Simplicity: Desert Fathers: Radical Simplicity of Life

The Desert Fathers lived with extreme simplicity: a cell made of mud bricks, a mat for sleeping, a jug of water, and perhaps a few tools for weaving baskets or palm leaves (which they sold to buy bread). Abba Dorotheus taught: "Do not acquire anything that you do not need. A person should have only the clothes on their back, the tools of their trade, and the bare necessities of food."

This radical simplification was not pursued for its own sake but to create space for God. With fewer possessions came fewer worries, fewer distractions, and fewer occasions for conflict. Abba Agathon carried only a small knife -- when a brother admired it, he immediately gave it away, saying: "What I have is for giving."

Practical application: Go through your closet and reduce your wardrobe to only what you actually wear. Donate the rest. The Desert Fathers teach that every possession demands attention -- cleaning, maintaining, storing, worrying about -- and that reducing possessions proportionally reduces mental clutter.