A few years ago, we decided we wanted our home to better share our story. Our desire was to decorate in a way that clearly communicated what was most important to us as a family.
As a result, we removed outdated objects, knick-knacks collecting dust, and any decoration bought only because it matched the color of our couch.
What remained were the pieces most important to us: photos of our family and growing children, a scenic image of Vermont given to us by friends, a beautiful piece of art we received on our wedding day, and a few items that have always been important to my wife.
Each of our decorations tell a story. Our home and the pictures on our walls display what is most important to us.
Now, I realize that personal tastes in this matter vary widely. The art of making a home is always going to look different from person to person. And I know that we hang far less pictures on our walls than most.
But generally speaking, regardless of the number, it is interesting to me that most of us hang the same types of pictures on our walls:
We hang photos of our family. We display photos from places we have visited or would like to visit. We post inspirational words about love and laughter and living life to the fullest. We frame images of a life filled with quietness and rest.
Nobody hangs images on their walls of a hurried, busy, stress-filled life. Nobody displays photos of more money. And nobody decorates their homes with pictures of another day at the office.
Instead, on our walls, we celebrate family, friends, and faith in a better world.
But then, for some reason, we head out the door to live hurried lives of desperation. We rush from one appointment to another hoping to find a better life through anxious worldly gain. And each day, we pile anxiety upon anxiety.
Meanwhile, the pictures on our walls invite us to something better. They remind us of a life lived on purpose with meaning. And they call for us to focus on the very things that make us human.
Unfortunately, too many of us will never notice.
We are out striving for the next dollar that we can use to buy another framed picture of the life we wish we were living.
Lois w/less says
Wow…. I have been doing some hard work throughout my home this year and this really touches me. Is my home a reflection of the life I’m living or the life I WANT to live…..? The “work” has been about ridding my home of what has no meaning for me (or purpose or importance). Each item (from every closet, drawer, shelf) I would pick up and notice an emotional reaction (plus, negative, or neutral). I learned that much of what I had was just “stuff” – meaningless. And it made the other PLUS items so much sweeter because they are meaning-FULL. My home has become a reflection of ME and of what matters to me. What is on the walls is not much. But each piece “speaks” to me. I’m a little overwhelmed at this point of the work I’ve done but can honestly say it’s a LIFE CHANGER!
Kate @ The Beautiful Useful Project says
I have two preschoolers, and I’ve noticed that the pictures on our walls are such a source of pride for them. For the most part, we only hang pictures of family members and friends. The boys love to look at them, and they tell visitors about who is in the pictures. The pictures are a great way for us to tell the story of our family, and they help the boys feel connected. We are a military family, and we are far away from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our pictures remind us that we are a part of a larger family.
Switch says
I regularly read and enjoy your writings. I have read this post several times because it seems to hit a painful “rubber meets road” point, that I cannot resolve.
Yes, I have pictures of my family and our favorite vacation spot. But the family vacation is only possible because I am striving for the “next dollar” that pays for it. No striving means no family vacation. The same is true for many other important experiences … health insurance, tuition bills for college, braces for crooked teeth, nice homes in nice neighborhoods, even the family dog … Again, no “striving” means these “things” and experiences do not exist, resulting in a different kind of anxiety/stress.
I certainly agree with your broader points … we need to spend less, need less, consume less, value people and life experience over stuff. I felt that point very cogently and painfully yesterday, as I was dropping off my daughter off at college … it all goes by way, way too fast. But today, I need to get back to “striving for the next dollar” because college is expensive. No striving means no college education (or having her experience a mountain of student loans at ridiculous interest rates).
Just a different perspective and a little feedback … there is a balance of life, and a line that is hard to delineate, ever moving and changing, between the pictures on the wall and the “striving” that makes those experiences exist in the first place.
Keep up the good work.
MB says
Switch, I feel the same way! My job is high-pressure, and I work so incredibly hard. But there’s no guarantee that another job will be better. At least here, I’m well-compensated, which—like you said—funds things that do add value: health insurance, quality food, a home in a safe neighborhood, etc.
Pia Edberg says
This post is so great. I’ve recently just gone through all my artwork and have gotten rid of the pieces that don’t mean anything to me. I still think I could do better haha, but it’s a process!! It’s like fear, things seem scary at first until you try it and realize it’s no big deal. Then you pick at it getting closer each time.
Gladys (The Pinay Mom) says
When I was a teenager,I read somewhere to hang photos of places you want to visit someday so that you will strive and it serves as your inspiration to make it happen and I think I should do that now. We also change some of our family photos hanging on the wall,especially the girls’ pictures,to see how they change and grow.
Joseph Jameson says
I don’t know why we cannot do both; live in the real world, with it’s hectic nature and also walk into the worlds depicted on our walls. When minimizing clutter and leaving behind attachments to tangible things, we create space for the things that matter the most. Maybe if we leave behind photos on our wall of the places we’ve been and intend to go back to? Or our next holiday spot? I think it’s possible to live in the same moment that brings such peace.
Ree Klein says
When I was a young woman, I visited a couple I didn’t know at their home. I was struck by the eclectic mix of odd, but interesting, items on their walls, shelves and table tops.
Fascinated, I asked about many of them. Each one represented a fond memory of a trip or experience they had had over their lives. On that day, I went home and assessed my own living space and found that nothing prompted conversation or flooded my mind with good memories.
My home now, years later, is something like that of the couple I visited long ago. I love being in my environment because it says something about my life, our life.
Thank you, Joshua, you are a brilliant writer and a cheerleader for people who strive to live a simple yet meaningful lives.
Ree
Laura says
When my husband, myself and our three children moved out of the country four years ago, we couldn’t take anything with us as far as pictures and wall art goes. We moved into an already furnished apartment, minus anything on the walls. Over the two years we were there, I grew to absolutely LOVE the white, bare walls. It really helped me realize how much visual clutter impacted my life and everyday peace of mind. Now that we are back in our own home, we have many areas of the house with bare walls, and those pictures we do have are like Joshua says, pics of our family or of places that hold special meaning. I love it and will never go back to the ‘filler’ art that has been mentioned.
Toni - Reclaiming Your Future says
When I returned from each of my travels I made it a point to print photos and put them in frames as well as getting canvases printed so that I could proudly display them on my walls not for anyone else but myself.
When life became too busy or I was stressed, I would put music on which I had listened to on my journeys and star at the photos remembering the fun but calming times I had. It always helped :)
David J. Singer says
Joshua:
You have been a favorite blogger of mine for a couple of years and became my absolute favorite by continuing to come up with awesome posts like this one. Like what they say about 10,000 hours of doing something results in genius, you have gotten to a place where you are seeing things, and sharing them in a special and very understandable way.
Thank you for continuing to work at your craft and for helping make the world a better place as you do it.
All the best,
David
Judy says
I agree! :)