7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
I read this book on vacation last week. It changed my life. Jen Hatmaker, the author of 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, speaks to so many things that I struggle with. I’ve tried to write a blog post about feeling overwhelmed and oversaturated and wanting a media diet no less than four times. I just couldn’t write a plan that I liked well enough to do it (what a lame excuse right?). She spends one month purging the crap from her life in each of  seven different areas.
I knew from the introduction that I was going to have to do this myself. Jen wrote a plan for exactly what I’ve been wanting to do but couldn’t find the right way to execute on my own. Because you see, I’m overwhelmed. And the 19 tabs I have open in my browser right now aren’t helping. Neither is the huge latte I just gulped down. It took me 8 minutes to get dressed this morning because I didn’t like any of my shoes (even though I have over 20 pair). This is just ridiculous.
I want peace and clarity in my life. I want less crap. I want to bless others. I don’t want facebook and twitter and google reader to have such a prominent placement in my habits and thought patterns. So I’m going to start next Saturday on the 1st of September. I’m going to eliminate seven types of foods that I regularly eat that I’d be better without (whether they’re bad for me or just represent excess in my life). I’m not going to do exactly what Jen did. I’m going to use her book as a guide.
Month 1: Food (September)
Month 2: Clothes (October)
Month 3: Possessions (November)
Month 4: Media (December)
Month 5: Waste (January)
Month 6: Spending (February)
Month 7: Stress (March)
I don’t want to do this alone though. I probably can’t do it alone. I need other women to go through this with me and guide me. I don’t expect everyone to have the same issues and want to purge in the same areas, so if you’re interested, please don’t feel like you’ll have to do every month. Ultimately I’d love to have a council of 7 women who each want to participate in at least two months and want to offer guidance and encouragement to the rest of the group even in the months where they aren’t participating.
So! Let me know what you think…and if you’re interested. I promise I’ll regularly update the blog with my progress! And if you want to do this with me, I will send a copy of the book to you either straight to your kindle or iDevice or two-day ship the paperback to you :-)
