I looked in my closet and I saw a bunch of blue shirts and pants that were browns and grays and thought, “You pretty much put on the same uniform every day.” I try to change and branch out, but I keep coming back to my same standby of blues with browns and grays. Then I thought, “If you’re going to wear a blue shirt most days, you probably need only about 5 of them, not 20.” I, like most everyone in our culture, believed the lie that I need stuffed closets full of clothing. I see something on sale and think, “I have to have this,” and it’s one more blue shirt crowded in the closet.

Monks, though, take a different approach. I’ve seen monks, when they’re not wearing their cowl in worship, wear basic clothing with jeans and shirts. In times of prayer, though, they all wear the same thing. Benedict, in chapter 55 of the Rule prescribes a very basic wardrobe: “We believe that for each monk a cowl and tunic will suffice in temperate regions . . .” He goes on to give allowances for different climates, but the basic idea is every monk receives the same basic items of clothing. They don’t need a closet full of clothes because they all wear the same thing.

It’s nice to have a new outfit for a special occasion. There’s nothing wrong with caring about your appearance and having clothes that look nice. I know most outside the monastery aren’t going to follow Benedict’s instructions on only having one set of clothes. After following the basic American path of having gobs and gobs of clothes, though, I think I’d rather lean toward Benedict’s path and have a few things that are well-made and fit rather than lots of things I have but don’t wear often. Benedict, as with most things, points us to the path of simplicity, and it’s true here, too. Simplicity leads to less clutter and confusion and leaves a larger space in our lives for joy.