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Day 13
Declutter Your Life
“Simplify, simplify.”
—Henry David Thoreau
The simple life is a manly life. Some of history’s manliest men lived lives of
true simplicity, free from unneeded clutter. The Spartans basically had one
piece of clothing they wore all year, a spear, a shield, and some farm tools.
Because of their simple lifestyle, they were able to focus on learning how
to be fighting machines.
Despite being relatively wealthy, Ben Franklin lived a pretty simple life.
Consequently, he was able to spend his time inventing stoves, creating public
libraries, discovering electricity, and founding a country.
Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson were evangelists of
simplicity. When Thoreau went to Walden Pond he brought with him just
a few things. Because he didn’t have crap distracting him, he was able to
focus his energies into writing some awesomely deep thoughts.
The simple life is a manly life because a man defines himself not by
his possessions but by his character, virtues, relationships, and experiences.
These are the things that he invests his time, energy, and emotions in,
because these are the things that no natural disaster, no bomb, no prison
can ever take away from him. The less stuff we accumulate, the less energy
we have to devote to the maintenance of it, and the more energy we can put
into becoming better men.