Live Simply and Overcome The Opium Of Modern Life

Never before have so many people been consumed by so much “stuff”. Computers, iPhones, Xbox, internet everywhere, chain store everything, fast food, boob jobs and Wal-Mart, you name it. It makes it hard to live simply, much less live.

I would ask, to what end? We are rife with single-parent families where the father ran from responsibility for “stuff” and two-parent families where mom and dad work primarily to afford “stuff”.

Society today is so advanced, what do you really need? Live in a simple home, eat healthy simple food you cook at home, own a simple phone and check your e-mails on your home internet, drive an old car and take care of it. If you start there at simple, then base financial decisions on things like – freedom to move and live where I want, freedom to travel, freedom to stay at home and raise my family, freedom to change jobs, freedom to take a risk starting a business, again, you name it – more people would be excited about the life they were living. Live simply and maybe you’ll understand freedom.

As it stands, most people don’t like their jobs. Most parents put their kids in day-care soon after they are born and then convince themselves they are actually “raising” them. So many of us, young and old, muddle through life, buying “stuff” like opium. Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the people”. Today you could just as easily say, “Stuff is the opium of the people”.

It is almost impossible to live a life of true wonder unless you can simplify and focus. It starts with being honest about the consequences of how you are living, then it continues by taking concrete steps to simplify your life.

To live simply, I recommend you take some time to search through Leo Babauta’s site, zehhabits.net. You will be motivated to live purposefully and focus on what matters.

I write this as Lent begins, a time for introspection. Ever wonder why some Christians fast during Lent? It isn’t a punishment. It is a call to simplify, to give up the rich things, and focus on the eternal inward things. You see, even 2000 years ago, the Lord knew the greatest danger to man is the search for comfort. What is the only “thing” he instructs his believers to pray for in the Lord’s Prayer, you guessed it, bread. Everything else he instructs us to ask for is humility and praise in the sight of the Lord, forgiveness, and the ability to forgive. That’s it, no “stuff”.

When even those on welfare have cable, internet, multiple TVs, smart phones and plenty of food to stay fat if they choose, our problem is not a lack of stuff. In fact, it is the opposite. It is a lack of simplicity and focus, a fear of pursuing what is good and timeless for that which is sweet and easy. Of course, “stuff” isn’t inherently bad, but when it consumes us and becomes the “ends” of our means, then we have a problem. And looking at the disconnected, narcissistic world surrounding us, we have a lot of problems focused on “stuff”.

Start your freedom today. Or shout your freedom to others if you have already claimed it. Give something you don’t need to Goodwill, burn some old cheesy plastic/electric toys that no child really needs, clean up and clear out those closets, then go on a long walk in the park you drive by every day but don’t visit and start to dream, “what would my life be like if I pursued wonder instead of ‘stuff'”?

“Stuff” – the opium of the people.