Personal Goal for 2015: Simple Living

Getting off the usual track of books. Can we talk about minimalism for a few minutes?

Let's back up. I've been reading blogs on the subjects of minimalism and simple living now for several months, but for longer than that my attention has been drawn to my attachment to things. Earthly possessions, i.e. "stuff."

The Lord Jesus Christ would call those things, "treasures on earth."

Please don't think I'm talking about getting down to owning 100 things, because I'm not. Don't get scared off yet! If you do that and it's right for you, then kudos to you! But right now, I'm not there, personally.

What I am talking about is forsaking that attachment to stuff we own, which in turn really DOES own us. Consumerism. The compulsion to buy. Buyer's remorse. Being buried under debt. Doing work that really doesn't satisfy your soul, but you need to do it for the sake of paying for more things. Stress, which no one needs, but it is the secret product we buy, hidden beneath all those things we buy when we give in to living above our means.

I keep coming back to these words from the Savior:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rush destroys, nor where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jesus, Matthew 6:19-21, New American Standard Bible

I'll talk more about this in upcoming posts, but I'm finding that living simply is about more than just purging and decluttering. It's about getting rid of your attachment to earthly possessions and all the stress that comes with those things, and it's about beginning to lay up those treasures of the heart.

It's about finding out what IS important to you and actively pursuing those things, instead of just buying, buying, buying. It's about realizing that nothing you can buy has the power to ever bring you happiness, peace, or fulfillment.

Let me leave you with that: Finding out what is important to you.

This week, I'll be writing about what steps both Bill and I took, our baby steps in that direction. See ya soon!