Is is possible that actually owning fewer things is better than owning more things?

Is it possible that less is, literally, more?

Are you drowning in your stuff? Your schedule? Your life?

The Minimalists and the Essentialist

A few months ago I read a review for a book: Everything That Remains: A Memoir by The Minimalists. Something in the review caught my attention. The authors suggested that the “hoarders” and the “organizers” are actually just two versions of the same problem, namely: We have too much stuff. (One group simply has a more socially-acceptable way of hiding it.)

Later this summer I discovered Greg McKeown’s Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. His book deals less with stuff and more with an overall philosophy of life, including our schedules and commitments.

Both books were game changers for me.

But it all started much more simply…

“I Need a New Bookshelf.”

In my study at work, I was discovering these truths on my own. I had prepared to ask a family member to build a custom bookshelf for me to help me store all the books that had piled on the floor. Then I had a moment of clarity. What if instead of building a custom bookshelf, I just got rid of books? Wouldn’t that solve the problem? 

So I did. Six boxes of them. I no longer “needed” that bookshelf.

A Deadline Never Hurts

At home we were preparing for renovations that would happen while we were on vacation. This meant we had to deal with that closet. You know the one I am talking about. The one filled with boxes of childhood memorabilia, boxes of miscellaneous junk, boxes of, well, stuff. So for three weeks, several hours, a night, we dug in and got it done. All the boxes. All the memories. All the stuff.

It was not fun. It was emotionally exhausting. But it was worth it. I cannot begin to tell you what it feels like to breathe again.

Not There Yet… But It’s Better

I would love to tell you that we’ve arrived. That our house is a picture-perfect minimalist’s dream. It’s not. But we’re getting there.

And every trip to the Goodwill, every bag that goes to the dumpster, every intentional decision we make to live more simply feels like a step in the right direction. It feels like a pilgrimage, a holy and spiritual journey.

Because it is.

A Holy Journey

For me, all of this has a faith component as well. In Luke 18:18-23, a rich young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After a conversation about keeping the commandments, Jesus invites him to sell everything he has, give the money to the poor, and follow him.

The rich young man goes away. He leaves. The Bible even gives us the “why”: he had too many possessions.

There are biblical scholars who will tell you this passage does not directly apply to us. But what if it does?

I am a long way from “selling everything I have and giving the money to the poor,” but I’m intrigued by the invitation and the journey. Are you?

 


 

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