Less is More

Less is More

Moving across the country is daunting for anyone at any time.  Selling a home that my son and I lived in for over 16 years  Virginia was distressing; I’d put blood, sweat and tears into that place and it was such a blessing, like a big warm hug that provided security and comfort and stability through all of the hard times we endured.

Moving away from that place, asking my 21 year old son to come along but him refusing, selling two floors of furniture to downsize my life was a huge adjustment that now seems absolutely perfect.  With the exception of missing my son, who moves here and there and everywhere because he’s an actor, living in the small 1,000 square foot condo with a beautiful view of the mountains has taken time to understand.  There are no dogs, no piles of dirty towels in my son’s bathroom, no yard work and minimal maintenance.  And while I prided myself in taking care of all of those things, the phase I’ve entered allows for less of that and more of everything else.  I travel now to see my son wherever he is.  I’ll always maintain a bedroom and bathroom for him “just in case” and uphold my motherly place, yet after three years of being in this little space I’m now finally understanding the blessing of less.

Less has opened my eyes to all of the stuff we collect and place in empty corners, on empty shelves and in closets.  Things are less now, and time has become available and allows for a reintroduction of myself to me.

I’ve heard there is a book about this now.  The book basically suggests that anyone needing to eliminate clutter go through their home, hold each item and ask if that item brings them joy.  If not, rid the space of it.  While I do appreciate that simplistic approach, my thought is that it is more about how we can arrange our existence to keep what is meaningful, but to also understand why we kept the no-longer-joyful things in the first place.  It is a lesson in filling up, in asking ourselves what we try to fill up on the outside instead of filling up on the inside.  Spend time with yourself.  What brings you joy?  Stuff sure might, but I can guarantee that there are much more fulfilling things than things.

Instead of spending hours in the yard, cleaning a large house and pondering what picture to place on which wall, my little space gives me the feeling of a sanctuary.  When friends come by it is very cozy, but it is lovely.  And when the time is right, a good man will also share this space with me.  In the meantime, I’ll look out my westerly facing sliding glass door at the beautiful sunsets and remember that change is good, movement is necessary and adjustment takes time.  Time is precious and living smaller has opened my eyes to this fact on every level.  Less is more, as they say.  I totally agree.