Today’s quote comes from Henry David Thoreau: „The more things a man can leave behind, the richer he is.“
Looking past things, focussing on the essentials and letting everything go is always good advice. Only by looking away from time to time can I find more time for the essentials. Looking away is not meant in the sense of looking away from injustice, but rather not chasing after the children, putting away the dishwasher or letting the grass in the garden grow for a week longer.
What is the most important thing in life? This is something different for everyone, and there is no right or wrong here, either. It’s a question of your own socialisation, your own interpretation and your own experiences. Leaving things undone when something else in life is more important than the thing that needs to be done, then the person who allows to say no is the richer one. You can only say no with a clear conscience and thereby let something be loved if you know what is more important to you.
By saying no, you are saying yes to something else.
It only becomes difficult when you tend to say no as a matter of principle. Then you don’t say yes to something else that makes you richer, and can become a boomerang, as you deprive yourself of the opportunity to learn. Finishing something and not leaving it lying around can enrich you just as much as leaving things lying around.
What makes you richer in saing no, depends on the things and the circumstances.
