The simple truth: streamline to the One Thing that matters

One of the most eye-opening statements I have ever read was Peter Kreeft’s discussion of stuff. He says, “Every choice is a sacrifice [in his book, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions], and explains that whenever we choose something, we are implicitly choosing against every other thing we might have chosen.

… And the sacrifices don’t stop with what we have chosen against; we incur losses as a result of every positive gain. How much energy is spent cleaning and organizing our clothes? How much money is spent purchasing and maintaining those clothes? How much time is spent choosing which clothes to wear? How much space do we lose in our homes to clothing? The more clothes we gain, the more energy, money, time, and space we lose. The same principle applies to most things in the world, whether they are things or actions.

This is where simplicity comes in. By reducing the number of things we have (or do), we gain energy, money, time, and space for things we value most. This is where purity of heart comes in. We simply cannot achieve purity of our hearts if our minds and wills are constantly being divided and distracted by many things. Although purity of heart is ultimately a spiritual state, we are not purely spiritual beings, and what we do with our bodies (and our stuff) affects both body and spirit.

Most of us have become accustomed to a level of living that far exceeds the historical norms of most of the world. How is it, then, that we live in one of the most anxious times in history? It is because we have so much to lose. Ironically, we tend to alleviate our anxiety by buying things, but the more we have, the more we fear its loss. Detaching from this fear is the goal – but it’s not easy.

… Simplicity is not just doing or having less. Indeed, well-roundedness is a virtue in the pursuit of the One Thing. A man focused on the good of his family cannot be only a loving spouse: he must also be a good father to his children, a good worker at his place of employment, a good friend to his colleagues, and so forth. And each of these requires, in turn, numerous skills and differentiated knowledge.

Simplicity is about making choices with a pure heart. … The principle of simplicity says we do not have to become slaves to complexity. Though we must work within a world that is opposed to simplicity, we do not have to allow it to undermine our commitment to the One Thing.

… Remember that every choice is a sacrifice and that we should order our lives according to the highest good.

Excerpt by Douglas M. Beaumont from Wisdom and Wonder: How Peter Kreeft Shaped the Next Generation of Catholics , edited by Brandon Vogt (Ignatius Press, 2021), pp. 137-39, www.ignatius.com.