The Almost Perfect Life
“That is the message of American-style consumerism. My human life is not enough. There are purchases upon purchases that will transform me into something more than what I am. We have too little tolerance for almost perfect Wednesdays.”
From the chapter “My Almost Perfect Wednesday” in The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul.
Too many people believe that simple living is a Herculean lifestyle. That’s completely the wrong way to look at it. Living simply within our financial, physical, and spiritual reach is achievable. What we cannot ever do is purchase our way to a perfectly content life. A life of material acquisition falls short of ideal one hundred percent of the times.
Yet our lives our capable of accommodating pleasures beyond our wildest imaginations. If we will only set aside perfection and pursue living in the here and now, we will learn to be content with an almost perfect life.
Comments
Amen!
One thing I tend to do if I want something is to look around and tell myself “I will never need more than this.”
Might sound a bit cheesy, but it certainly works for me. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we really have all that we need.
Take care,
Joshua
http://theminimalists.com
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dave Bruno. Dave Bruno said: Do you want a perfect life or joyful life? http://bit.ly/g47Mmc #100TC [...]
I pakced away my Christmas decor today. I used to have 3 LARGE rubbermaid totes to go in the attic. I am down to one tote and a wreath in a plastic bag. I kept the decorations that truly bring me joy to look at!
Bernice
http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2011/what-is-valuable-to-you-j2b-week-1/
There’s a south park ep called margaritaville about this kind of nonsese.
Almost perfect is still too much pressure. I’m perfectly content with utterly-flawed and far-from-perfect. But I’m loving your thoughts none the less.
[...] For more, http://guynameddave.com/2010/12/the-almost-perfect-life/ [...]
[...] For more, http://guynameddave.com/2010/12/the-almost-perfect-life/ [...]