The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.
Less is beautiful. Less creates a blank space, a vessel of emptiness. One that can be kept empty to a certain degree or filled with something new, something that is more worthwhile and joyful. Less always comes in exchange for more, in some or another way. By removing something, a replacement comes to take its place. It’s like a fundamental, universal law. Likewise, more has to come in exchange for less, there are no exceptions.
In our modern society, most of us are striving for more; more time, more health, more happiness. But in order to get more, we always first have to give up something else. Nothing comes free of charge if so to speak. This is an unquestionable truth. If we are not aware of this circumstance, we are also not in control of what we are going to give up. Another, and possibly better practice, is to turn around and watch from the opposite perspective. Let’s strive for less instead; less work, less stress, less distractions. From this point of view, we are in full control of what we give up. We reduce to create a blank space that allows us to bring more into our lives.
If we want to work less, we can simply work less to gain more time, then we can choose what to do with that new free time. It’s that simple. However, working less of course has consequences, such as a lower income. Personally, I did exactly that about a year ago, my goal was to work less. So I evaluated my monthly expenses and income and realized that if I could just spend a little less every month, I would be able to sustain the family with an 80% work-load. Minimalism helped a lot to reduce those monthly expenses, and so I did it. On Fridays I can now spent more time with my family or follow my passions or work on personal projects. In short, it is truly great. By working less I gained more time, more freedom and thus more joy. I traded a luxury live for live quality.
Here are some more examples of what less could do for you.
Less 〈 |
〉 More |
|---|---|
| Work | Time |
| Distraction | Intention |
| Junk-food | Health |
| Thinking | Living |
| Consumption | Creation |
| Dependence | Freedom |
| Dictation | Choice |
| Expecations | Enjoyment |
| Possessions | Gratitude |
| More | Less |
Sometimes things also get pulled out of our lives, forcefully and unwillingly. In such cases we are not in control what gets reduced. However, we can still be in control what comes to take its place, as long as we are aware of the blank space that the loss created. Here’s an example. A suitcase full of clothes gets lost in an airport, never to be found. Depending on how attached we are, that loss will cause us pain. That pain is the blank space. Well actually the space is not blank at all, since it is full of pain, but it is like a manifestation of the blank space, the blank space trying get filled. So when we realize that there is a blank space, we then have a choice. We can quickly replace all our clothes, buy them all new, right away, in the next shopping mall, in the airport. Or we can be grateful, appreciate the clothes that we still have and thus develop that capacity to enjoy less. We can fill the blank with stuff or with gratitude, the latter ultimately leads to more happiness.
Less and more and two sides of the same coin, in ever perfect balance.
Let’s strive for less rather than more.
Let’s remove undesired things and thus allow the desired ones to enter.
Because less makes room for more—because less is more.
That is what I humbly call The Beauty of Less
.
