Grandfather's Corner: Simplicity

LEARN TO LIVE SIMPLY, EVEN IN SPIRITUAL LIFE

Father John Murray

Father George Wichland was the finest priest that I ever lived with. He died in 1992, but I was blessed to have lived with him for two years. Father George was the most simple man I ever knew. His room had very few pieces of furniture and his clothes closet was almost empty. I never saw him in a shirt that was not black or a pair of pants that were not patched. Once I asked him if I could get him some new clothing. He looked up at me and said: "Don't worry. I'm not going to be here long and I have more than I'll ever need. Buy something for your mother instead."

After he told me this I ran into my room and threw out all the junk that I'd been gathering for years.

It is a good thing to do in Lent. Look at the stuff you have accumulated over the years. Learn to throw things out. Get rid of all the dresses and suits that you have not worn in years. Give away the books you do not read. Throw out those magazines and newspapers that you plan to read someday. if you have not gotten to it yet,you probably never will.

Simplifying your life is about making wise choices in all that we do. Choose those activities that add to your happiness and holiness, forget those that complicate your life, and be selective about others. Learn to say "no" to those social activities so that you can watch a sunset or read a good book.

Our lives get wasted with late hours when we are stressed out. Learn to go to bed and get up an hour earlier.

Learn to appreciate genuine simplicity. Free yourself for the essentials. Keep your priorities in order. Enjoy the things that really matter Work fewer hours. Enjoy your family more. Simplify your heart and mind. Simplicity of life deals more with matters of the heart than with our pos sessions.

Certainly poor people can be happy with a few possessions, but they may be just as controlled by their desire for possessions as someone much wealthier. Money and possessions are not the problem. The love of money is the problem, and that can touch the poorest of the poor as well as the wealthy. If anyone looks to possessions to bring them happiness in life, they will never have enough. Their possessions will control and possess them.

Even in the spiritual life, learn to live simply. As St. Paul tells us: "Be ambitious for the higher things."

Remember what Jesus told his disciples: "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking staff nor traveling bag; no bread, no money. No one is to have two coats." We are just passing through this world, and we should not weigh ourselves down with all sorts of baggage that just slow us down and can get in the way of what is truly important.

Simplifying is a process. You cannot do it in one day. But the first step is just to decide to simplify your life. Then set aside time over the next few weeks when you can do it.

In the end, simplifying your life is about creating time for yourself and for the important people in your life. Learn that what truly satisfies is a good family, good friends and a faith that can answer the deeper questions of life. Free yourself from the superfluous, the unnecessary, the piles of extra things that weigh us down. Then you will discover true simplicity.