrows or opening the mouth, to pretend you're trying to get a Snapchat filter to work.
FRIEND A: "Did you just take a stealthie of me?"

FRIEND B (turning phone around): "no I was just using snapchat's new filter, see?"
Stealthie by gwenhyfar October 2, 2016
Word of the Day on May 25, 2026

Summer Teeth 

When someone has a lot of missing teeth.
Mannn, that dude has summer teeth!
What do you mean?
Summer here, summer there...
Summer Teeth by BeckPot August 2, 2012
Word of the Day on May 24, 2026
The grindset is a contemporary ideology of self-exploitation disguised as strength, deeply tied to the aesthetics of the “sigma male” and to new digital forms of patriarchy. It promotes the idea that human worth depends on productivity, economic success, absolute emotional control, and the ability to work endlessly, turning vulnerability, rest, community, and tenderness into signs of weakness. Beneath its rhetoric of discipline and power often lies a profound inability to relate healthily to pain, fragility, and human interdependence.
“That’s the grindset, brother. While weak men sleep and complain, sigma males stay disciplined, work in silence, suppress emotions, and build power while everyone else wastes time chasing comfort.”
Grindset by Omega-Male May 22, 2026
Word of the Day on May 23, 2026
well known from south park
rednecks get angrry that future folk took there jobs so they yell
They took ouare jerbs!
Them future folk took ouare jerbs!
jerb by Jimberley Kim April 7, 2005
Word of the Day on May 22, 2026