Simple Living

[kara speltz]

We have a new page on our website, that for me is very exciting. One of my own personal great passions is the issue of Simple Living. We've recently made a commitment, not only to add this page to our website, but to also add a Simple Living Corner to our alerts. Simple living is something that is not very well understood, so I'm really looking forward to sharing these ideas. If you'd like to take a look at the new page, you can find it at: http://www.soulforce.org/article/870

I'd love to see some discussion here on the forum regarding these issues.

Thanks, Kara

[Jamie McDaniel]

Kara, I know you have mentioned the article "What if the world were a village of 100 people?" in an old thread on living simple. I just came across this presentation called Miniature Earth that is an updated version.

[Jennifer5]

Can't wait to here more on this... great page Kara, thank you for sharing!

[Lydia]

Thank you for addressing this topic. It's something that I struggle with.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Lydia

Thank you for addressing this topic. It's something that I struggle with.

Dear Lydia: Simple living, I suspect, will always be an issue people struggle with, just as nonviolence is. There are no quick answers, no black and white answers, it's always a matter of judgement about what we really need in our lives.

My own personal issue for the last couple of months is fairly small - it would incur only a $150-200 investment. What I wish was that I had others within my church community to share my thinking with. When most of your friends don't make simple living a priority, everything becomes relative.

Most of my friends consider me to be a prime example of how to live simply - but that is so far from the truth. I have way, way too much stuff.

Some of the best folks I know around living simply are Catholic Workers and also the Mennonite community. They really do take seriously their commitments to simple living.

I'm really hoping this forum could possibly provide the possibility of folks who want to live simply but need support in the process.

Kara

[Jennifer5]

Kara, the effort you put into this whole living simply thing is just amazing! I would love to hear more on this topic, and if there is information that I can send out to friends and family that would be great! I know a lot of people that would be very interested in what you're doing!

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Jennifer5

Kara, the effort you put into this whole living simply thing is just amazing! I would love to hear more on this topic, and if there is information that I can send out to friends and family that would be great! I know a lot of people that would be very interested in what you're doing!

I can give people a couple of excellent links that I use myself. Certainly in my own life it was the Catholic Worker movement that helped me understand the issues. When I first married, I lived in an fancy Connecticut Ave., Apt. in Washington, D.C. and had twenty-five (yes, 25!!!!) pairs of high heel shoes! I was definately resistant to the idea - and what a shock it was when we moved into a ghetto area.

Probably one of the revealing moments came when my neices and nephews came to visit me and said to me that I shouldn't let the kids play on my furniture because it would ruin it. They were just 8 and 9 at the time, but already they'd learned that property was more important than people. I was shocked.

There is a list of Catholic Workers through out the country and although the CW is pretty anarchistic and each community is very different, the chances of getting an understanding of simple living are very strong. You can check to see if there's a Catholic Worker in your community by going to:
http://www.catholicworker.org/commun...ommlistall.cfm

But in true CW fashion the website is not always working

The other thing I would recommend is checking out our Living Simply page and you'll find two other links to organizations that do massive education on the issues of Living Simply. The link for that is: www.soulforce.org/simpleliving

For folks of the Christian persuasion, I have a 7 week course that I edited from another organizations program on simple living. I gave it at my own church. The workshop was called $$$ and Spirituality. Any one who would like to see that just write me.

I'm just delighted to see an interest in this subject within Soulforce, because it is such a neglected subject. Many thanks!!!! Kara

[1engelbythesea]

Thank you Kara for bringing forth this subject. Both of us are struggling with this Simple Living as we just inherited the remains of two devoted pack rat parents, including too many pets. Right now I am feeling as though I just retired to become a profesional yard sale bag lady. WE have donated truck loads of furniture (old, not antiques), Clothing, Personal care items to Women Shelters, Goodwill, AmVets.
Last October we went to New Hampshire and Vermont my first trip to the area to visit relative of my partner. The only thing I purchased in a Shaker store was a very small painting (5"x10") there is a single house in a large praire in large above it it says SIMPLIFY. It is hung were is the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see every night.
Hope to stay healthy and live long enough to accomplish that!

