Joshua Becker provides a concrete vision for living a countercultural lifestyle in "The More of Less." He challenges readers to consider the life of the minimalist, to turn their back on the call of materialism and live a life free of the trappings that come from over accumulation. Becker's goal in writing this text is to provide people with the freedom to live out their dreams. He challenges people to dream big and then encourages us to give up our pursuit of stuff in order to see our dreams realized.
He uses many personal examples as well as stories of other minimilists to make his point. One of the most inspirational stories is his own. He and his wife have formed a non-profit organization called The Hope Effect, which seeks to provide two parent homes to orphans. The founding of this organization became possible because of the minimalist lifestyle that Becker, along with his family, adopted. Without the resources saved through living as minimilists, Joshua Becker and his wife could never have realized the dream of founding The Hope Effect.
In challenging readers to pursue this lifestyle, Becker provides many steps that allow people to adopt minimalism. He explores many ideas from starting small to looking at the areas that are hardest for people. Some areas will be easier for some readers than others. For instance, I could easily give up some of my clothing. As I read, I mentally went through my closet and realized that while everything still fits, there are many things I have not worn since I graduated college 18 years ago. Clothing is easy. Books on the other hand, when Becker wrote that he took three bookshelves down to one I balked. Books would be a challenge area for me as I have a deep love for them and can see the potential in many of my books for research, growth, and furthering my career. Others, of course, are just for entertainment. An area that I am inspired to look at more closely is paper clutter. Becker makes the point that we do not need paper records as most stuff is available on-line. We just need to go through stuff and get rid of the excess.
I have not made the decision to become a minimalist, but it is a lifestyle I could begin approaching. I challenge people to read this book and consider its message. If you yourself do not choose the lifestsyle of minimalism, perhaps, like me, you could discover areas where you could embrace minimalist principles.
I received this book as a review copy from the blogging for books program through Multnomah Publishing Group.
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