a simpler life

My quest for better stewardship has led me to a consideration of the word "need". I have been thinking about this for a while but it came to a head when we were trying to get ideas from a remodeling show on HGTV and the homeowners claimed that the "needed" more space. I looked at their large house and their two children and found myself thinking - no you don't, you want it.

Wanting space or anything else is normal and my need-quest is not some quasi-Franciscan attempt to dispose of all my earthly goods. What it is for me is an attempt to refine my own language and thinking. When I use the word need what am I saying and how does it change things to use the phrase "I would like" when that is actually what I mean.

This might sound like a form of introspective torture but what I have noticed over is that I am feeling more grateful and less inclined to want lots of things. This seems like a good thing and another step along the path to more responsible living.

Don't get me wrong - we have a huge way to go in our household - I am not the poster child for environmental sustainability or frugal living.

But I still believe it is right to try - I cannot put my faith in a neat "sunday" box and divorce it from the very real social and ecological problems which the world faces. Faith and action have to be combined and by putting our own houses in order will change the world.