O

March   5th

CUTTING BACK    ON  THE COSTLY

“So,    concerning  the things  we  pursue, and for which   we  vigorously  exert   ourselves,  we  owe this

consideration—either    there   is  nothing useful  in  them,   or  most    aren’t  useful. Some    of  them    are

superfluous,    while   others  aren’t  worth   that    much.   But we  don’t   discern this    and see them    as  free,

when    they    cost    us  dearly.”

—SENECA,    MORAL   LETTERS,    42.6

f Seneca’s many letters, this is probably one of the most important—and one of the least understood.
He’s making a point that goes unheard in a society of ever-bigger houses and ever more possessions:
that there’s a hidden cost to all that accumulating. And the sooner we’re aware of it, the better.
Remember: even what we get for free has a cost, if only in what we pay to store it—in our garages
and in our minds. As you walk past your possessions today, ask yourself: Do I need this? Is it
superfluous? What’s this actually worth? What is it costing me?
You might be surprised by the answers and how much we’ve been paying without even knowing it.