addition by subtraction

You've heard "what a difference a day makes", right? Imagine what an entire year with the expressed desire to change as much of your life as possible could do for you. You discover some things are easy. Some things are crazy hard. And some things just take a long time to set in motion and follow through on. Over the last 12 months or so, I've been on that journey. For me, change has been almost entirely about subtraction. I've had at least 10 years of bad habit forming and shit accumulation. And when given the chance to make the type of life changing decisions I had the opportunity to make, it began with cuts. Deep cuts. But I can't say that I've ever been happier. Why? Because I'm letting go.

I've run the gamut between losing a ton of weight, quitting drinking, and even selling my home of almost a decade. But one of the more rewarding and addictive changes I've made is just getting rid of stuff, and therefore, stress. It's true, the cliche': Stuff you own ends up owning you. When you honestly don't care if you have a single possession or not, you find yourself in a place of remarkable freedom. Unprecedented freedom to not worry as much about what the economy is doing. Freedom to chase a dream. Freedom to be bold enough to live a life less ordinary.

Now, I'm not there. You see, I need a car to travel in, and a computer to do work on. But even then, need is subjective. To go Fight Club on it, you could say that we "work jobs we hate to buy shit we don't need." Indeed. That draws the whole "need" thing into question. And certainly, the modern materialistic life can be a trap, perpetuating states of misery because we can't let go of the stuff around us. And of course, children who are dependent on us change everything. So let's keep it philosophical: could we let go of the material in pursuit of greater happiness and more lasting contentment? I'll let you know when and if I ever find out. But the journey is intriguing. And with the world changing around us and standards of living falling for everyone but the rich, living with less seems like a quest we should all embark on. For many, the trip will be mandatory.

Comments

[Lisa Hudgens]

Awesome post. I agree wholeheartedly that this is a journey worth taking, in fact, it's all I've been thinking about lately. Note that I say, "thinking about" rather than doing : )

I'm surrounded by TOO MUCH and I swear it's sucking the life out of me! I have tons of good stuff that I want to sell to earn some *much* neded moolah (and peace), but I'm paralyzed by my over-thinking, over-analyzing ways: How/where/etc. do I go about it? After awhile, I'm exhausted and just give up. Rinse & repeat). Oy.

Anyway, I'm hoping your post is my gift from the internet gods & will serve as the kick in my proscratinating ass I need! A journey starts with just one small step...wish me luck.

[LaRue Owen]

Chris,
A wonderful post! An awesome journey. You are an inspiration! It took some of us 65-years to figure that out. Very cool!

[Nolen]

Also, one VERY important thing that I left out is this: The journey illustrated in that post was NOT alone. In fact, I consider myself to have been as much or more of a passenger on the trip rather than an active participant. True, there was work involved, but there was amazing amounts of support, guidance, and encouragement from those closest to me. And not to get cheesy, but from God, The Universe, Karma or whatever you'd like to call it. I don't name it because I don't understand it, but what I do know is that all the gears that were turning in the great machine lined up at precisely the moments needed to set it in motion like a watermill generating current. My part wasn't creating current, but not fighting against it.

[Rube]

Nice Noleo!

[Frank Owen]

I still love this post so much. Brilliance.

[Beth]

Ditto Frank. Love this.