Never underestimate the importance of abandoning crap you don’t need.
Encouragement is important in all areas of life, but especially when trying to live a life different than those around us.
Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.
Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life. Simplicity requires encouragement. To that end, I hope you will find motivation in these articles below.
Each post was intentionality chosen to inspire simplicity in your life. For maximum effect, find a quiet moment this weekend and enjoy them with a fresh cup of coffee or tea.
Lessons From One Family’s Quest to Buy Nothing New for a Year | Chicago Tribune by Heidi Stevens. When you’re not buying things that are new, you have a different way of looking at things.
The Secret to a Simplified Schedule | No Sidebar by Melissa Camara Wilkins. Saying yes to the best stuff means saying no to everything else, even some really good things.
Why I Got Rid of the Toys | Dallas Moms Blog by Denaye Barahona. “The answer to my problem was having fewer toys, and picking the right toys.”
Man (Dis)connected: How Technology Has Sabotaged What It Means To Be Male | The Guardian by Stuart Jeffries. Boys now spend 44 hours in front of a TV, smartphone or computer for every half hour in conversation with their fathers.
Thanks for linking to “Man (Dis)Connected” Josh. I found that article particularly poignant and I enjoyed reading it. The nature of masculinity is changing, and not necessarily in good ways. (Just as the nature of femininity has changed.) Social commentary that indicates things aren’t as great as we’d hoped, are never popular. “Stereotyping” is a silly word people like to throw around when a view isn’t deemed progressive enough. I notice women in particular getting upset. Being a 30-something woman myself, I find the ideas presented in the article very unsurprising and bitterly true. Women are NOT men. We have some fundamentally different psychological requirements. Studies show women are much more resilient emotionally, whereas boys are (surprised?) more delicate. They need a different kind of nurturing than girls, to bring them to the final point of strength and mental independence we call masculinity. Women can’t model masculinity. Only men can model masculinity. Certainly, we can model strength, discipline, courage, etc. but we cannot, as women, model how to be a man. Just as men cannot model womanhood. We have a lot of cases of arrested development. Unfettered use of technology (porn, gaming, etc.) ensures boys are entertained while they remain boys the whole of their lives. Not surprisingly, some men regress to boyhood whims and behaviors as well. Connecting all of this to minimalism is obvious: Temper the use of technology. Know what your sons are watching and doing online. If they’re showing timidity, facilitate interaction with life/women/the outdoors, whatever the case may be, to give them a broader experience. It’s just too easy for boys to sink into social apathy these days.