"Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. It means an ordering and guiding of our energy and our desires, a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions. It involves a deliberate organization of life for a purpose. Of course, as different people have different purposes in life, what is relevant to the purpose of one person might not be relevant to the purpose of another. The degree of simplification is a matter for each individual to settle for himself." - Richard Gregg
I've always been drawn to simplicity but it was in my third year of University I started to more consciously explore how I could apply it to my life. From a couple questions I got from people who read this blog I could tell they misunderstood one of my posts a year ago and thought I was really going to try to limit my things to 100. I am fascinated people can live like that but I think the quote above explains clearly why it doesn't work for everyone (and myself included) to set an arbitrary number of things. I like to be more conscious of the things I own- making sure they serve an important function- which includes being beautiful of course- by sorting through or organizing them routinely.
I think I do reasonably well at controlling physical clutter. That even applies to my dearly beloved books & photos- I don't like keeping books I didn't enjoy or would not read again (even when it comes to my precious Coralie Bickford-Smith illustrated hardbacks) and I don't keep pictures that trigger negative feelings or that I wouldn't care about looking at again. But I'm working at the mental clutter. For one I always I have a lot of unfinished projects that weigh on my mind. I think it would be much more energizing to see a project completely finished before moving onto another. I also find that the time I spend on the computer is adding a lot of clutter (and it's not usually in line with my top priorities). It's overwhelming to expose myself to more projects/ideas than I can try or accomplish. I'm going through my bookmarks this week and reevaluating which blogs/websites are really worth going to and making a commitment to keep my computer time, outside of a purpose like researching a talk, to 15 minutes a day and my bookmarks to projects/ideas I can realistically see myself doing/using. And of course keeping my top priorities at the forefront is the most tricky of all.
Matt and I dream of selling/giving away most of worldly possessions one day and serving missions. Dropping our nets so to speak, being content with necessities and following Christ. It seems it would be easier to live simply and act on the most important things living life like that. I think we may have to have 6 children though so we can spend two months with each during a year break between missions (so they don't get sick of having us stay with them too long!)
Royall, have i ever told you that i love reading your blog? it is so uplifting. I too have been trying to limit my things in life. my clothes, food, groceries. every time I buy something I think, do I really need this? Will I even wear it that often?
ReplyDeleteI also love what Matt said to you on Valentines day, you have wings and your hair is romantic, hilarious.
I also love your hair posts and pictures, you have inspired me. One time I saw this article in a paper and a girl tried 21 different hairstyles in 21 days and I thought i would give a whirl. I get tired of doing my hair the same every day.