What is the purpose?

That’s a great question, isn’t it? You can use it for lots of things. Food, relationships, exercise, stuff and so much more. Over the past year in my wrestling with this idea of stuff and what is really beneficial, I’ve found that asking this question is so helpful. So let’s dive in.

What’s the purpose of food? At the most basic purpose is nutrition. We eat to survive. If we don’t, we end up looking like one of the final people left at the end of Survivor. Skin and bones. But there’s much more to it than that, right? We like to eat. Eating brings us joy. Eating brings us community. Eating brings us tasty treats! And none of these things in and of themselves are bad. A delicious piece of warm apple pie with some vanilla ice cream melting on it is heavenly. But if you eat that every day....that’s probably not going to be the best overall for you. So, if you stop and consider what the purpose is, and truly think about what you put in your mouth, and use it for that purpose, that may help your relationship with it. In an article on Fortune.com, it says that 40% of American adults are considered obese and 20% of children are obese. I’m one of those 40% of adults. There are definitely genetic and health factors that do contribute to this, but a large portion of this, I believe, comes from our “fast food” society. Not just the amount of restaurants and drive-thrus, but the quick, cheap, high sugar, high salt, highly processed foods available at our local grocery stores. The purpose of food is definitely something for each individual to consider.

What’s the purpose of relationships? Being connected to others, having a network to lean on and be supported by. People to do things with. In our busy lives, it seems to be harder and harder to build genuine personal relationships. Why? Those take time. Those take intentionality. But relationships are important. They are needed. The amount of people who are being diagnosed as depressed and feel more isolated and alone seems to be growing higher and higher. You could also ask the question toward a more specific topic. What’s the purpose of THIS relationship? Is it a healthy relationship or is it toxic? Is it causing you more harm than good? Again, this is all an individual consideration, but the question is essential to ask.

Exercise. Really? What’s the purpose of exercise. I googled “Do I have to exercise to lose weight” and this was the first article that came up. And so what is the answer? Yes and no. You don’t need to exercise to lose weight, but there is proof that diet and exercise combined helps to keep the weight off. And there are physiological benefits to exercise. Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and join a gym, but look at where you’re at. What could you be doing to be more purposeful in getting more exercise? Taking the stairs instead of the elevator? Going for a walk? There’s plenty of low stress exercise that you could do, if there’s a purpose for you for that.

Now to the last one. Stuff. This is what people seem to be finding most interesting about minimalism. What purpose does the stuff serve? What a great question to ask! What is the purpose of a chair in your bedroom that you don’t sit on, but serves as a catch all for laundry and other stuff? Does that purpose work for you? How about your kitchen? That fondue pot you got as a gift and you’ve only used it twice in 8 years? What purpose does that serve? I could keep going, as could you. But here’s the thing. Your stuff doesn’t own you. You own it. It serves the purpose you choose to give it. But that takes work. That takes intentionality.

I could go on with the different topics this questions works well with. What’s the purpose of work? Social media? Politics? So on and so forth. But my challenge to you today is to try to ask that question of 3 different things today. See what your response is!