Steps on the Simplicity Journey

I was a little hard on myself in my last post, Why Do I Want to Simplify? Do you ever do that?

I am usually hardest on myself when I want to be at a certain goal but I’m not willing to do what is necessary to get there.  I just want to be there now.   Which of course is the quickest path to discouragement.

I have appreciated hearing from several of you through comments and email that I am not alone in this struggle to simplify, to be free of the stuff that takes personal time, energy, and resource to sustain.  This “stuff” may get in the way of living our lives more meaningfully.

One of the blogs I read is by Everett Bogue called Far Beyond the Stars who wrote an interesting blog recently on The True Purpose of Simplicity.  He said that the reason he is a “minimalist” (one who lives with as few possessions as possible) is freedom.  Simplicity or minimalism gives him the freedom to choose more intentionally.

For me, there is another reason I want to live more simply.

I believe my spiritual connection to God, our Creator, beckons me, calls me, invites me to do so.

The ultimate goal is to use the freedom from stuff to be free to serve others.

I want my time, my resources, and my skills to be used to make the people’s lives better.

So as I wait for our house to sell, I realize that there is much I can do now.  I can make choices now.

I can start by my cleaning out my closet again and giving those extra clothes away.  I can tackle that section of the garage that just accumulates stuff and give or throw it away.  I can sell our ping pong table on Craigslist and go through the stuff that has grown in the basement of our house.

I won’t arrive at my goal this year, but like many things, it will get me moving in the direction I want to go.  Steps along the journey are better than being hard on myself for not arriving already.

My prayer in the meantime is I will see the people and opportunities I encounter every day as steps on that journey to live more simply and to live more freely.

How are you living more simply? Will you share your steps in the comments below?

Peace to you on the journey.

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