Tiny house living made sense when I anticipated living in 240 square feet for two or three months of the year. Now that I’m living full-time in my tiny house on wheels (THOW), the blush of charm has faded to frustration.
Sure, I don’t have a mortgage. My utilities average $40 each month. I can clean the whole house in 30 minutes. Limited maintenance accompanies limited space.
The location is great. I’m on farm property my sister owns, and where she, my nephew and his family live. Many evenings we share dinner together in “the big house.” I enjoy the delights of intergenerational living and a semi-bucolic life without responsibilities.
But…
I miss being able to host more than two guests at a time. My piano can’t fit here. Sewing and other handcraft projects swallow all the living and office space. Morning yoga requires rearranging furniture. Sometimes I feel cramped.
The list rambles on.
My complaints are luxury problems. After all, I have shelter and clean water in a safe location. Family members are 75 feet away. Isn’t that enough?
It should be. It can be.
For the first time in my life (I think), I’ve selected a word for the year. And that word is content. I’m holding on to two pieces of wisdom to guide me.
The first I learned from Al Anon: “Wherever I go, there I am.”
Doesn’t matter what the circumstances or the context. Wherever we go, there we are. We take our prejudices, our inclinations, our character defects with us.
We can go on vacation and still be plagued with ourselves.
The food doesn’t match up with our expectations. Persistent rain frustrates hiking plans. The days flee. We count down the days of freedom that remain instead of counting up the moments of pleasure.
When I lived in a comfortable, four-bedroom house in the suburbs, I longed for simplicity and freedom from upkeep and maintenance of property and possessions. Now that I live in a simpler and smaller dwelling, I want the luxury of space.
Yes, wherever I go, there I am, with my personality and character defects sewn into the pockets of my being.
The second piece of wisdom comes from St. Paul. He writes to the Philippians from prison, “I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little” (Phil. 4:11).
He sets a high bar. He’s content even though he’s in prison. But he gives us some ideas about how to reach that bar.
Celebrate God all day, every day. …
Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. …
Fill your minds and meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Wise counsel to look outside of self, note the good and true, and contribute to others’ well-being. Is it too simple to say, “It’s all in the attitude?” I think not.
Celebrate God all day, every day. Keeping our eyes fixed on the holy, protects us from our own worries.
Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. What benefit this world would know if we all practiced this.
Fill your minds and meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious. Scientific evidence and research-based practices agree with this wisdom!
Yes, it’s possible to find contentment in a tiny house.
Thanks be to God.
