Richard L Johnson

Note 3

Via Negativa.

Is one able to subtract things from ones life to become healthier, wealthier, and wiser? Can one live with less technology, less opulence, and less sustenance?

These questions are posed to elicit a thought experiment. Let’s use the following example. Many people may benefit from simply removing sugar from their diets as this lower insulin spikes, which in turn reduces the probability of developing diabetes and insulin resistance. Yet, many struggles to remove sugar from their diets because of sugars addictive properties, the physiological responses in the body, and a lack of self discipline. The short term reward associated with sugar consumption (or consuming anything of low value - reality tv, tabloids, credit cards etc.) lead to myriad complications when considering longer time lines. Many peole develop diabetes, alzheimer’s, and metabolic syndrome from the inability to remove execess sugar from their diets.

Thus, often times it is more effective to completely remove harmful variables from ones life than to add in variables to increase health, increase wealth, and increase wisdom. We are living in a time of abundance in many parts of the world, one no longer need worry about going hungry, rather, one need worry about the detriment of excessive diet, credit, and information. Subtraction of needless things in ones life can have profound benefits on overall well-being, creation of a self discipined life allows one the freedom to achieve the uncommon.

Image: Dionysius the Areopagite

This project is maintained by Richard-L-Johnson