The Cure for Anything

That’s my coffee mug.  In case you can’t read it, it says “I dreamed my whole house was clean”.   My son bought it for me several years ago, and it wasn’t too far from the truth.  I had a huge 4 bedroom, two story house and I was constantly cleaning.  I’d just get done and have to start all over again.  All of my free time was spent taking care of it, not enjoying life.  What’s the point to that?

If you’ve never seen this video “What if Money Was No Object” by Alan Watts, I urge you to take just a few minutes and watch it.

“When we finally got down to something, which the individual says he really wants to do, I will say to him, you do that and forget the money, because, if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.”

I wasn’t happy living that way, so I stopped.  Right now I have the freedom to move if I wish, and each year the urge to leave this town gets stronger and stronger.  I  haven’t decided where I want to go just yet. I do miss having my own home, but not having that much responsibility.  I think the answer to that is a tiny house. (I have an entire Pinterest board on tiny houses here.)  I couldn’t do one of those ultra-tiny houses, but somewhere around 700 sf would do.  Give me room to cook, a place to read and keep my books, and a king size bed (not willing to forgo that) and I’m happy. The precision and efficiency of a well-designed small home appeals to me. A place for everything, and everything in its place. Simplicity, and time for enjoying the things in life that really matter: laughing with friends, relaxing with loved ones, good food, great wine, spending time outdoors, listening to music, and reading good books.

There’s a great little article in The Atlantic this month on living with less.  “As a minimalist, everything I own serves a purpose or brings me joy. And everything else is out of the way.” I love that idea!  If it doesn’t serve a purpose or bring you joy, why have it? I now think long and hard before purchasing any durable good so that I can be certain that whatever I’m buying will fit that criteria. I don’t buy for the sake of buying. I don’t subscribe to the idea of retail therapy. I guess that makes me a bad capitalist.

A great example of a tiny house. I love the light and open air feeling.

I can just imagine  stretching out to read here. Love it!