Subtracting to add. This is message 427 and day 81 in the 8-C Challenge and this message is dedicated to John Comer.

We’ve been talking about focus and clarity this week. The most direct path to gaining clarity is reduction. Getting things out of the way. Clearing things out.

One of Jesus’ famous illustrations is the vine and the branch. He likens himself to a vine and people as grapes that grow from connection to him. This underscores one of his most important principles: friendship or relationship. He says life happens because of connection.

Jesus paints a picture of a gardener tending an orchard. One of the tasks the gardener has is to clean the grapes. As grapes grow their weight bows them to the ground and they can get stuck in the mud. The gardener has to maintain the trellis the grapes are growing on and wash off any dirt so as to be free from anything that would stunt their growth.

Charlie Munger said, “One of the most elusive of human goals is to keep things simple and remember what you sent out to do.” Just as a cleaning is necessary for fruitfulness in the garden, so wiping away clutter from our lives is necessary.

We default to growing by doing more. You probably need to do less. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. What do you need to stop? What do you need to clear from your schedule? Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.