Author: Insight Annabésu
From complexity to simplicity, let the heart return to purity.
In 1907, Professor James retired from Harvard University, along with his friend the physicist Carlson.
One day, the two made a bet, and James said to Carlson, "I'll definitely let you have a bird." ”
Carlson disagreed: "I don't believe it! I never thought about raising a bird. ”
Later, on Carlson's birthday, James gave him an elaborate birdcage.
Whenever a guest comes to Carlson's house and sees an empty birdcage, he almost asks, "Professor, when did your bird die?" ”
Carlson patiently explained at first: "I've never kept a bird." ”
As many people asked, Carlson was overwhelmed, so he simply bought a bird.
This is the famous "birdcage effect" in psychology:
If a person owns a cage, he will most likely buy another bird without throwing the cage away.
In the end, man becomes a prisoner of the cage.
In life, the "birdcage effect" is not uncommon.
We are always chasing, and eventually we are captured by material and overwhelmed.
01
Once on Zhihu, I saw the story of a netizen.
The netizen's mother is a hoarder, the inferior headphones given by the lottery, the lace pull bags filled with candy, the seasonal sweaters, and the old magazines that have not been turned over for more than ten years, she is not willing to lose them.
She had tried many times to clean up some useless things, but she was always stopped by her mother.
She was helpless and just wanted to flee quickly, but she didn't think that after she went to college, her bedroom was actually occupied.
What belonged to her quiet and warm bedroom was later turned into a grocery store filled with yellowing white T-shirts and cheap silk scarves.
There are too many things hoarded at home, which not only makes the environment messy, but also brings a lot of trouble to life.
Once, she needed a passport number for her field office, she asked her mother to help find it, and her mother rummaged through the boxes and cabinets for more than half an hour, and finally said irritably, "I didn't find it."
Because she was in a hurry to do things, she said two words to her mother, and the two finally broke up unhappily.
Every time she came home, she said, it was like going into a dump, and when she asked her mother to clean up her belongings, the two had to argue again.
There may be many people, like this mother, who always think that throwing nothing away is a kind of frugality, so the more things are piled up, the smaller the space.
When the living space is squeezed to the point of no breathing, troubles and anxieties naturally come to the surface.
The ancient Greek philosopher Epicorticta once said:
"The happiness in a person's life should come from reducing dependence on foreign things as much as possible."
While we possess an object, we are actually possessed by it.
If you are always tied up in useless things, then happiness will always be out of reach.
02
I like a saying that people who want everything will eventually get nothing.
One day, several students encouraged Socrates to go to the lively market.
The student said: "There are countless new things in the market, and you will definitely return with a full load when you go." ”
When Socrates returned, the students waited for Socrates to share the harvest, but Socrates spread his empty hands and said:
"The biggest takeaway from my trip was the discovery that there were so many things in the world that I didn't need."
Many times, we live unhappy, not because we get too little, but because we want too much.
The abundance of life requires constant subtraction and finding the true direction of the heart in the blank space.
At the age of 35, the writer Kuan Kuan moved from Beijing to Dali with her husband.
When the two were ready to give away the excess items and screen and pack, she couldn't help but sigh:
"I spent so much time and money buying a lot of things I didn't need."
After arriving in Dali, there were no shops, and the material needs were reduced to a minimum.
Bread, jam, and yogurt are regularly delivered by neighbors' workshops, so there is no desire to shop.
Kuan Kuan said, I remembered that I used to look at the expensive and beautiful goods in the window under the street lamp in the most prosperous neighborhood of the city, and what arose in my heart was the desire to possess, the frustration of not getting it, and the ambition to fight for it one day.
But when you really stare at a clear bright moon, you will feel that everything you have is bound.
In this life, people have a degree of demand, and if they pass, they will become disasters.
Material abundance is not the same as the abundance of life, learn to temper desires, in order to keep the joy in the complex world.
Only by knowing how to be happy and keeping a clear heart can we experience the purest and simpleest beauty of life.
03
I once read a topic on the Internet: What are some life principles that you have understood after a long time?
Someone replied:
"Once lost in superficial materialism, indulging in comparison and showing off.
It wasn't until I had traveled more roads and read many books that I really understood the sentence that the world was my own and had nothing to do with others. ”
In this day and age, everyone is bound by desire to move forward, but the truly wise person can get rid of the shackles of material things and find the freedom of the heart.
When Qian Zhongshu was teaching at Tsinghua University, there was almost no furniture at home except for a table and a sofa with white cloth cushions. When it was devolved and transformed, in addition to a few broken quilts, it was a bag full of books.
In his later years, Qian Zhongshu also instructed Yang Dai that after his death, he would not hold a farewell to the body, would not hold a memorial service, and everything would be simple.
For him, man lives in the world, everything external is not important, only the inner knowledge, spiritual abundance, is the foundation of the world.
I like a quote: "Only when everything returns to simplicity can one have the opportunity to think about one's life." ”
The Song Dynasty poet Lin Hejing lived in seclusion at the foot of a lonely mountain for many years and maintained a simple life by selling plums. Usually, I can come and go freely in a flat boat, or lean next to the old plum tree and watch the white crane dance, living freely and contentedly.
The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who has no television set at home, the floor is light and discerning, often wears only a few clothes, eats simple meals, but builds his own novel empire.
In fact, the degree of a person's material requirements precisely reflects the fullness of his soul.
Truly transparent people are not burdened by external objects.
Life is not a superficial carnival, but a spiritual cultivation.
The best way to live in the second half of life is to live in the present moment with a pure heart and live with a comfortable heart.
By returning from complexity to simplicity and returning the heart to purity, we can give meaning to life from a higher level.
▽
Tagore has a classic little poem:
One night I burned all my memories,
Since then my dreams have been transparent;
One morning I threw away all of yesterday,
Since then, my steps have been light.
The more a person lets go, the easier it is to get happiness, and the less burden there is, the closer it is to the source of happiness.
Minimalism is not about being an ascetic, but about making us refuse to be slaves to our desires.
Have moderation, know how to make trade-offs, in the hustle and bustle of the world, experience their own wind and moon.
Give it a thumbs up and encourage your friends.