What is a decluttered life?



What is a 'decluttered life'?
A life free of clutter?

Will I get one if -
I get rid of junk,
tidy up,
sort the jumble,
clear stuff out
and spring-clean?
Will I get one if -
I create order from disorder,
ditch the hoarded stuff,
create a minimalist environment?

Is living simply just about things?
Will I get simplicity if -
I have less,
use less,
recycle more?

Does simplicity depend on a simple spirit
and what is that anyway?
An interior grace?
Something seen in people -
like Ghandhi,
Mother Theresa?
A transparency through which
beauty is glimpsed
God's grace glows?

What is a 'decluttered life'?
Do I really want one?

This question and my responses were prompted by the prayer/poem Simplicity by Stephen Cherry published in Barefoot Prayers, a book I've been using during Lent. It begins
"Lord, make me simple - for I have become too complicated."
The full text of this short poem is on Big Read14:Simplicity and you can hear it read by Maggie Cherry. It isn't really about what might first come to mind when you think of decluttering. It's a prayer for growth in the virtue of simplicity. I particularly like the end, which is why I chose the beautiful photo of a transparent butterfly to head this post:
"...let me become 
wholehearted and 
transparent. 
That when people see through me, 
they might glimpse your trace."




Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Comments

  1. A decluttered life sounds like an aspiration which I can never find the opportunity to work towards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I know what you mean. I sometimes find myself saying, 'I'll declutter when I've finished this, this and this.'

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