Less is More

As a young girl, when I was learning how to do my make-up, people would say “less is more.” While no one ever explained to me exactly what that meant, I believe the sentiment was that perhaps less blush or eye make-up was more beautiful.

Whether it’s make-up or work, I struggle with less is more. I’ve always been more of a more is more kind of girl, haha. The more I can accomplish in a day, the better. More is more.

But as I sit here with a cat in my lap, embracing the slowness of this winter break, I find myself wanting less, so I can enjoy more. When I cleaned our house on Christmas Eve in preparation for a visit from my mom, I found myself appalled by the condition of specific items or areas in our home. I’ve been busy doing more outside of our home, and I’ve neglected to notice little things going by the wayside. Whether it’s pots and pans that need replacing, the disorganization of our kitchen cabinets, how gross the waste bin looks in the master bathroom, the pile of junk mail on the kitchen counter, or the dingy look of our bath towels, I’ve been too busy to notice. When I’ve not been busy outside of our home, I’ve been mentally preoccupied when inside of our home, thinking about and preparing for my work outside of our home.

When I say busy, it’s work. I fill my brain up with my work. Many of us do this in education. There is plenty of work to be done and a sense that this work matters deeply. Both are beautiful when it comes to feeling a deep sense of purpose in our lives, but when left unchecked, it can also be all consuming.

I’ve mentioned that we recently adopted a cat who we named Dennis. When I say adopt, I really just mean that we found him outside, haha. Dennis spent the first year of his life outside. After four months with us, he’s still adjusting and acclimating to life as a lazy loved house cat. We’ve been baffled by the amount of time he has preferred to spend alone in the closet. Until this past week, when both of us had more time off work, and we were home. We spent time talking to Dennis more during the day. We sat down to pet him when he came out of the closet and meowed at us with those big green eyes. Dennis simply received more time and attention. He’s slowly learning to trust and let go of outdoor survival instincts.

Time and attention are beautiful. They are also limited. And as we bring 2024 to a close, I find myself concerned.

For the past five years, my word of the year or end of year reflection has been connected to presence and savoring. I’ve wanted to be more present in my life. I’ve craved a slower pace and an opportunity to savor little moments. Here I am wanting this again, writing about this yet again, and still I struggle with how to make it happen.

The only thing that I can think is that the answer lies in my habits. My daily habits need attention. I’m big on habits like exercising every day, drinking plenty of water, planning and prepping healthy meals, flossing…name a healthy habit, and I’ve been about it. Always room for growth, but I’ve been about it.

But I think it’s my habits of mind that need more attention. I need to care about how my life feels just as much or ideally MORE than how my life looks.

Somewhere the answer may lie in less is more. Do a little less. Experience a little more. Do a little less, feel a little more.

Maybe this will be my year to crack the code on less is more. Because I don’t want to get to the end of my life and wonder where the time went.

Those of us who are really goal-driven, let’s pay attention to how our lives feel because goal attainment and checked off to-do lists are never going to be enough to make us feel whole and worthy. When I wrote Legacy of Learning, I think part of me thought that I would have a sense of accomplishment that would allow me to slow down a little. But it didn’t. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to write that book and for the opportunity we have to do work that matters so much. And I also want better for all of us. I want a life of more ease for us as educators. Is that so wrong? I think both things can be true simultaneously. These sentiments are included in the book. I wrote a book that I personally needed and continue to need because healing isn’t linear. It’s messy and beautiful and complicated.

But we owe it to ourselves to heal the shadowy, dark corners within us. We owe it to future generations too.

Less is more fulfilling. There is no amount of doing that will make us feel more significant. When we heal from within, we create more healing spaces around us. When we heal ourselves, healing is more accessible to others. When we heal, the work heals too.

We can do hard things without being hard on ourselves. We can do hard things without being hard on others. We can do good work while living good lives.

And perhaps in the knowing of this, we will find a little peace in 2025. I told a friend of mine about a shirt I saw once that read, “The Princess saves herself.”

Maybe this year, the princess heals herself.