The Beauty of Less
You may have noticed that the idea of less is everywhere. When you open your heart to a new idea, it starts showing up where you least expect it. My husband is a cyclist. He has always been supportive of simplifying our lives but at first was just along for the “less” ride. Today he is right by my side and sometimes even leading the way.
As I mentioned, Mark is a cyclist and recently found an article while browsing a favorite cycling site. He sent me An Argument for Less. It’s a beautiful article written from a cyclist’s perspective about the beauty, sexiness and love of less.
I think less is beautiful because it …
gives us time to breathe. When we have less to worry about, and less going on during the day, we can take time to just breathe.
provides clarity. Cutting out the unessential provides the time and space to think about and identify the most important things in our lives.
cuts through BS. With steady breathing and great clarity, we know what we are willing to tolerate. Gossip, snap judgement and BS have no place in a life of less. We can choose happiness.
affords us the opportunity to be instead of do. We can measure ourselves by who we are instead of what we get done. We can measure ourselves by how we treat people instead of how many things we acquire or the size of our bank accounts.
connects us with less-minded peeps. Without a love of less, I never would have found YOU. I’ve made life long friends by choosing a life of less and you will too.
reminds us that this is it. There is no do over. (there is that clarity speaking again)
rejects busyness. We can choose good work over busy work.
invites calm. An excessive lifestyle leads to stress and anxiety. A life of less, leads to calmness and contentedness. (contentedness is a rock star!)
allows for a remarkable life in a conventional world. When you can make choices that make your heart sing, your body healthy, and your mind sharp you can begin to change your world and the world.
is available to all. Regardless of circumstance, you can choose a simpler life. It’s here when you’re ready.
As a cyclist said so elequently…
“So give it a try. I will bet that if you swing your leg over a simple bike that you will find your boring trails transformed into fun and your life will be better. You will have more friends, more riding time, be able to clean that demon section of trail and afford that tattoo you’ve been wanting so you can show everyone just how rebellious you are.
What do you have to lose but your derailleurs?”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Thanks Courtney. Great reminder that beauty and simplicity are often friends to each other and our lives. Love it, Mary
i like this one: invites calm. An excessive lifestyle leads to stress and anxiety. A life of less, leads to calmness and contentedness. (contentedness is a rock star!)
this summer I’m on a budget…1st time since I was a teen, really. at first, it felt restrictive. i felt i wanted the new sandals and the summer-y dress and the pampered pedicure. but, by making choices based on need vs. want, i find what i’m missing is the anxiety i used to feel when money went flying out of my hands. in ways, this lessness has added more to my contentedness. thanks for this post.
This post is wonderful. You sum things up perfectly, couldn’t have thought or said it better myself. Think I will print and hang on the fridge. I really believe there is a movement where people are “getting” that stuff is not where it’s at. After all, we can only manage so much effectively and beyond that we create a life of frustration and misery in, oh, so many ways. I know I have too much stuff when I have a temper fit just trying to clear the clutter enough to clean. My grandmother always used to say, Don’t ruin your life with a lot of things.” Wise granny. Thank you, also, for encouraging us with your wisdom because obviously I didn’t listen well enough to my granny!
LOVE the thinking … Living a life of “less” here also helps us do what really matters and adds more to the eternal picture of things. I’m not made for “just here” … We’re made for eternity. I love living less here so that more God-things can happen — and that’s the kind of stuff money can’t possibly buy — a relationship with God Himself and relationships with others that are truly meaningful.
I try to live each day as it’s the only day. That means doing things I enjoy every day. We do only have one life, might as well live it to the best we can.
“…a remarkable life in a conventional world” There’s that idea of embracing weirdness again, and I love it. Project 333 changed my life, in part b/c having few clothes meant less to maintain, which meant more time for other, far more gratifying uses of my time. Thanks for this post!
Hi Courtney,
I love this post, it reminds me of a book I read called simply ‘A Bike Ride’ where a headmistress retired and went around the world (aged 54 if memory serves me correctly) – on a bike!
Because her speciality was history, she followed the routes of the Romans (straight roads, shallow inclines, easy passes through mountains etc) and then Alexander the great as she navigated places the Romans hadn’t been – the beauty of it was that she then got to see the most fantastic historic sites, but even more beautiful was the simplicity of this trip.
Because she had just a bike, she was much more accessible and people welcomed her and wanted to help her (much more than say, if she’d done the same trip in a car).
There is so much all around us every day to appreciate and live and yet we clutter our lives with too much ‘stuff’ that takes space both physically and mentally…
Just found your blog from Lois’ link over on livingsimplyfree. I love your list, but I must say, I’m not going to be ditching my derailleur any time soon… not with the 14% grades that I have to climb around here!
Can’t wait to read more of your blog.
Cheers!
Cat