Happy New Year! I am excited to share another “Chaplain’s Corner” blog with you. I offer this one as a challenge to approach 2023 with an enthusiasm determined to do less, better.

In spiritual parlance, we might call this practicing the spiritual discipline of subtraction, and I believe that applying this discipline in your life will help you grow in spiritual readiness. (See December’s blog “Spiritual Readiness”).

Unsustainable Life Pace..

As an Army Chaplain, I often speak to both Soldiers and Spouses who are exhausted by what strikes me as an unsustainable pace of life resulting in their being chronically busy, anxious, and overwhelmed.

While this kind of pace can seem necessary, because of the demands of military service and as an expectation of our culture, especially during the holiday season we just finished, it is also soul destroying. 

There are many books (and blog posts) abound on the goodness of owning less, but I’d like us to focus on the concept of doing less.

We all have competing interests, and there is no shortage of people making demands on our time: leaders, supervisors, bosses, employees, spouses, children, extended family members, and friends. Our schedules are full and getting fuller. In fact, our many calendars (and calendar apps) are now in competition with one another.

We may consider this normal, but it’s not healthy.

Could your life not take on new meaning if it were simpler? The spiritual discipline of subtraction is about embracing simplicity. 

Where do we begin? By saying, NO. 

No is a holy word.

Saying no to something is saying yes to something else, like time with a loved one or even time alone. Saying no also signals intentionality. Saying yes to more than you should compromises intentionality, and increased intentionality is a must to do less, better.

Lastly, saying no reminds others, and yourself, that you are not where you are solely to meet the demands and whims of those around you. Just as saying no points to intentionality, it also points to identity.

Saying no is one of the ways we declare, “This is who I am.” Resolving to do less better will require you to say no – often. So, give yourself permission to say no more.

But, to hit this mark in 2023, we need something more than just a commitment to doing less, even to doing less, better. After all, how can we discern what’s worth doing or not worth doing or when we should say no, if we don’t first have a metric to help us make these decisions? 

Choose the right ladder…..

The Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote that one could spend the entirety of life climbing the ladder of success only to discover, when reaching the top, that their ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.  

Climbing the wrong ladder more slowly still results in loss, even if you perfect your climbing form in the process.

So, if you are ready to slow down this next year, doing less, even better than ever before, I challenge you to start by deciding on your purpose so that you can be sure you’re climbing the right ladder!

Here’s where life gets interesting. This year, as you resolve to do less, better, let your purpose guide why and when you say yes. As author Bill Hybels writes in Simplify,

“There’s no point in simplifying your life if you are steering toward an end point that doesn’t matter to begin with.” What matters most?

What matters most?

One answer to that question is PEOPLE and COMMUNITY.

So, in 2023, I challenge you to say yes to reconnecting with family and old friends, and to say yes to making the effort to make new friends (even if it’s only for a short tour).

Sure, it may be a hassle to maintain relationships and to begin new friendships over and over as we move around the world. But this military life is the life we’ve chosen (some might say it’s the life that’s chosen us), and we need friends on this journey, friends who will need us, too.

I also challenge you to say yes to exploring your outside world, to broaden your perspective. Explore your natural surroundings, even if you’d just prefer to binge Netflix. Disconnect some from technology and plug into community.  

Say yes to new opportunities; SAY YES TO LIFE. 

In essence, say no to what matters less, and say yes to what matters more. This will require courage because it entails change. But you can do it. 

And your Chaplain is standing by to help you. 

Happy 2023! 

*Visit us at Mission:Milspouse for more from the Chaplain’s Corner

*DISCLAIMER

“The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or the Army. Appearance of, or reference to, any commercial products or services does not constitute DoD or Army endorsement of those products or services. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute DoD or Army endorsement of the linked websites, or the information, products or services therein.”