The Joy of Less - a Response to Pico Iyer

In days gone by Pico Iyer was one of my favorite columnists at Time magazine. Not that I can remember any particular point he made, but my memory suggests that he wrote with extraordinarary depth and breath, and was the first article I read when opening the weekly mag. My late dad was a ferocious reader, and had regular long term subscriptions to daily newspapers, National Geographic, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Time, of course!

Pico left Time at some stage, and in my/our new way of information gathering, via cyberspace, scanned tha daily editionof the New York Times, and there was Pico Iyer, under the most read article of the day. Of course, the internet can do such interesting things as the most read..., the most emailed..., and even have online voting systems. Probably what would surprise/shock my dad, if he were alive is the instantaneous ability to comment on any article. Usually, a reader would need to think deeply about his/her response, type it carefully, reread, print it, seal in envelop, address to the editor, post it, and wait, hopefully, to be published in the section:"Letters to the editor."

Not so slow today. Under article, is often a box called 'post a comment" where any person, sometimes total idiots or twits, can write any drivil as a response. And, then of course, comments are then aimed at the commentator, and invariably, becomes personal, and the arguments die a quick death.

So what is the point? Pico writes persuasively about his move to Japan, away from the maddening crowd of California and New York, and exhorts the reader to seek satisfaction rather from less of the material than more. This is self imposed by himself , and does have outlets to other income streams. By the way at the end of the article is a brief advertisement that his latest book has just been published. So such an article can in such a prestigious newspaper, can only improve book sales. Weakens his arguement somewhat. Not all writers are best sellers.

Besides, the point he makes is part of a wider argument on the effects of clutter, of materialism,
the physical comforts that are necessary to live a meaningful life. Just how much is enough? How much to save for the future, for our children, our grandchildren. In the same newspaper a few days before headlines screamt that about 80% of family debt in the USA is for medical bills. The tag line was that the majority of USA citizens are just one major illness away from bankruptcy. Ouch...

My view is that the aim should be to live a life of simplicity, a mind state that keeps things simple, not superficial, that places emphasis on important relationships, health needs, physical fitness, good nutrition, meaningful work. Leaving a legacy, leaving the world a better place. That will leave a feeling of deep joy.