Thoughts on Purging and Materialism
There is a story about a man who approached Gandhi and said that he’d been thinking about living a simpler life, but he didn’t feel like he could give up his collection of books. Gandhi is said to have replied, “As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it. If you were to give it up in a mood of self-sacrifice or out of a stern sense of duty, you would continue to want it back, and that unsatisfied want would make trouble for you. Only give up a thing when you want some other condition so much that the thing no longer has any attraction for you.”
Wise words, though I think it’s our own task to separate our need from most material possessions and only keep the core of our belongings with us. Right now my dad and I live without most of our material belongings, and I can’t say I really miss them (though I do want to watch a movie now and then and can’t).
Still, keeping them to a minimum and making sure you stay detached works just as well. It prevents living in clutter and insanity that so many people are prone to do.
Entry viewed times. Posted in Lifehacking
