If you want to go from “Population One” to Population Two+,
read:
The cliche says that book “changed my life.” I disagree. You are the only one – through conscious decisions – who can change your life, but a book can surely change your thinking. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess did just that.
The lowdown:
I finished this book eight days after I began it, and if you knew how busy those eight days were, you’d understand what an accomplishment that was. (Truly, I don’t think I can remember ever having such an upside and backwards week.) But I could NOT put this book down! I somehow found the time to devour entire chapters in a single sitting. More amazingly, I am beginning my second reading. Now, I understand that for those of you who don’t know about me and books, you won’t understand how profound this is. I almost NEVER reread books, not even my favorites. I may reread Pillars of the Earth fifteen years from now, but generally I don’t because I read to know what will happen and once I know part of the joy of reading is gone and because I always have a long list of books-to-be-read I do not have time to spend rereading books. Yet, I MUST reread 7 – first, because I was so enraptured in the reading I forgot that my Kindle can highlight and type notes. I marked hardly any and there are jewels I want to absorb, and secondly, because if I want this book to change my actions and not just my thinking, I need it’s ideas to truly become a part of me. I need the abstract ideas to translate into concrete steps.
As I mentioned in a post last week, our monthly income will be increasing soon and although I have seen the ugly marks of “greed, excess, materialism, consumerism, envy, pride, comfort, insatiability, irresponsibility” in my own life, our small income and tight budget have keep them in check (well, at least the manifestations of them). I was truly sick with worry that once our income increased our budget would, too (and all the ugliness would be revealed). I love people, and I want my life to be a reflection of that. I don’t want my legacy to be an empty life filled with all the ugliness listed above. Hatmaker’s 7 could not have come at a better time.
Hatmaker’s Seven Categories of Excess & My Initial Response:
Food – Like Hatmaker, I LOVE it, and while I balance whole foods with refined, these decisions are not conscious ones. Rather they are dictated by whim and appetite.
Clothes – I have more – way more than I need - and this excess has diverted resources from areas where they would do more good.
Possessions – Ditto, but sadly my impulsive spending has resulted in excessive possessions in some categories and a shortage of possessions in others. Too many washclothes, not enough socks.
Media – I tune in to media but frankly, it disconnects me more than it connects me.
Spending - Read “Clothes” and “Possessions.” Add to that all of the spending that has no concrete product at the month’s end…Starbucks, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. (And no, I’m not counting my waistline as a tangible product.)
Waste – The token attempts I’ve made at being greener are simply pathetic. Again, I’ve done them for the sake of doing them, not becasue I fully understand the purpose and value of preserving and conserving.
Stress – I’m a wife, mother, daughter, friend, high school teacher. Yes, I’m stressed. All the time. This is the reason I run.
Clearly I have a lot of work to do, and this is the shake-up my apathetic, complacent and mindless existence needed.
If you want to be convicted, inspired, and motivated to lead a more meanigful life, read this book.
