I opened my kitchen drawer this morning to find my avocado slicer. I found it next to the pineapple cutter, hamburger press and the melon ball slicer. I had a little chuckle when I realized how many kitchen gadgets we had acquired over the years. Although handy, these gadgets were a bit excessive.
Brahmacharya is one of the yamas and means nonexcess. Cutting out all the things in your life that aren’t essential. It doesn’t mean that you have to live like a monk, but along the lines of mindful living and spending. Do you really need that cute shirt in four different shades? How about all the wonderful things from Sky Mall that lure us into thinking the more gadgets we buy, the easier our lives will be (insert use of avocado slicer here)? By cutting out all of the excess in our life we will be conserving our energy that can then be applied to other things like a daily yoga practice.
Excess can apply to things other than possessions. Food is something we often eat in excess. Restaurants servings are huge and we end up eating the entire meal leaving us feeling crappy. When we are bored we snack, when we are sad we seek out comfort food. This is all excess food our body doesn’t need.
Relationships can be in excess as well. I think about those weddings where there are 8 bridesmaids. I’m sure you are friends with them all, but are you that close that you need them all in your wedding? Are they genuine friends who you talk with daily and turn to in a time of need?
Emotions can be excessive and only become an issue if they start to rule our lives. Depression, anger, frustration and even happiness. One would think too much happiness would be a good thing, however anything in excess leads to imbalance. Life is all about balance.
To find out if your life is full of any excess take the time to evaluate. Start with your living space. Is your attic full of boxes of stuff you just can’t seem to let go of, but never go up to see? Is your closet full of clothes you never wear? How about the things around your house? Do you have so many things that you can’t really see what you have?
The digital world is a lovely tool. Take pictures or scan all of your favorite drawings from your kids. The same applies to any medals or other such items around the house or in a box in the attic. Take the pictures and make a photo book out of them that you can leave on the coffee table. Not only will you make room in your attic, but you will have a nice memorable photo book that you can look at often.
Clothes, nick nacks and other items that you haven’t used or looked at in years put in a box. Take the box down to your basement and leave it there for a few months. Set a time limit. After that limit is reached if you haven’t wanted or needed any of the items donate them. Give them to someone who will use them. As for your display of various things around the house, take a hard look and see which ones you really adore. Make a space just for those and put the others in a box to give away later.
As for your relationships, take the time to list who is in your life. Make three categories, the people in your life that build you up, the people who just kind of exist and the ones that tear you down. From there focus your attention on strengthening the relationships with the people in your life that build you up. You don’t have to let go of the other people, just don’t let them suck any extra time out of your life. For example if you have had a long week and just want to relax when you get home and you get a call from someone who falls into your "just kind of exist" list, feel free to say no and that you'll get together some other time.
When you choose to live your life in nonexcess you will find that you have more clarity and peace in your daily life. You literally have more space to breathe. Next time you are at the store or someone offers to give you something, take a moment to think if you really need it. If you meet someone new and they want to hang out with you again, evaluate the situation to see if you feel it would be an asset to your life or if it would just drain time you don’t have. It is ok to say no to things and people. You will be honoring yourself by keeping your physical and emotional space clear of clutter.
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