Less is more when weighed down by stuff

ISOMETIMES think the advertising industry has a lot to answer for. Open any modern publication and you’ll find more than half the contents are devoted to advertisements – all designed to tempt us to buy, buy, buy. Impress our neighbours, create a brighter living space, slip into the latest fashions, taste the new expensive wines, dine at the fashionable eateries and be seen wearing the most expensive watches.

Sometimes we become so caught up with his rush to add new stuff to our lives, we tend to forget we’re actually not doing so badly as we are. Will we actually be any happier telling the time with a R10 000 watch, or sitting on a designer leather couch or wearing a jacket with a big-name label? I wonder. I heard an interesting comment from a Knysna resident who had lost everything he owned in the recent fire. He said: “It’s such a relief to be rid of all the clutter in my life in one fell swoop. Now I can start again from scratch and get only the things I really need.”

Look around you at the things filling your home and consider how many of them you really need – books you haven’t read for years, pictures you never look at, ornaments you received as gifts and don’t really like, a carved chair you’ve never sat on, jugs, teapots and bowls that do nothing but fill shelves.

Maybe you feel embarrassed about getting rid of them because Aunty Mabel might be offended if you threw out the sugar bowl she gave you and Jimmy might be hurt if you tossed out the painting he did for you. Sometimes we need to shrink our surroundings.

I heard a wonderful story about a sergeant who’s in charge of the police station in a small Karoo dorp. He was offered a promotion, but it meant moving to Port Elizabeth with his family. He thought long and hard about it. If he refused the offer, it probably meant he would never be considered for promotion again.

Eventually he turned it down and I admire him for his decision. He is well-known in the town and has real friends. He has a simple, comfortable house with fruit trees and a vegetable patch in his garden, all irrigated by clear water from a borehole and windmill. He walks to work every day and strolls down to the local shop when he needs anything, so he hardly needs to use his car.

He plays tennis with his pals every Saturday and has a braai every weekend. The local school is not bad and there’s very little drugging or bullying there. Parents and teachers work well together.

Some folk might consider him crazy, but I reckon he chose well. I think he’s a very strong man.

Last Laugh

A young graduate was being interviewed for a position in a large company.

“I hear you have a very good incentive plan for your workers,” he said.

“Yes, we do,” said the boss. “If you work hard, you won’t get fired.”