“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” -Socrates
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing, it’s that knowing what to remove is often just as important as knowing what to add.
Surprisingly, it sometimes take just as much time to write something short as it does to write something long because it entails rewriting and editing to capture the most important points with the most specific words.
I’ve found that this same idea applies to other things in life: sometimes creating peace, happiness, or satisfaction has everything to do with what we choose to take away.
You can love the work you do, but if you overextend yourself, even the greatest passion can start to feel stressful and overwhelming.
You can adore your significant other, but if you spend all your time together, you’ll likely start to appreciate your relationship less and wonder what else there is.
You can value your spiritual practice, but if your life becomes all about contemplation and self-reflection, you may start to feel somewhat removed from other people and the physical world.
There are definitely times when need to do more; but sometimes the best thing we can do is scale back on what we’re already doing, create a better sense of balance and space to just be, and then see how we feel.
Last year, a writer named Allison Miller contributed a blog post about an aerial acrobatics accident that put her out of commission for months. A friend of hers suggested that this was a gift. Though she initially resisted this idea, she ultimately realized she previously stayed busy to mask her loneliness, insecurity, and emotional pain.
It was only when she couldn’t do anything that she realized what she wanted to do, and what she didn’t want to do anymore.
I’m not suggesting we should all take a hiatus from our lives, a la Eat, Pray, Love; I’m proposing that sometimes the answer has nothing to do with more and everything to do with less.
When Michelangelo finished sculpting the David, many people asked him how he created this masterful work of art. His response: “It’s simple. I took away everything that wasn’t the David.”
Our lives can be our masterpieces if we can learn to chisel away at the thoughts and choices that don’t contribute to our sense of authenticity and balance.
Photo by geishaboy500
About Lori Deschene
Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
This site was so relaxing for me . Solutions not problems. Keeping it simple breath and give yourself a break
This post was really relevant to where I am now, Lori – at the beginning of October I signed up for a an online programme called the World’s Biggest Summit, which brought together spiritual, personal development and heart-centred business folk of all kinds to contribute material totally free of charge. It was an absolute goldmine of both information and connection with the kind of people I’d like to one day work with.
But. Being the kind of person I am, I tried to check out EVERYTHING and sign up to the newsletters and blogs of everyone… and we’re talking about more than 100 people here. Not surprisingly, it got a tad… overwhelming for my inbox (not to mention my neurons!) So over the past week or so I’ve been looking at which of the blog updates and newsletters I signed up for I can now let go – not because they’re no good, but because I simply have TOO MUCH coming into my sphere of awareness now, and if I don’t let some of it go, I won’t be able to take in any of it properly. And that’s ignoring the way it’s going to affect the balance of the rest of my life.
This post was a valuable reminder that letting go is just as much part of the process as acquiring was in the first place. It’s all part of the cycle – and trying to hold onto something after the time to let it go has come? That’s not doing myself any favours.
I’m glad this was helpful to you Tanja! I can see how that would be overwhelming. I’ve definitely had to go through my inbox and scale back on the newsletters/blog posts I receive. There such a thing as too much of a good thing!
This reminds me of something one of my friend’s wrote tl me in a letter (yes, we choose to communicate via paper and snail mail). I’ve been going through a tough year healthwise and my emotional state has been tested up the wazoo, but my docs say I need to pretry much do nothing for a while in order to heal. So being the busy freak that I am, I’ve been tolgoing a mike a million and now with aTol new found back problem I’ve had to ghcut back on my volunteer work and rest more to what my friend added to look at is as a blessing and a sign to slow down and heal not only my body, but my mind and soul as well as I work on the parts that need fixing. Maybe she’s right after all and my truth lies in what I have taken out of my life in order to make more room for better things to come.
i loved this. i am moving to another state and paring everything down to what can fit into the back of a jeep. i have had 6 weeks to do this and am still shredding papers and giving things away. what is important one week takes a back seat the next week. what a process. so this article was so ‘right on’ for me. thanks
You’re most welcome. I love that feeling of decluttering AND giving things to people who might enjoy them. Congrats on your upcoming move!
I have definitely found that forced time-outs can be blessings in disguise–though in my case, whenever I needed one, I was usually responsible for exhausting myself/wearing myself down. I hope you are healing and getting better every day!