the hidden benefits of living small

A picture of the TARDIS as taken at BBC Wales reception by Andrew Wong in 2005. From Wikipedia.

I watched an episode of Oprah the other day and they were talking about small living spaces. Nate (the resident interior designer for the show) made over a woman’s 700some square foot New York City apartment and they also had the “Tumbleweed Homes guy” on as well as several other families who lived in, what we in America consider, significantly small spaces.

One man lives with his son in a house built into an alley, making the space very small and very narrow. I don’t remember the square footage but for a teenager and an adult, it was indeed small. He said something beautifully profound - something to the effect of - great things happen in small spaces.

Another family of 3 - a couple and their baby - live in New York City in an apartment that is less than 300 square feet. Their life oozes fullness and joy that is rarely seen in families in 4000 sq. ft. homes in my experience. He said something so honest and genuine and so distinctly Christ-like (even though my guess is that he is either not religious or of an Eastern religion of some kind) - he said that they strive to leave space in their life. They try to live on a maximum of 90% so they always leave space. I think this is a “the Secret” thing but really, it’s also very Christ like if you think of it.

One thing that we Westerners seem to be notorious for is cramming our lives full - full of activities using up every last second of every day, full of stuff cramming every last inch of space in our homes full of stuff, full full full. Living small on purpose, leaving space allows us the freedom and ability for others as well as time and resources, energy and joy to give.

Another thing this same couple said was in response to Oprah asking if the small space puts a strain on their relationship. The wife said that on the contrary, they have had to learn to communicate better, treat each other better and find creative ways to expand their living space which has improved their relationship. She also mentioned that if she needs to have some time to herself away from her family, she goes out into her community.

This all struck me as something I think we would be wise to think about and wrestle with and explore in our lives as individuals and as communities of faith. I have noticed in our missional community of Revolution that not having a building of our own has forced us out into the community far more than if we had a building. The same has held true for our family - living in a small space puts us in a position to extend our “living space” out into our neighborhood.

There are many by products of living small - having a small refridgerator and a small cook space forces one to shop fresh and shop local. Not having a garage or storage spaces forces one to prioritize what is really important to keep and if a car is truly a necessity which leads to its own ramifications. And the trickle continues.

When I think of these things, I see the words spoken by Jesus about riches through a different lens, a more refined point of view. In other words, it brings it home. Many of the families on the Oprah show clearly had a lot of money, but because they made a choice to live small, they had the freedom to use that money for other things, more generous things, less selfish things …a lesson for us all indeed I think. It seems to me that living smaller might be very much like the Tardis (watch Doctor Who if you’re missing the reference), much bigger on the inside that it first appears with mysteries and adventures that you can’t experience until you step inside.

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