If your greatest desire in life is to own more things, you are selling your potential short.
Unfortunately, society has told us our greatest dreams should consist of doing well in school, getting a lucrative job, building a large retirement fund, and buying a really nice house with lots of cool things. And because we get told that deceptive lie so many times and from so many sources, we start to believe it—without even noticing.
Before we know it, we are accumulating more and more things hoping to satisfy the longing in our hearts for something greater. This is a shame.
We can dream bigger dreams.
We can dream better dreams.
As Eric Hoffer once said, “You can never get enough of what you don’t need to make you happy.”
Our lives are worth more than the things that we own. Our lives can be lived for things that matter: love, hope, charity, relationships, contribution, spirituality.
But not if we sacrifice them by settling for possessions that only distract us from it.
About Joshua Becker
I’ve been a crafter for many years, and can you realize how much “stuff” I have stored for those many years. I was always taught when I was a child, not to waste, so I always thought maybe I could use “that” someday. “that” is still stored somewhere. Your timing is really appropriate for my husband and myself. We had a flooded basement with heavy rain and had to get rid of many things; so we’re on our way. Hooray!
Nice post! Your are right! The things you own end up owning you….
stuff and more stuff, it drives you crazy, i only buy the things i really need or really like, and i try not to buy impulse things either, instead of shopping for a day out go for a lovely walk somewhere, its better for your health and wallet.
There really is a sense of freedom in owning less! I would recommend it to anyone trying to simplify their lives. Try letting go of those things you think you have to have to survive and you will soon learn those things keep you in bondage.
As well as the valuable comments its worth noting that we should stay away from the adverse messages Joshua mentions. Society sends its messages through TV, advertising and increasingly businesses engaging in social media, and of course fly on the wall documentaries of the so-called famous. You don’t need the stuff they tell you you need, or what the ‘famous’ have. You’re just fine as you are.
Without realising where we are heading, we end up in a wild goose chase for happiness in goods rather than happiness for good.Your ideas and suggestions for a simple living are very beautiful and inspiring. Good wishes.
Very true. People should be more focused on establishing relationships than gathering possessions.
I find your articles so inspiring! Thank you.
My mum was so upset when I didn’t go to University because she argued it was a waste of my intelligence. I told her it was a waste of mind.
I’m now concentrating on my writing, working on my indefinite travels and living the life I want as opposed to the one society wants for me and you know what? She couldn’t be more proud :)
Great post! We don’t want material things define our well-being.
As an American raised abroad, it was culture shock to return to the States for University. My time in Asia and Western Europe was very different than here at home. There seems to be love of life, experiences, and relationships that are the focus of daily life that we replace with the accumulation of things. Always after the next high. The pace here is frenetic. I miss walking, lingering, and feasting my eyes on beautiful flowers that someone has taken the time to plant in little tucked away nooks and crannies surrounding their front gardens. People greet each other on the street, spend weekends walking the gardens and grounds of nearby estates, or meeting friends for a coffee or beer in a tucked away pub. The pace is slower, the company important, the conversation enlightening, and the cheerfulness pervasive. These simple pleasures are the THINGS that feed my soul.
Joshua,
My post this week highlights a quote from Shane Claiborne of thesimpleway.org.
He talks about insulating ourselves with “stuff.” That is such an eye-opener for me, and I’m already a min. To think we insulate ourselves from the world (and our problems) with stuff and then end up insulating ourselves from the joy and freedom we really desire… oof.
So true. Owning less unnecessary stuff makes us more focused in life.
Once I moved away from collecting and owning stuff as an end-goal, it was interesting for me to see at first how much time I freed up. I had so many minutes left over which I wasn’t using to drive to shopping malls, or get my shoes fixed, or check out catalogues, online or offline.
The goal then became to find out another way to spend the bounty of time that I had been gifted. I spend that freed up time learning and volunteering. I use the free courses online, like Codecademy or Coursera, to learn HTML coding, or Quantum Physics. I also like to volunteer at the numerous festivals in Toronto, to connect with other people who are like me.
My life is infinitely more valuable than the stuff that I own – as I do not own a lot of stuff at all. I was lucky to discover the tenets of minimalism in my twenties, when I only had closetful of clothes to my name.
Thanks for the post – it reminded me of the good in my life over again.
Posted to Facebook in response:
“I totally agree with Joshua in this as a general statement from the Western, generally ‘excessive’ perspective… however, when you have nothing much to sustain the basics of life, then possessions can make a difference. I am not Syrian, Palestinian or North Korean. I do not live in dread of warfare, bombing or state police calling. I guess I am saying let’s make some sort of ‘important role’ in the world not based on possessions for ourselves, but on ensuring others have the basic possessions for life to be safe, and liveable. Where ‘we’ here, speak of achieving ‘minimalism’ as a retrograde step, for millions, ‘minimalism’ would be a significant boost in living standards – and that’s not just in respect of ‘possessions’.”
Well said
So very true! I am an educator and had two months off this summer. I have a beautiful new road bike I had planned on riding this summer. Unfortunately, I rode it three times. Instead I was burdened down with STUFF! My own stuff and my mother’s stuff from her house where she has lived for sixty three years and collected everything. I am so sad to have wasted my summer. So sad. I will be downsizing!
This resonates with me today – beautiful words of wisdom. Thank you for this reminder.
I too was overly burdened by my parents’ lifetime of accumulation. My mother was terribly disappointed that I didn’t want everything she had “saved” for me, and my dad was perhaps hoping I would want to live in the house he had built in Michigan. I lived in Arizona at the time. My husband said “Remember that those are things from THEIR life. Only bring to Arizona what you can fit into OUR life. Leave the rest behind.” And I did. It was all sold in an estate sale, including the house, to help fund their $100,000 year nursing home. People who went to the sail said “Didn’t you want any of that stuff?” And I could honestly say, “No, I didn’t.” I kept a few things that I had always loved: 3 watercolors and a lovely piece of porcelain my dad had shipped from Germany in WWII, a Tiffany lamp from my mother’s aunt in Ohio given as a wedding present, my mother’s family valentines from the 1800’s, and a marble top dresser from an antique shop in Ann Arbor bought when I was dropped at boarding school in Chicago. My husband was quite relieved!
Thank you, Joshua. So true. :)
Thank you for this message. I really enjoy these friendly reminders.