We have a saying at out house, especially when we are packing up for a trip.   The all important phrase is, “Less is More!”

Photo taken by:  Peretz Partensky

       In this country, we have what is called ‘The American Dream.’  You know what this is… a bigger house in a better neighborhood, newer nicer cars, throw in a pool and a boat… maybe even a jet ski!  The list of our pursuit of “things” could go on.

      It is not even necessarily about “keeping up with the Jones” anymore.  We just want things.  Our culture has shown us what is available to us, and the enjoyment we can have if we attain “things.”  We can have it all if we want it.  The grass is so much greener looking on the side of MORE.

     Does MORE really increase the quality of our life, though?  Several years ago we moved my son to New York City.  He had been in a series of competitions in Hollywood and a well-known manager picked him up.  We packed everything up that we I (mom) thought he needed.  Well, everything in NYC is old – like 100 years old.  We chose the best 2 bedroom apt that we could find/afford for him in Brooklyn, and I fixed up his entire apartment.  I wanted him to have all of the  creature comforts of home.  Mistake!  When I came back 2 months later, all of the things that I just knew he NEEDED were untouched, even the brand new pots that I bought for him.  The stickers weren’t even removed.  Later that year when he moved to Los Angeles, he said, “Mom, I don’t want to bring all of that stuff.  I just want necessities.  Less is more!”  It took a 19-year-old to help me figure this out.

     My son’s statement of, “Less is More” reminded me of a period of time in my life when I went on medical mission trips.  My first trip was way into the hills of the Dominican Republic.  The first village that I went to did not even have electricity to speak of.  There may have been a one-bulb light in each house, and even that flickered on and off.  As you walked down the dirt roads in the evenings, the only light you had was the moon and your flashlight (if you had one).  There was no electronics, no TV, no computers or cell phones.  Instead, there were friends sitting outside in a group talking and shooting the breeze, older men playing checkers outside, children playing games in the dirt road (I know that sounds bad, but there were no cars).  There was a huge sense of “Community.”

     This was an unusual sight for all of us Americans to see.  After all, we do not have time for the one neighbor beside us, and maybe not even for the family members in our own homes.  These Dominicans had practically nothing as far as “things” are concerned.  In fact, the family that I stayed with fed me and my sister first because they only had two plates and two forks.

     The Dominicans didn’t know that they did not have anything.  To them, the thing that they valued most was the relationships that they had in the community.   They were a happy, satisfied, content people.  There was no grass to cut each week, there were no cars to keep washed, gassed, and serviced, there were no emails to answer, there were no huge houses to clean, no pools to take care of, no dogs to take to the groomers, there were no “things” to have to keep up.  Their lives were simple, and they had time to enjoy the things that were most important.

     Having MORE sometimes is just more.  More burden to keep that “thing” up and in working /running condition, more time to give to work, less time to do what you want to do.  If we are not careful,  we can stay on the merry-go-round until the MORE takes over all of the margin of space that we have in our lives.

     Today, our kids have so much in this wonderful country we live in called the United States of America that it is hard to teach them to be thankful.  They have so much by default because their parents have worked so hard to collect what they have.  I sent two of my children on mission trips when they became old enough so that they could see for themselves just how blessed they truly are.

     I have a dentist friend from D.C. that went with me on the medical trips, and we used to brain storm on how we could down size things when we got back home.  You know, try to make things in our life more simplistic.   We would laugh at ourselves every year because we would continuously enlarge our territory.  It is difficult here (USA) to stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing.  We get too caught up in the frenzy of collecting more “things.”

     My neighbor posted some of her devotional thoughts on Facebook the other day which I thought would go nicely with this idea.

taken from the devotional, “Jesus Calling”

THINGS TO THINK ON!

1) LESS really can be More.  When you are evaluating an additional “thing”  ask yourself this question:  Will it really increase the Quality of my life? Or, later on, will it be one more thing to hassle with and keep up?  Will it be a Burden or a Blessing to me?

2) The grass on the other side is never really greener.  You are just too far away to see the patches.  When you get to the other side, a change in perspective will reveal this.  Never get caught up with what you think someone else has.

3)  Have the blessings that God has given you become idols to you?

4) Be thankful for what you DO have instead of what you DO NOT have.  Maybe there is a good reason that God answered your prayer for some “thing” with a “NO.”

5)  Put value on the really important things in life.  This value will be different for each one.  As you ponder on what really matters to you, it will begin to clarify in your mind exactly what things you should spend your resources on.  As result of a resolute focus, your life will become richer, you will enjoy what you do, and relish your choices with how you live your life.

6) Do not get caught up in the American dream… It is just that – a DREAM!

the “rest of the story”

     After my first Dominican village trip, a few years went by before our medical team visited that same village again.  What we saw and experienced on the second trip was very different from the first time.  No longer were checker games being played outside; no longer did we hear the happy laughter of children playing outside.  In fact, the streets were empty.  Why?  the village had received much better electricity and almost every one had acquired a TV.  Granted, the TVs were only 10 or 12 inches, black and white, and very poor reception (tinfoil on the antennas), but they were being watched.  The people were now inside their own houses crowded around THE box watching TV instead of visiting with neighbors like they used to do.  The introduction of the TV changed the entire atmosphere of the whole village.  Their MORE really gave them Less of the important things in life.

     The truth is… the TV was a trade-off.  Most ALL things come with trade offs.  Just make sure you are not trading off something that is really important in the long run.  Our society’s philosophy on some things can be compared to emptying a feather pillow in the wind.  Once this has been done, it is impossible to pick all the feathers up and return them to the pillow as they were before.  Neither could the village return to the community that they were before the introduction of the TV.

Remember to Keep the main thing the main thing!

 

Question?  Do you think Less is More?  Have any of your Blessings turned to Burdens (don’t say your children 🙂  )?  Share your answer by leaving a comment here or on  Facebook .

 

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