SIMPLIFY

By my very nature I am a maximalist. 

The more colour, the better.

The more variety in a meal, the more appealing it seems. 

The more accessories I have to zhoosh up an outfit, the more joy I have in the craft of getting dressed each day. 

Then I married a minimalist. 

By their very nature, they aim to minimise clutter and noise - in their environment, in their life and in their everyday dealings. What a novel concept to a maximalist at heart.

What posed to be a potential marital hurdle, actually beckoned me to apply the principles of simplification to my life. Essentialism, if you will. 

I realised that I don’t have to adjust who I am at the deepest core of my being, but that I can open up my life to a principle that aims to uproot unnecessary weeds that threaten to choke and constrain. A principle that challenges every decision, every purchase and every commitment in my life to the extent that I eventually developed a ‘clutter radar’ - an inbuilt gauge for that which will fill my life with peace and ease, as well as that which will just add unnecessary noise. 

In the current culture that we find ourselves enveloped in, the default way of living is a life of clutter. In fact, it’s countercultural to fight against this inclination towards clutter and to rather be intentional about having a life of ‘less’. 

Living by an essentialism rule of thumb starts with intentionality, not personality. It helps to have a personality that leans towards this principle, but it still requires an intentional day by day commitment to avoid clutter at all costs. Eventually it becomes a way of living, at which point you look back and refuse to ever be entangled again. This refusal combined with intentionality are the foundations to propel you forward still. 

I deeply believe that essentialism and simplification are biblical principles to live by and that the enemy of your soul will always attempt to ensnare you in noise. Corrie ten Boom once said: ‘If the Devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy.’ 

When our lives and our minds are busy and cluttered, usually the last thing on our priority list is connecting with Him and to live in harmony with His Spirit. There is no space for solitude and leaning into Him when we are running from one thing to another, when our minds are running from one thing to another.

The Word also delves into the importance of simplicity: 

‘But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 11:3, KJV; emphasis my own)

Applying simplicity is a step by step approach - just like anything else that we want to build sustainably into our lives. It’s an inside out process that starts with a conviction deep inside that we are called to live in simplicity; from there it floods our heart and mind with wisdom on how to apply it, motivation to get rid of clutter and a bubbling excitement at the prospect of a life where you can breathe and connect. Out of this inner drive, the application usually flows seamlessly and sustainably. 

As of today, our home has minimum clutter, medium colour and maximum love. I’m still dreaming of a day where I’ll have a maximalist room filled with colours, textures and everything I love, but until then I’m enjoying the bliss of simplification and the cleansing impact it’s having on me from the inside out. 

(They say that marriage is not for our happiness, but rather for our sanctification. May we not fight it, but allow it to beautify our lives and transform us in all the ways possible.)