Less Stuff, More Benefits

Graham Hill in his 420-square-foot apartment

    Here in America, and especially on the North Shore, we have a lot (and by a lot I mean an excessive amount) of "stuff." Noticing the room I am in now, I see how many items devour the table at which I am sitting: books, magazines, computers, phones, clothes, a purse, a stapler, a three hole punch, and picture frames (it is messier than you are imagining). Looking to the room next to me, which I will call the "living room," I can honestly say that I do not know what purpose it serves; nobody ever seems to be using it! My point is, why do we have all this stuff and space, when it seems that much of it goes completely unused?
     Graham Hill, an entrepreneur from New York, had the same question, but unlike most of us, he eventually did something about it.  It started after he sold his company for a whole lot of money.  He was living in an enormous apartment, and buying endless amounts of "stuff." As time went on, Hill, as explained in this article, started to become "numb to it all." The word "numb," meaning deprived of feeling or responsiveness, reminds me of how many American people unknowingly are today. Buying so much stuff seems like no big deal, when, after years of being piled around the house, garage, or a storage unit, most of it just ends up in the garbage. After realizations and experiences, Graham Hill decided to stop putting so much to waste. Although he could be living in a luxurious home with an abundance of all sorts of "stuff," he instead decided to move into a 420-square-foot studio. In it he has a bed that pulls out from the wall, 6 shirts, 10 bowls, an extendable dining room table, and some books.
     Hill says that he is now lives a "bigger, better, and richer life." Although this is just the story of one man, the message that he is sending is one that many American people simply do not understand, or choose to ignore: having an excessive amount of material does not make someone have a better, happier life (proof is shown in a study conducted last year). So, why is this belief engrained in our minds? Even if we are aware that materials cause more stress than happiness, why do we ignore it?