Epilogue – The Journey Continues
I
have now made a first pass through most of the rooms and corners of my house
and I have begun to realize that this was only the beginning. I have only given away my excess. I have not really made any sacrifices. I think of the Biblical story of the widow’
mite and I know I am no were near her level of giving. This summer I plan to start over, move forward,
and dig deeper.
This
spiritual, mental, and physical journey I’m on has morphed into other areas of
my life as well. For instance, I have
embraced the recycling movement. Most of
my life I did not really see the need for this.
I tossed my cans in a bin if it was convenient and that was about
it. I was fairly ignorant and unconcerned
about how much trash I created. The week
I tackled the art room I began to feel guilty as the bags of trash, mostly
paper, piled up. I guess it was the
amount that got me. A little trash here
and there didn’t seem to matter, but four bags of mostly paper that could have
been recycled seemed like such a waste. I
decided that day that it was worth the inconvenience of sorting and delivering
recyclables in order to make my trash reusable instead of just adding to a
landfill. Now I collect plastic bottles,
paper, tin cans, glass, cardboard, and aluminum cans. In addition I use cloth bags when I shop. It’s a start.
Another
area of growth has been financial. Now
that I am rid of so much excess stuff I certainly don’t want to refill my
house. I find myself buying less. I look at items critically before I purchase
them to decide if they will be useful and/or bring me joy. I try to decide if this purchase will only
end up filling a thrift store bag later.
I’m especially skeptical of giveaways. All too often those are the items that morph
into clutter.
An
extension of these two areas has led me to want to purchase used items whenever
possible. It seems that there is so much
stuff in the world, it is a little wasteful to buy new. I recently lost some weight and needed new
clothes. It would have been so
convenient to go to the local department store, spend a couple hundred dollars
and get what I needed. I decided instead
to put my new values to work. I went
thrift store shopping. It certainly
wasn’t as easy and it took more time. I
went to several stores the first day. I
discovered which stores in my area had the best selection of plus-size clothing
and which ones were organized by size to make shopping easier. The selection was somewhat limited but when I
did find an item that I liked and it fit, I felt a surge of
accomplishment. It was like a treasure
hunt and it did not break my budget.
There was an element of faith involved as well. I was asking God to provide for my needs
rather than just relying on my credit card.
One
other area of growth has been related to poverty. As I was decluttering my bookshelves I found
a book about the spiritual discipline of simplicity. This concept seemed to encompass the whole
journey I’ve been experiencing. It
discussed ownership and finances. Then
it delved into the subject of poverty. I
found out that anyone making $40,000 a year is in the top 1% of the world. Also, 92% of the world’s population don’t own
a car. In other words, most of us in
America are rich by the world’s standards.
We are blessed and we need to decide how to use our resources. We need to explore the idea of whether our
extravagant lifestyle is pleasing to God when so many are starving through no
fault of their own. I know that this is
not a simple issue. It is full of
political intrigue. Personally I have
always felt that some social programs where enabling laziness and ensnaring
people so that they could not move on to financial independence. However, I have to admit that the Bible
espouses helping the poor. For example,
farmers were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that the poor
could glean what they needed. Some
theologians have embraces what is called “The theology of enough.” When manna rained down on the Israelites
there was enough for everyone’s needs, but hoarding was not allowed. Each days needs were provided, just as Jesus
told us in the Lord’s Prayer. Gandhi
reiterated this when he said, “The world has enough for everyone’s need but not
for everyone’s greed.” Right now, I
don’t know what this means for me. I’m
still asking the questions and exploring the issues. I do know that sharing my excess and spending
my money responsibly is moving in the right direction.
All
in all, this has been a journey of less: less stuff, less trash, and less
spending. It has also been a journey of
more: more time, more beauty, and more joy.
It has been enlightening, challenging, confusing, and exciting. I look forward to where this road will lead
me next.
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