Author Archives: Ben

  I just got back from a walk to the park, to drop off a couple more books for the unemployed old guy (the Book Man) at the park entrance steps who sells them for 2 euros a go. This makes me happy for a start – the books get back into the world, my greatContinue reading “Happiness Multiplies”

Recently, 3 monks from Plum Village came to sleep on our living room floor. We were helping them organise mindfulness workshops in Madrid, and they said, ‘don’t worry, we sleep anywhere’. We learned a lot in the week they were here! On their first day in Madrid, a saturday, with no workshops organised they wantedContinue reading “3 monks on the living room floor”

Seeing as the simplification/un-‘stuffing’ process takes so long, I’m increasingly keen not to have to go through this again and again in the future. “It’s impossible,” says my brother-in-law, “things just keep pouring into the home, you just can’t help it – clothes, gadgets, toys…” “Yes,” replies my wife, “I went shopping the other dayContinue reading “Unstuffing: How to avoid getting more stuff in the future?”

I’ve been in a hurry all my life, call it habit energy, and increasingly I’m receiving the same message from different quarters – there is no hurry!

As I go through the massive simplification/un-‘stuffing’ process, lots of interesting questions have come up. For example, what does one actually need in life to be happy? Certainly not all that stuff. As I reduce and reduce, I’ve been thinking forward to a point where I’m left with the bare essentials. It seems to meContinue reading “What do I actually need to be happy?”