I used to like watching home decorating programs on TV. Each episode invited a professional expert to help decorate a messy and disorganized home, and to give it a new look. Whether it was a small room or a whole house, the experts began first by organizing the space they were going to work on. They did this by clearing all the furniture and clutter out. Nothing was excluded. What was once a huge pile-up all of a sudden became a wide empty space.
After the room was refurbished, the experts would move the furniture back in. The most important pieces were placed first. If it was a bedroom, it might be the bed, bedside cabinets and wardrobe. In the living room it could be the sofa and coffee table, and in the dining room, the table and chairs. Following the important pieces would be the smaller objects and other embellishments. Finally, upon reveal, the room would be beautiful, orderly and useful.
The experts believe that a home should be arranged so that no matter what room, the space is both practical and beautiful. If a room is filled with furniture that is not being used, its usefulness diminishes and chances are, it won’t be used. Experts also point out that when people live in an overstuffed or cluttered environment, it can add to any other feeling of stress or turmoil that they might be going through in their lives. So they suggest that we should try to simplify the furniture and objects in our homes. The experts favor only collecting and displaying items that are of “need” or “favorites”.
Our lives are like a house. We can accumulate all sorts of experiences, thoughts and feelings inside, and sometimes what we collect ends up being chaotic. It becomes difficult for us to deal with. As the German-American painter Hans Hofmann said, “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” We need to understand what is necessary and what is not, putting the important things first and doing them first.
So what is really most important? Is it family, friendship, love, health, career, faith, dreams, shopping, money or other things? For me, I believe that when we let God be the focus and center, He will supply all our needs and make the best arrangements in all aspects of our lives.
What about you? Do you have clutter in your home and your life? Take some time to write down some of the things that you can clear up. Then begin to work your way through them one by one. Maybe you’ll discover that less is actually more.
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English Translation by Haymen Leong
中文原文
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Originally posted on the Amira Culture website
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My other articles on Amira Culture:
大自然的奧妙和啟示 The Wonder and Lessons of Nature
活出最美好的一年 Make It Your Best Year
愛從小事開始 Love Begins with the Small Things
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