Monday, June 13, 2016

Something to read today: "Who will you give it to?"

This blog post is about a year old, but still interesting because it goes deeper than many frugal or pare-down books and articles:  The Myth of Minimalism, at Revive Rethink Simplicity (a Canadian blog).

What I take from it: that no method, or system, or clean empty space, is going to solve all our problems. Particularly, as Jesus noted in Luke 11, because when our spaces (spiritual, mental, or physical) are swept clean, the old unsolved issues have a habit of coming back. Especially when the physical distractions or addictions are no longer there for a covering, what's left can seem just too empty. We turn off the T.V., but that doesn't magically make us able to talk to one another. We stop wasting time online, but then wonder what else we should be doing. We finally finish (maybe) decluttering the house; every last unused, excessive thing has been dealt with; then what?

"Minimalism is only the first step towards a life of more. More time, focus, energy, purpose, drive and love. What will drive us and where we will go is up to us.
There is no right answer or one path in life. Some of us will use our new freedom to invest more into our families and neighbourhoods. Others will take their expanded energy and bank accounts and cross an ocean to help those on the other side. None of us can do it alone, but as a community we can have a greater impact on the world. What does having less of give you more of? And who will you give it to?" ~~ "The Myth of Minimalism"

2 comments:

Silvia said...

I may have missed it a year ago, but what a profound article. I enjoyed it and learned and nodded.

Mama Squirrel said...

Hi Silvia! Sorry for the confusion: the post from a year ago was the one I linked to, although I had just read it myself. I've adjusted the spacing and I hope that makes it clearer.