Less Is More

Isn't it cool how Pope Francis has chosen to live a life of simplicity, even going so far as to continue in his vow of poverty for life?  No matter your stand on Catholicism, religion in general, or whatever, you have to admit that's pretty darn different.  In a time when it seems everyone is 'Chasing' after something, to somehow get better and better, more and more, bigger and bigger (remember Dr. Seuss' "Biggering" from the 'Lorax' story?), more desirable in the eyes of the world, he chooses a simpler life.  With all the means at his disposal and an already in place expectation to travel in limousines and stay in lavish spaces, he chooses the opposite, driving around in a little Fiat and staying in modest abodes, preferring to spend his time with and serving the poor than hobnobbing with rich elites. 

Kim and I have always enjoyed our efforts to simplify all aspects of our lives, giving away as much as we can bring ourselves to part with and throwing away the clutter and junk that seems to build up in our life.  People often come into our home, who haven't been over in a while, to exclaim, "Wow!  Where is all your stuff?"  We prefer the empty space and the peaceful, content feeling that comes with less and less.  While we have a long way to go and quite frankly, even for a family of five, we know we could certainly downsize the size of our home.  "Honey, where is that tiny house article I was looking at?"  It does feels so awesome to have less and less to take care of and we find that we can really appreciate more the things we do choose to hold on to and use.  While it is sometimes difficult to simplify completely (after all, we still need a car to get to work, dress appropriately, continue to live in the world around us), we have found there are a never ending stream of ways to simplify and each step is better than before.  Truth is, less is more and more is less.  Haven't you found that the best things in life really are free anyway?  Why not trade striving for arriving?  Tough we know, but wow, what a ride.  Ahhhhhhhh! 

FYI - A really great book that helped us begin our journey of simplifying our lives is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.