Many paths can lead to the same, remarkable goal
I’m rereading Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man right now. I mentioned it in the “Ask Unclutterer: Best methods for recycling” post a couple weeks ago, and decided to reread it when I saw it on my bookshelves a few days later. I’m not much of an environmentalist — I’ve never tried to save the whales, or even just one whale — but simple living advocates and proponents of waste reduction often find themselves in the same professional circles. I thought Beavan’s words might have something to inspire me in the work I do, and I was correct.
Beavan’s book, with the phrase “save the planet” in the extended title, is more about saving himself than saving the Earth. It’s obvious from the first page of the text he doesn’t know what he wants from life. He feels disconnected, like he’s only going through the motions of living, and that his priorities are out of whack. He wants to make a change for the better, and living without impacting the environment is more of his path to discovering what matters most.
The similarities between choosing to live without distractions (being an unclutterer) and choosing to live without damaging the planet (being an environmentalist) are arbitrary since both, at least in this case, end up in the same place: a remarkable life. When Beavan talks about his previous habit of constantly eating out at fast-food restaurants, he’s really talking about getting rid of the clutter so that he can focus on what matters most to him. From pages 45 and 46:
So much of my trash-making and waste is about making convenient the taking care of myself and my family. It’s about getting our needs out of the way. But is this so? When did taking care of ourselves become something so unimportant that it should be got out of the way rather than savored and enjoyed? When did cooking and nourishing my family become an untenable chore? What is more important that I’m supposed to do instead?
He continues on page 47:
Even modern replacements for priests, rabbis, and Zen masters — the positive psychologists — have something to say on this point. That new breed of shrinks has discovered that happy people spend a lot of time being grateful for what they have and savoring their experience. They don’t rush through “now” to get to later. They don’t make taking care of themselves or taking care of their families something they have to get over with so they can get to the good stuff. Instead, they insist that this moment, whatever it is, is the good stuff.
What is it that matters most to you? What is your vision for a remarkable life? What path are you taking to get there?
These are all good questions, with limitless sets of answers, and ones that I keep asking myself and discerning on a regular basis. If you’re searching for a more remarkable life, maybe they’re questions you also want to be asking yourself.
15 comments posted
Posted by Meg - 08/03/2010
I am reminded of the Gandhi quote, “Live simply, so that others may simply live.”
I have come at simple living from many directions at once, from a desire to declutter my home and life and even be a bit minimalist in some respect, from a desire to be more frugal, from a desire to cause less suffering through environmental damage and more recently through veganism, too.
And it all comes back to that quote. But what is unsaid by that quote is all the good it does for oneself, too. When you live simply, you can LIVE and not just “go through the motions”. As I simplify, I find myself healthier and happier. And while the stuff that remains in my life is stuff I consider worth keeping, I have learned that happiness truly isn’t something that can be bought but rather an attitude to be cultivated.
Posted by Keetha - 08/03/2010
It’s true – to live it and enjoy it all now, right now. That makes all the difference in attitude, in perception, in everything.
Posted by Cat's Meow - 08/03/2010
Simplicity and minimalist lifestyle gives me time and space to be right here, right now, and enjoy it.
Posted by Mary Denny - 08/03/2010
WOW! Just what I needed to read today! Thanks
Posted by Mletta - 08/03/2010
To create a remarkable life, however one defines it, requires time…whether to accomplish a personal or professional goal, or to simply BE with the people you love and care about and enjoy their company without feeling you should be doing something else.
What I love about your blog is that you ask us to consider so many different “things” (however, not just objects and stuff) that can clutter our lives and continually make us aware that we have options and choices. This is incredibly helpful.
Awareness has to drive our choices.
I remember years ago, spending time doing a particular activity, one which required several hours each week. I was in the middle of bemoaning not having time for joining a friend. I stopped, looked around and for the first time actually realized that ALL of our time reflects our choices. That what takes time should represent an investment in what we love and want to be doing. (OK. Cleaning and laundry and general maintenance are exempted.)
at that moment I really began to see how much it “cost” me to do certain things like maintaining a collection, keeping up to date on certain things, storing stuff, etc.
Once I started thinking about how that time could better be used for what mattered to me, it totally changed my relationship to just about everything, whether decorating, collecting, storing or doing.
Your blog is a constant and terrific reminder to make the connection between ALL the clutter (people, things, activities, routines, etc.) in our lives and how it affects our quality of life and the amount of time available for what truly matters.
I’d like to say that it altered ALL of my habits, etc, but that would not be true. However, it changed enough so that I feel that my life is in better balance. More importantly, I keep questioning what is in my life and how much time I give to it.
(Some of us have variations of the “perfection” gene and we’re never just gonna have people over when the house is a mess, but we’re working on it.)
