Mottainai: Where Less Is Definitely More

I moved from a 3,000 square foot home onto a sailboat that was all of 46 feet long.

The thing is, all that space made it easy to just fill it up with stuff … in boxes and drawers and closets, and don’t even get me started on that garage!

We had filled the spaces of our lives with all this clutter that honestly didn’t matter to us at all.

But aboard our boat (Amari), there’s just no space for anything that doesn’t matter. If it’s on board, it’s for a purpose that matters a great deal.

For me personally, being on board Amari is amazing for many reasons. But chief among them is that every single thing is needed, wanted, and valuable to me. I love that, being free from the normal avalanche of worthlessness.

Surrounded by worth and value.

For everyday mindfulness, this is a beautiful principle. Look around. Find what you truly value, and let go of the dead weight of the worthless.

Mottainai Can Help Get You There

“Mottainai” is a Japanese concept that promotes reverence, gratitude, and not wasting resources. It encourages individuals to have things they truly value, and to avoid unnecessary clutter in your heart and life.

You don’t have to downsize as much I did. Just be mindful about your consumption. Take an inventory — in your home and in your life — of the things you’re truly grateful for, and those that are basically just clutter (whether that clutter is stuff, people, or even activities).

The concept of mottainai embodies the idea recognizing the value in all things. It encourages individuals to be mindful of their consumption habits and to make the most of what they do have.

It’s not just about material possessions either, but encompasses a broader perspective on resources, including food, energy, time, and even the people in your lives.

Once you have pared down to the things that are precious to you, you begin to feel gratitude for the abundance and blessings that you do have — even though you have fewer things. In this case, less is definitely more.

It’s like background noise

The same is true for the noise of stuff in your life. Pare this back and you become more aware of what you actually appreciate. You treasure those things more and increase your desire to utilize them wisely.

Mottainai doesn’t create value in those things.

It reveals it.

• When everything you own is disposable, it lowers the worth of everything. Being surrounded by worthlessness is a silent toxin that seeps into your heart and mind over time.
• When everything you own is valuable, in raises the worth of everything. Being surrounded by worth and gratitude is the silent support that uplifts your heart and mind over time.

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