How many times have you been scrolling through your news feed when you come across photos a friend has posted of a recent mission trip? The poster captions the photos with some kind of enlightening quote and for a brief moment we are all inspired before continuing on with our daily tasks.
In this situation, we often find ourselves drawing comparisons about the people the group went there to help like, "They didn't have fancy clothes or houses or many material goods. All they had were the clothes on their backs and each other, but they were SO happy!" It's as if we are applauding them for achieving the impossible. Happy without things? How incredible!
The mistake here is in us failing to draw the conclusions about ourselves from this revelation.
It's the "but" in the sentence that causes the comparison to fail. "All they had were the clothes on their backs and each other, but they were SO happy!" Are you with me? It's as if we are saying they didn't have these things that they need for happiness and in spite of that they are still somehow fulfilled and exuberant. But. What if the "but" in the sentence is replaced with the word "and?" Let's give it a try. "All they had were the clothes on their backs and each other, and they were SO happy!"
What I'm trying to explain isn't a lesson on semantics, but rather a lesson on lifestyle. What if the two scenarios are not mutually exclusive and it is because they own so little that they are filled with so much joy?
It is easy to overlook how many possessions fill your home and how the burden of owning them may be weighing you down. It's as simple as the metaphor about putting a frog into boiling water. If you put the frog into the pot after it has come to a boil, it will hop out and save itself. Instead, if you put the frog in a pot of cool water and slowly bring it to a boil the frog won't notice the subtle changes in temperature and before it's aware of the danger it is already too late. I fear we are the frog and the pot of boiling water is consumerism.
Maybe we as Americans have become so accustomed to being told how fortunate we are, what to buy, what to enjoy and how to live that we can't see the possibilities that come with making our choices for ourselves. Choosing to live with less means you must know yourself. You must know what you truly like in order to successfully curate the items that reside within your space. You need to grasp your emotions and have a basic understanding of how to use them. You must be able to decide for yourself. That's hard. I know I've shied away from those decisions for years for fear of what I may lose and also the fear of what I may discover about myself. It's so much easier to have someone else deciding for me.
Living in a first world country is a blessing in many ways and yet with blessings come the burden of responsibility. I want to challenge you this week. Get to know yourself better and discover how much stuff may be hiding in your living space in plain sight. Here is my challenge to you: count your clothing. Keep a notepad or calculator handy because if you are an average American you're going to need it to total your things. Count any and every item that can be worn on your body as a piece of clothing including: hats, scarves, ties, shoes, belts, shirts, camisoles, pants, skirts, etc. Don't forget to check the laundry pile. After you've finished, please sit back and admire that number. Was it higher or lower than you expected? The number itself is not important, but rather the awareness that comes with knowing how many items are in your closet is the goal here. Consider this- Marie Kondo asks her readers to consider the costs of using their space as a storage shed. Do you use every single piece you allow a spot in your closet? Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section below. I'll follow up on this idea in my article next week.
**Many people worldwide don't have a choice except to live with less and I in no way want to glamorize the lack of necessities that it takes to survive day-to-day. I simply want you to consider your excess and how donating or selling your excess may in turn be a benefit to others. Holding on to an exuberant amount of clutter is certainly not helping you.
