Less Is More

It seems that there is something in all of us to want more. We find it difficult to be satisfied. Why limit yourself when you can have more, whether it is a  second go at the buffet table, or one more drink with friends, or a new outfit for a special occasion?  All can be justified in some way or another.

When I began this Second Act, I had to start living within my new means and that meant asking myself if I really needed whatever it was I was going to buy.  Funny how you can just as easily talk yourself out of things as you can talk yourself into them.  Now, it is not always easy.  There have been a few brawls between Ms. I Want It (Now)!  and Ms Do You Really Need (At All)? inside my head.  Store cameras have seen things go in the buggy and then appear back on the store shelf 5 minutes later. I’ve noticed that the full length mirror in Macy’s dressing room is not as slimming as it once was.   Through it all, I have moped some and pouted a little but it is getting better.

Of course, the discussion about wants and needs pertains to everything in life.  Learning to live more simply and enjoying the really important times more  is a recurring focus for me.  It is part of letting go of the past ways and learning what I need to live a happy and healthy life.

The reward will be that less is really a whole lot more.

Photo: PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA designed by Architect Phillip Johnson. Early in Johnson’s career,  he was influenced by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe.  Rohe’s referred to his style  as “less is more”.  Johnson design for PPG Place blended Gothic structures sheathed in glass to honor of Pittsburgh Plate Glass headquarters.

Mope