By Wayne Hoover
Less is freedom, less creates space.
In todays society we are constantly overwhelmed by choice. Everyone and everything is vying for our energy.
But we are most overwhelmed by the choices we place on ourselves. When we have so many things we have to choose what to give our attention to. Sometimes our things need our attention because they need fixing. Sometimes we just have so much that we don’t know what to choose.
When we simplify our lives we consciously create less choice. To me this is the art of living; the art of less.
When we say no we create space in our lives. Not more of other things to fill the void, but we actually create the void in which life can now be lived. We create a space in which deep satisifbaction may finally manifest. It is really this satisfaction that we are looking for in the things we buy, we think they will satisfy us but really, it is not until we get comfortable with what we have now, without adding, that we many learn to be satisfied.
I’m reminded of a time in college when I was living in a house house with a bunch of my friends. Instead of filling the living room with furniture we simply had a some futons and cushions against the walls. This actually created a space for so much amazing life to happen! Because we didn’t have to conform to a couch or chairs or tables, we had room to meditate, eat, sleep, dance, do yoga, and generally play around and be human in. We had so much freedom in that room because that room was empty.
Less creates freedom.
I also don’t own many clothes, this makes it really easy for me to choose what to wear everyday, I pretty much just wear the same thing everyday. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to wear and this creates freedom for me. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to wear anymore, I just wear the same thing and I can use that energy I have saved for other more important things.
When we have less we don’t have to choose as much. There is less to fix, there is less to worry about, there is less to choose to spend our attention on, we can focus on being. We can focus on why we want so many things in the first place, we can get straight to it.
So I have began to think about choices in this way, does this choice bring more freedom? Does this choice bring more space into my life? A life of freedom and space is a quality life.
With less I have the time to think about the things that matter to me, to meditate and be a humanBEing. I am happy with less, I am more happy with less than I ever was with more.