*
The less I have
the more I have
to be grateful for...
I wrote this as a comment
to Steven one day
and Dan picked it up
and suggested I take it further
The paradox
above
has developed
from my world view
which has changed
and metamorphosed
over the years
as I have done so
in parallel
Paring back
having less
not needing to accumulate
acquire possessions
belongings
not needing to achieve
or gain
or fill my life with busyness
is an emptying
is an emptying
that has given me
a quiet peace
a quiet peace
and contentment
and for what I have left
in my simpler life
I feel a deeper appreciation
In my state of less
I care more
I feel more
I share more
I experience life
more fully
I feel more connected
to people
and to nature
Having less has become
having more
Life is fuller
and deeper
Life is richer
Life is richer
and I feel
a rising gratitude
for all of the elements
of my Less
which are so much
more than More
and therefore
The less I have
the more I have
to feel grateful for
Does that make sense
to you...
to you...
Artist: Jose Manuel Merello
*
Dear Delwyn,
ReplyDeleteIt makes complete, beautiful sense. I am grateful for this post you've made, and to know you. Thank you for sharing.
Oh yes,it does make a lot of sense!
ReplyDeleteLet that be the direction this little cloud will flow with,towards new horizons! Hope to see you under the rainbow and thank you for your beauty and your love!
Aleksandra
Absolutely! It does make sense. Less is more. I do understand that concept now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteYou spoke for me too!!!
ReplyDeleteAloha, Friend
Comfort Spiral
Coming through, loud and clear, Delwyn. I've never been a materialistic person, always conscious that we arrive and depart with no possessions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finished with work four years ago, it was called 'early retirement'. I like to think of it as a new beginning, a golden opportunity to jump off the hamster's wheel and catch a breath.
When I see people struggling to climb the greasy pole, in order to earn more money, to enable them to buy more 'things', I feel a twinge of sadness for them. They are largely pursuing happiness at the behest of the advertisers. That's a heavy price to pay for a dream.
delwyn - the words and the paintings share a strong sense of your inner knowing of this. it's a place i find myself moving slowly towards as i recognize the distance between who i am and what i have (or sometimes wish i had). it's interesting to me to watch my children - thriteen and fifteen as they establsh something of their own sense of life's trajectory and how their own needs build or don't. have a lovely evening. steven
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense to me, Delwyn. My moments with family friends, myself, and nature are more precious than my posessions or gains.
ReplyDeleteAppreciating just Being, Feeling, Seeing and Hearing!
Your blog posts always convey such beauty, Delwyn...in words and photos!
...Wanda
This was a good reminder for me. Be a human being not a human doing.
ReplyDeleteMany many many years ago, as a working artist with two kids I realized there were many 'things' I would never have and so I adopted the asian 'less is more' philosophy. It was very freeing and has served me well. I have not been burdened with unfulfilled desires. Instead, like you, my life has been full of riches.
ReplyDeleteLess Is more! I completely agree...it's all about enjoying the little things.
ReplyDeleteGreat words!
ReplyDeleteIf we can grasp truth, we can satisfy what we are. Mmmm like Laozi??
Thank you for this fuller expression of those wise words! I'm coming to more fully appreciate this idea in not only the realm of material possessions, but also in the realm of mental clutter, particularly media realms. The less I see of movies, hear of radio, and other junk food for the mind the more fulfilling my life becomes.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Delwyn.
The less I have the more I have...yes, a most puzzling paradox for most people in a consumer world. I wonder if this realization comes partly with age after the tumultuous stages of marrying, buying a home, making mortgage payments, seeking and keeping a secure job with chances of promotion, keeping up with friends and acquisitions....As we near the end of these pursuits, there is a process of letting go, of tempering the ego, of seeing transient life and relationships as vital.
ReplyDeleteI like your philosophy, Delwyn. The older I get, the more things I get rid of and don't miss. I think it's a lightening of the load for the final journey which we have to take with no luggage. :-) Love the art you posted and your amazing words. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes! This called to mind a quote from Annie Dillard: "The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet."
ReplyDeleteIt makes a great deal of sense; I am very far from the beginning of the rod that leads to where you are.
ReplyDeleteAh, that's what growing "wise older" is all about.
