4 min read

VI. Excess

Balance

How does one measure excess especially when no limit can be put on the amount of love one can show for God? The answer lies in attentiveness. Although it may please someone’s soul to shower their home with boundless sacred treasure, we must take heed, that we do not allow these admirable gestures to become moments of fleeting excitement, but either way, let us go there, to those moments after sudden impulse where we finally lay eyes on the resultless outcome. Does any particular piece deeply command our attention? Does it truly pose this effect or do you find that when you walk into a space your eye cannot rest on merely any one object, but rather bounces from one mounted item to the next. It can become a full circle cadence that subconsciously never allows you to take that necessary pause; the necessary acknowledgment of something precious. This can even be comparable to a sort of infatuation. In a sense you quickly take notice of something’s presence but as there is so much else to look at, you swiftly withdraw and move onto the next. Undoubtedly, one of the many ways humans can relate to each other when looking to form superficial bonds. Which brings us back to the shopping process. As such, does a person just impulsively purchase with no thought to the…why...or…how…but simply because…it just is…and then it becomes added to the fold as though it were a collector’s item? This is not how we should begin connections around sacred pieces we place in our intimate homes. As admirable as that first impulse may be, with that initial love at first sight—and rightfully so as a religious article—no one is exactly saying to arrest the feeling but at the very least build upon it with thought or questions, to make sure our space truly deserves each greatness it beholds. This is one of the ways one can start to refrain from an attitude of excess.

“Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Our Father said, now and then, from our heart, than by the whole prayer repeated many times in haste and without attention.”

—Saint Teresa of Ávila

How beautiful is it when you can find yourself or just anyone standing in front of a piece captivated by it, enthralled and lost in its effects. This is considered a deep connection. This kind of phenomenon can only be achieved with a certain type of simplicity. There doesn’t have to be one displayed item in your space, but there should be different degrees to how everything reads, instead of ten focal points. Keep in mind, two thousand years of devotional prayers exist among us. We can’t possibly pray all of them, so maybe you choose or rotate through a few and then become further selective about the time you spend on each. Shouldn’t we be the same way with our space so that we don’t overthrow the beauty? Your home should not appear like a boutique with so many areas of precious pile up on one table. Even one wall shouldn’t be so busy that there remains no spot uncovered. “Once more, the price tag would be the only thing missing from the entire showcase!” Maybe the wall is not completely covered, but there is still a point where one can go over the needed amount for the right look. Excess can even be in the amount of things you keep per room, with the exception of a home altar or chapel. For instance, your foyer may have a console with a bible, wall rosary, statue and trinkets and then your dining, living, and bedroom have nothing that speaks to any indication of God. With the bare minimum you have congested in that tiny foyer, it may inadvertently give another person or even yourself the harmful impression of, “am I over the top with my religious decor”, when that is not the case at all. You just do not have an even distribution. As you can see among any feeling of excess, balance is a prime concern by not evening out a display throughout a wall, room or entire home.

There is usually no fuss to give a piece its due respect when there is not much distraction around it. Graceful items should not be trampled by our gluttonous need to add or partake in emotional shopping. When there are too many things shown in a given area each item begins to loose its sacred emphasis, turning...click here to finish reading.