What matters most is making time for the people you love and care about. To enjoy their company. To be there for them. To have time to just hang out and BE with them. To share meals and activities.
And of course, to also make time for yourself and whatever makes your heart sing. Cause you have to treat yourself as well as you treat your loved ones.
Uncluttering, de-cluttering, whatever we call it, that’s the real reason we do it. At least in my life.
Posted by Mike - 08/03/2010
So… basically “do less.” No thanks. Heck, a primary motivator behind getting rid of clutter is so that there is sufficient time and space do DO MORE with one’s life. And I don’t mean time simply to consume more media or other such cruft, but time to be with people you care about, go places with them, learn and see and do more… to have Experiences.
I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend all night contemplating a plate of spaghetti when I can be off taking my daughters to visit their great-grandparents.
Uncluttered living can indeed be simple, and I mean “simple” in the virtuous sense, as in science. In today’s world of complexity worship both physically and philosophically, this can be a welcome pleasure. But that doesn’t mean reducing one’s life tempo deliberately to the point that basic sustenance becomes a dominant use of one’s time. Our ancestors who toiled in the fields would be laughing at our rejection of time-saving technology and conveniences that were designed to eliminate such waste. They’d think we were idiots for voluntarily toiling for our daily bread when we possess the tools to summon it before us in seconds. And they’d be right.
Posted by Molly - 08/03/2010
I discovered “No Impact Man” and “Unclutterer” within a week of each other, and found their themes to be surprisingly parallel.
For those who haven’t read Beaven’s book, he doesn’t “do less.” On the contrary, he does
*more* of the things he values most… meets new people, has friends over for dinner, spends time with his family. For his experimental year, he goes farther into “no impact” than most people would want to go, but after the year he discovers that there are many aspects of life before “no impact” that were simply clutter.
Posted by Miss Minimalist - 08/03/2010
I’ve been meaning to read this book; thanks for the reminder, Erin!
When we live simply, we cherish things instead of taking them for granted — be they the items we own, the people in our lives, or the resources of the planet.
It’s all a matter of mindfulness (or “living deliberately,” as Thoreau would say). By getting rid of the clutter, we make room for the things most important to us — and have the mental space to appreciate and enjoy them.
I started on the minimalist path because I wanted personal freedom and plenty of space. Along the way, however, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the gifts of nature. I’m thrilled that living lightly contributes to both my well-being, and that of the Earth!
Posted by hippolyta - 08/03/2010
I’m reminded of when my life was taken up 24/7 with caring for my baby, and someone asked me about when I’d be able to “have a life” again. I blinked at them and said “this *is* life”. And I meant it.
Not that I wanted to spend 24/7 caring for a baby for the rest of my life. But at the time my life had to be centered on my baby, I tried to accept the difficulties and enjoy the good parts, rather than wishing the whole experience to pass quickly. I have time now for many other wonderful things, and I still aim to appreciate them as much as possible.
Posted by Meg - 08/03/2010
@Mike
“So… basically ‘do less.’ No thanks.”
Where do you get that?
Simple living, whether environmentalist or not, isn’t about doing “less”, per se, as if we all should just stare at the walls or something. It’s about focusing on what’s important. It’s about uncluttering your life of the distractions and stuff that don’t make you happy so you can better enjoy what you do have.
Posted by Sky - 08/03/2010
Doing less or doing more….uncluttering, simplifying, whatever you want to call it, is all about letting go of the unimportant. Freeing oneself to live our own best life to the fullest.
Posted by Tiffany - 08/04/2010
While I agree that you both may have learned the same things in different ways, I feel you’re downplaying his mission and only focusing on the side effects.
Posted by Sylvia - 08/04/2010
Meg – I’m w/you. Being uncluttered is more about doing what I want to do, mindfully filling my time unstead of just starting at the walls and feeling enriched. Give me a break, who does that? No one I know. This blog gives me the gentle push to re-examine and evaluate my organzing methods and intruduces new ways of thinking about daily living. Sometimes the post relates to me, sometimes it doesn’t. I know I am more ‘uncluttered’ now than I ever have been and I enjoy my journey. Thanks Erin – you’ve been super helpful.
Posted by Bec - 08/04/2010
Thanks for reminding me about this book, I’ve just reserved it at the library near work and look forward to reading it. Unfortunately they don’t have a copy of yours!
Posted by panig - 08/06/2010
To me simplifying does not mean doing without. It means getting rid of duplicates, triplicates, and never to be used items from the house. Doing this has helped me be more efficient and freed up some of my time. I find myself looking into some worthwhile causes to volunteer–which would not have been possible a few years ago. Then I was overwhelmed with stuff and never ending house work.
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