This is the first entry in a series on spiritual practices. I will be introducing a different spiritual practice each week and reflecting a bit on what it means and how to incorporate it into our lives.
It wasn't difficult to choose which spiritual practice to begin with. In order to adopt many new spiritual practices, we must find ways to open space in our lives for them. Simplicity is an obvious starting point for this series, because it is a spiritual practice that helps us to open space in our lives.
There are no doubt many definitions of what simplicity is. I will define it as this: practice of letting go of anything that clutters our lives. I realize this is a very vague definition, so let's break it down a bit. There are two main areas that we can simplify in our lives: external and internal.
The more obvious way of practicing simplicity is letting go of the clutter of physical objects in our lives. This clutter is external to us. It is outside of us. We live in a materialist, consumerist society. We are trained from the day we come into the world to be consumers. We collect stuff. Through commercials, print advertisement, billboards, etc... we are told that our lives will be made better by all the stuff. Advertisements often times use very spiritual language to tell us all the wonderful things that this stuff will do for us. Unfortunately, physical objects cannot fulfill the promises that are made by marketing campaigns. So, what can we do? One way to practice simplicity is by literally removing the clutter. We can go through our physical stuff and get rid of the things that we do not need. This literally opens space in our homes and our lives. We can also learn to let go to our attachment to physical things. I have a car in order to get around, but that car is not my life. It brings no deep meaning. It is a tool, an object. The practice of simplicity involves letting go of the meaning attached to objects that give them more power in our lives than they should have.
Here is a good step towards practicing simplicity: Pick one room in your house. Take some time to go through everything in that room. Literally remove things that are not being used or are not helpful to have in the room. If you find yourself thinking, "Well, I am not using it now, but I might need it someday," that means you should get rid of it. Maybe, might, perhaps; these are triggers that you are not allowing yourself to let go. Now that you have gone through the room and removed the stuff, find a place to send it off to. Donate it to charity or put it in the trash. Do not put the stuff in a box and stick it in another room. Now that the room is less cluttered, organize the things that are there. Take some time to reflect on how the room feels. Does it feel more open, more useful, more life-giving, more simple? Hopefully it does, and hopefully this will inspire you to extend your practice of simplicity to other physical areas and more internal aspects of your life.
(My next post will deal with the internal practice of simplicity, a scriptural reflection on the practice, and resources.)
It wasn't difficult to choose which spiritual practice to begin with. In order to adopt many new spiritual practices, we must find ways to open space in our lives for them. Simplicity is an obvious starting point for this series, because it is a spiritual practice that helps us to open space in our lives.
There are no doubt many definitions of what simplicity is. I will define it as this: practice of letting go of anything that clutters our lives. I realize this is a very vague definition, so let's break it down a bit. There are two main areas that we can simplify in our lives: external and internal.
The more obvious way of practicing simplicity is letting go of the clutter of physical objects in our lives. This clutter is external to us. It is outside of us. We live in a materialist, consumerist society. We are trained from the day we come into the world to be consumers. We collect stuff. Through commercials, print advertisement, billboards, etc... we are told that our lives will be made better by all the stuff. Advertisements often times use very spiritual language to tell us all the wonderful things that this stuff will do for us. Unfortunately, physical objects cannot fulfill the promises that are made by marketing campaigns. So, what can we do? One way to practice simplicity is by literally removing the clutter. We can go through our physical stuff and get rid of the things that we do not need. This literally opens space in our homes and our lives. We can also learn to let go to our attachment to physical things. I have a car in order to get around, but that car is not my life. It brings no deep meaning. It is a tool, an object. The practice of simplicity involves letting go of the meaning attached to objects that give them more power in our lives than they should have.
Here is a good step towards practicing simplicity: Pick one room in your house. Take some time to go through everything in that room. Literally remove things that are not being used or are not helpful to have in the room. If you find yourself thinking, "Well, I am not using it now, but I might need it someday," that means you should get rid of it. Maybe, might, perhaps; these are triggers that you are not allowing yourself to let go. Now that you have gone through the room and removed the stuff, find a place to send it off to. Donate it to charity or put it in the trash. Do not put the stuff in a box and stick it in another room. Now that the room is less cluttered, organize the things that are there. Take some time to reflect on how the room feels. Does it feel more open, more useful, more life-giving, more simple? Hopefully it does, and hopefully this will inspire you to extend your practice of simplicity to other physical areas and more internal aspects of your life.
(My next post will deal with the internal practice of simplicity, a scriptural reflection on the practice, and resources.)