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This is the third installment of my “Living with Less” series in which we examine the benefits of of making our lives smaller in order to have a greater impact on our community (virtual & otherwise!). Today we explore “What is worth the effort?”

“Most of us want to influence future generations in a positive way. Deep down we know this is the something more we’ve been looking for. We know it because we’ve felt the gentle touch of others on our own lives. No ever achieved anything of consequence on his or her own. Our lives are the products of those who cared enough about us to invest their lives in ours.” ~ Mark Tabb, Living with Less, p.18

Who are some of the people that have influenced your life, for good or ill? What did they do? What didn’t they do? This is a part of our lives that rarely gets examined because it can hurt.

It can also heal.

We can learn a great deal about ourselves and become inspired to do better. To do more with less. Sacrifice something in the cycle of work-TV-shopping-more work. Is shopping really worth all of the effort that you put forth to afford it? How much effort, really, is involved in volunteering for a youth-group’s fund-raiser or community project? What kind of expertise do you have that gets wasted on the weekends when it could be shared? Isn’t it worth the effort to make yourself smaller in order to make something or someone else bigger?

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This is the second in a series of post discussing The Examined Life, based on the book “Living With Less” by Mark Tabb. In the first section of this book, “Smaller”, Tabb addresses the issue of “living large”, its impact on our present condition and our future legacy.

“The only way to make my life matter is to choose less. And the first thing I need is less of me. Once that issue is settled, I am in a position to live a life that lasts longer than I do.”

“Less of me? ” you may ask yourself, “Where do I even start with that?”, or perhaps simply, “Why would I?” Good questions. For those of us who live in this 21st century world and are exposed to the media, the commercials, the social engineering and planned communities - aren’t the choices being made for us better for us? Shouldn’t we just accept the various contexts that our lives get slotted into? Or should we analyze our situation with an eye to tomorrow and the day after?

It’s time for a little experiment: Raise your hand if you need food and water to survive. Good. Now put your hands down. Next, raise your hand if you need your old cabinet-style stereo speakers that you had in college but are now in the corner of the garage, under the Betamax video player and three years worth of back issues of Sports Illustrated. (I trust that no one has their hand up now…)

Illuminating, isn’t it? Tabb suggests that if we want more out of life than to merely be the caretakers of our personal “U-stor-it” sheds that perhaps we examine our lives a bit. We should ask ourselves, “What do I want out of life?” Is it your goal to have an obituary that reads: “John’s collection of Sports Illustrated magazines is unsurpassed in Podunk County. They will be recycled tomorrow.” Or would you rather that your loved ones see something like this when you are gone: “John’s contributions to the Podunk Community have influenced a generation of young people and his leadership has made Podunk a better place to live.“

Think about that.

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“My life needs to become not only smaller but simpler and saner. That means clearing out the clutter and the chaos. Only then will my life be in a position to touch and change generations.” Mark Tabb, Living With Less, p.45

Simpler & saner vs. clutter & chaos. This is the central premise of an inspirational book by Mark Tabb. The elegant yet forceful prose in these 182 pages can change your life for the better, or rather, give you the guidance and perspective to change your life for yourself. Divided into four sections, Tabb describes the steps that he has used four basic principles to eliminate excess input and materialism from his life in order to create a better life for his family and future generations.

Smaller, Simpler, Slower, Harder

This process is not easy. In fact by the end of the book one wonders how he was able to do it at all. There are two core reasons for Tabb’s desire to succeed - his faith in God and the personal reward of creating a wholesome legacy.

The old English preacher Charles Spurgeon said:”A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts and not marble.”

This book will challenge you to scrutinize more than just your goals in life, but the very purpose for your life. Many other authors have addressed this question over the centuries, and Tabb does not purport to have the ultimate answer, that lies somewhere in each of our hearts.

What Tabb has done that makes this book special is demonstrate a realistic way of looking at your life. Direct, but not insulting. Candid about his relationship with God, but not preachy. Tabb’s words of encouragement are real-world examples are a welcome contrast to some of the “pie-in-the-sky” self-help gurus that have come before.

Small Sacrifices Yield a Life Worth Living

If you know where to look, or simply have the courage to ask, you can find people whose lives have been changed forever by one small kindness from another person. A ride to work, some advice on a problem, helping someone move into a new home when they have no-one else. All over the world these small sacrifices are the engine that drives Civilization forward. Consider the possibility of living your own life with this kind of intention.

Seriously, think about this: What might be the upside of downsizing your life?

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