Less Is Almost Always More

The season of stuff has begun, and there is no limit to the amount of distraction and dissatisfaction that follows in our pursuit of more. We allow stuff to overfill our homes, ending up with closets full of things that brought us momentary fulfillment but are now forgotten. We keep this stuff because maybe someday we will decide we need it or like it again.

But we also tend to clutter up our mental landscape. There is only so much input we can grasp at once. Overloading our capacity to process information can lead to unrest and unhappiness. Too often I treat my mind like a junk drawer, just throwing random stuff in there that I think I might need later. I find something interesting on the internet, and I file it away both digitally and mentally in the hopes that one day I’ll do something with it. But with rare exception, I never do. What I end up with is a mind full of loose ends that I struggle to tie up, tangents of thoughts and ideas leading off in too many directions at once. My mind is full of so much stuff I don’t know what to do with it all.

While traveling, I tend to pack light, living with only a few possessions for several months at a time. I have also spent long periods completely disconnected from all sources of information input other than what I observe with my senses. Invariably, these have been some of the happiest times of my life. Contentment follows when I am unburdened by stuff both physical and mental. You would think I would know better by now, but I am still learning that less is almost always more.