ReplyDeleteyes, it makes sense but it can be hard to live by-- I love minimal and subdued-- but I also like to have decor around me that I love- certain textures, colors, marks-- so I have a hard time going too miminal. in your previous post-- you have such exotic birds and animals around you.
ReplyDeleteI think that a purposeful less is a choice that some are unable to make. And, some who must deal with less would not believe it is is more. However, when the choice for less is consciously made, it is a transforming one.
ReplyDeletePS I wrote a {long} comment on your symbol post and lost it! Just to tell you that I hope your own symbols at this time of your Father's death give you comfort.
Hi Lori
ReplyDeleteI too am very pleased to have met you and that we are able to share our journeys together.
Dear Aleks
You are already under the rainbow Aleks, I think of you often and your positive nature and gentle manner....
Hello Nancy
Do you think age helps Nancy...was is it easier now>..
Hi Cloudia
I am interested that younger people share this sentiment too...
Happy days
Hi Martin
ReplyDeleteWe all have to learn this truth in our own time I suppose and maybe, as Barb pointed out below, some people can't do with less...
Hi Steven
Perhaps you have to 'have it' before you know that you can do without it Steven. Perhaps you have to savour some of the trappings and acquisitions that are so tempting to find out first hand that they are not lasting nor do they bring that which we most crave....
Hi Wanda
thank you. It appears that we are some of the lucky ones Wanda to have this gift...something else to be grateful for...
Happy days
Hi G mother
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about the protestant work ethic lately...I think I will write about it... thanks for the prompt...
Hi Ellen
I hope today is a better one for you.
You sound as if you are a wise old soul Ellen...wise and talented too....
Hello Betsy
I can tell from the way that you speak and write Betsy that you exemplify this sentiment. Yours are not just hollow words or platitudes.
Hello roughterrain crane
Yes just like Lao Tse the great master...
Hi Dan
You have inspired me to forget about the TV when we moved and it has been wonderfully peaceful. Also I did not renew the newspaper subscription for the new address and I don't miss it one bit. Now we just have to avoid the bizarre news that confronts me each time I open my search engine...I need a new page - I am tired of the murder headlines and the movie star and botox stories...
Happy days
Hello Paul
ReplyDeletethank you for a great summary precis of the various pursuits of life and our possible redemption from the mission of acquiring... and yes I believe age has a lot to do with it...and also I just can't be bothered with caring for a lot of stuff...I would rather do other more creative things with my time.
Hello Marion
Isn't it so interesting...you know I haven't even missed my beautiful river home...isn't that amazing...I just look to the future and know that wherever I live I can enjoy what it offers and I have such beautiful surroundings here that I can't complain.
Hi Polly
I copied your quote into my journal thankyou. It is good to have well written reminders.
Hi Friko
I will write you a note Friko
Happy days
Hi Meri
ReplyDeleteyes its all about passages isn't it...you have to get it before you can give it away...
Hello Donna
I understand your quandry. The Japanese seem to have dealt with that by making seasonal changes in the decoration of their homes. A different scroll, vase, floral arrangement of piece of art for the different season and that way they can enjoy a number of things over the year. I like that idea...
Hi Barb
I enjoyed your thoughtful response Barb. Why do you think that some people are unable to do with less?
I can see that if I was living a life of poverty I may think that more is better. It is very easy to expound on these philosophical concepts when one is warm and comfortable and not hungry or endangered.
Happy days
That is a deep thought, & one that I'll turn around in my mind. Wonderful artwork.
ReplyDeleteIt makes total, perfect sense! Hubby and I are in this state of wanting/needing to downsize before we move next year, and we both feel positive about 'less is more'. I'd already decided I need to go back thru already boxed up non-essentials and weed out more stuff I don't need to hang on to...but your post really drives home the main reason for why I want to. Great timing. :o)
ReplyDeleteHello Again, Delwyn,
ReplyDeleteYou always make me think and wonder...You understand my meaning perfectly. I like to think that I enjoy the simple things in life, but I also value comfort and safety, sometimes missing when there is less. I think choosing is perhaps easier when we have a choice, which some people don't have. Oh - the more I write, the less clear I become...
Barb
ReplyDeleteI understand perfectly and agree with you.
Happy days
Oh Delwyn, yes. You spoke this so well. I have tears. Despite my written release of the day's downers I wrote today (and may remove), I feel this, too. Thank you for reminding me of this today.
ReplyDelete