Non Multa, Sed Multum
An essential principle for Intentional Living
Almost 20 years ago, I learned this phrase from a Jesuit scholastic, facilitating our prayer group: “Non multa sed multum.”
It’s Latin for “not many, but much”.
While it had made an impact on me then, this phrase is loaded with so much meaning for me, almost two decades later, as I try to practice intentional living – being mindful and making choices that are aligned to what matters to me most.
How do I distinguish the two? ‘Many’ promotes sheer quantity while ‘Much’ underscores value or impact.
Two years ago, I grew tired of having so much stuff. We live in a small condo, so the volume of our belongings tends to be magnified. Having just had baby number 2, it became overwhelming to suddenly have four people’s worth of stuff to look at every day. It was around the time minimalism, Joshua Becker and Marie Kondo came into my radar. I was already on the ‘disciplined pursuit of less’/essentialism path, but it had always been difficult to apply it with the things we owned. It is still challenging, tbh.
When I accepted that I owned ‘many, but not much’ was when I began to let go. I embarked on a Capsule Wardrobe project, and let go of most of my clothes – many of them maternity and nursing clothes, plus the pre-baby clothes which didn’t find their way back to my closet. I have a basic wardrobe. And you will only ever see me with either of my 2 hand bags on rotation on a regular day. I have also given myself permission to buy items for myself that are more pricey, if it means better quality.
‘Non multa sed multum’ also applies to other things that come into our home and spend money on. We take a pause before buying things, and usually end up deciding that we won’t. We typically just splurge on books or anything for learning.
Beyond money, I also apply it as a guidepost for spending a very important resource: TIME. As a mom who works from home, I always have something to do. The times I feel overwhelmed are often the times I am caught up in doing Many. It’s when I try to work on a deck while catching up with a client on messenger while responding to the kids playing restaurant and serving me ‘woffee’.
‘Much’ cannot happen in the arena of distraction. Focused attention is what it takes, otherwise I end up doing and doing many things, but not getting much done. This is more tricky than being intentional about how to spend money. While my husband can share with me financial accountability, only I can manage my own attention, headspace and energy.
I can’t say I am an expert in applying this right now, but I am certainly conscious about TRYING. My journey so far has taught me to pursue Much by being comfortable with saying ‘no’, believing that self-care is not selfish, and distancing myself from social media rabbit holes (so hard to do!).
Knowing and living out the distinction between Many and Much is essential to making better choices, whatever that difference to you is. Go for Much in the things that matter to you most.
Originally written on May 4, 2019
