Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Pagan Families

Home
Pagan
Family, Parenting and Religion
Blessed by Less

Blessed by Less

Last updated on: December 1, 2013 at 6:13 am by Priestess Molly

Blessed by Less 2013-11-30T16:50:30-05:00 Priestess Molly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It is only when we silence the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of the truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.

~ K.T. Jong

“In a way Winter is the real Spring – the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature.”
~ Edna O’Brien

Each November, I feel a deep call to retreat and to re-evaluate my life, my priorities, and my goals. This year, I’ve been struck with a profound sense of “fall cleaning.” I’m in the mood to declutter, pare down, reduce, and subtract. I’ve been dragging out my big paper and diagramming out my responsibilities and commitments as well as the ideas I’d like to bring to fruition in 2014. So, when the opportunity arose to review Blessed by Less for the Patheos book club for December, it felt like a perfect synchronicity. Befitting its purpose, this slim little book is the perfect length. It is succinct, direct, and focused. It can be quickly read in just one evening. But, this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t contain practical advice–quite the contrary, each chapter has “first steps” and “big steps” to implement the simple living strategies suggested. I also appreciate that it has different tips based on stage of life–so, there are suggestions for younger people or people with children as well as suggestions for people in the “second half of life,” all tidily contained in inset, targeted boxes.

Blessed by Less offers encouragement and inspiration for all who are burdened down by “things” in their homes and hearts but don’t quite know how to begin the process of letting go. Susan includes tips for beginners and challenges for those who’ve been simplifying for years. Rather than making readers feel guilty for all the stuff they’ve accumulated, Susan gently nudges them to see all that they have to gain—physically, emotionally, and most of all spiritually—by living lightly.

Written by the experienced Catholic careworker, Susan Vogt, I very much appreciated the environmentally friendly message and social justice oriented perspective of Blessed by Less. I admit to sometimes overlooking progressive Christians and lumping all Christian-identified people into a mental box labeled “fundamentalist,” and so it was excellent for me to read Vogt’s perspective on simplifying one’s life. The book is most definitely oriented towards Christian readers, but readers from other faith backgrounds will find many points of overlap in the outlook and perspectives expressed. Vogt was inspired by the approach of the season of Lent to embark on a project in which she gave away an item every day for 40 days. After this time period, she continued her project and followed it up by participating in the Food Stamp Challenge (to live on the average food stamp budget for six weeks). She writes of her foray into uncluttering her life as an opportunity to grow spiritually and points out that this practice can contribute to, “The practiced ability to find God’s presence ‘in all things’—in our ordinary situations.” She writes with compassion about people living in poverty, includes acknowledgement of privilege, and issues a call to action in terms of “what’s fair,” as well as the conviction that making environmentally sustainable choices is essential. An example:

Pay taxes with gratitude that I have an income to tax…

Look upon opportunities to fund worthy causes not as charity but as justice, a way of giving back.

Evaluate the impact that the things I own and my lifestyle have on planet earth. Am I using more than my fair share of energy resources? Is my transportation environmentally friendly?

Stay in solidarity with people who are marginalized by staying informed, praying, fasting, and participating in social justice endeavors.

Vogt also touches on the impact of “TMI: Too Much Information” syndrome and how digital clutter can impact us as well (I’m working on this one!). And, she brings up the central value of human relationships, a section in which she offers a quote that I found to be very freeing advice to parents: “Parents are responsible for the process of bringing up children; parents are not responsible for the outcome.” While this book isn’t specifically geared towards parents, this tip was a refreshing counterpoint to the many parenting books I’ve read that seem to, implicitly or explicitly, promise a specific outcome.

From Blessed by Less I also learned about the Pachamama Alliance, an environmental activism organization seeking to preserve indigenous wisdom for a sustainable world.

And, I was inspired to make some additional microloans via Kiva International! 🙂

—

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. Crossposted at Talk Birth.

Previous Post

November 19, 2013

Review: Birth, Breath & Death: Meditations on Motherhood, Chaplaincy, and Life as a Doula

Next Post

December 5, 2013 Manifest Divinity: A Review

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Adoption birth Birth Guardians birth stories breastfeeding Contraception divorce Flash Points From the Editor's Desk grandparenting home infertility marriage menstruation Miscarriage Pagan Families Parenting poetry postpartum pregnancy review ritual sex education Uncategorized Wednesday Wisdom

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the Christian view of "servant leadership"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Greatest serves others Servants never lead Leaders demand first Only the boss leads