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest. -Mohandas K.
Gandhi (1869-1948)

[Dash]

I was just reading the "Simple Living" page to which Kara linked above. One of the statements was...

They don't understand that the vast majority of people who choose to live more simply do so, not out of a feeling of sacrifice; but rather, they are seeking deeper sources of satisfaction than a high stress, consumption-obsessed society can ever provide.

My workplace is very interesting in that I see a number of construction project managers hurtling about in their jobs, pulling their hair out over deadlines, and grinding their teeth on a thousand frustrations. Most of these people have a bachelor's degree in Architecture or Engineering...most are married...most either have children or have raised them.

All of them make considerably more than I do as an office boy with a Master's Degree, and to be honest, I'm not sure they could have provided homes for and supplied the needs of their families in the Chicago area without the higher paying jobs. Nonetheless, I often watch them with some sadness at the stress they face...some relief as well...that I can supply my needs and be fulfilled in my little job without the stress.

The tension, of course, lies in my desire to make something of my music. That ambition...or stewardship of the talents (an ethic my good father instilled in me)...makes me push myself in other ways. It calls for increases in income to provide resources that I don't presently have like personal transportation, air travel to auditions, lessons, expensive clothing to make an impression on auditioners, even perhaps more schooling or expensive programs.

Sigh...I do live simply, and fully appreciate the beauty of such simplicity, but I wonder if I will one day be one of those people running around in a mad dash to keep the plates spinning. Sometimes I feel guilty for not doing more...for treasuring the simplicity of my life. I feel like I'm being lazy and lax.

Tension... Even in trying to be simple.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Dash

Sigh...I do live simply, and fully appreciate the beauty of such simplicity, but I wonder if I will one day be one of those people running around in a mad dash to keep the plates spinning. Sometimes I feel guilty for not doing more...for treasuring the simplicity of my life. I feel like I'm being lazy and lax.

Tension... Even in trying to be simple.

Actually it gets easier, the older you get. And in addition the more you chose to spend time with others who have this same value.

It involves a lot of trust, and I would suggest that if your life is supposed to be about making music, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't do that and still keep it simple.

But it gets really hard when you're around people who don't even comprehend the ideas of living simply, so it involves finding others who are also committed to this. That's what the Catholic Worker movement did for me. It gave me a community that was focused on doing the works of mercy, not accumulating wealth and prestige. The Soulforce community too has that potential, but at times we get lost. That was why I pressed for a deeper commitment to this issue within Soulforce. It was basic to Gandhi's understandings, but we often make light of it, or feel guilty about it, rather than embracing the concept and taking the first steps to finding ways to simplify.

The fact that this discussion continues on our forum, makes me oh so happy, as I get ready to attend, what is expected to be, the largest Catholic Worker gathering ever held.

kara

[Zerbie]

Dash articulates a significant problem in "being a singer." I always felt responsible for the voice I was given to the extent that I felt it my responsibility to remain working on stage so that the gift was being used. But unless you've lived as a singer (or lived WITH one, I suppose) you cannot IMAGINE what it entails insofar as expenses, not only financial but personal. Maintaining a psycho-emotional "center" in the midst of pursuing this stuff, surrounded by other singers with their aspirations, needs, ambitions, is the closest thing to impossible I've ever seen.

I think the trick is figuring out where to draw the line for oneself. I tend to prefer having fewer financial obligations, even when that means assets, but otoh, sometimes there's a trade-off that is worth it. Now that I"m in an "okay" place and no longer struggling, I am able to give back to the community both financially and with volunteer time. And I simply cherish having the opportunity. A few years ago I was so hard pressed to get-by myself, I couldn't afford it.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Zerbie

I think the trick is figuring out where to draw the line for oneself. I tend to prefer having fewer financial obligations, even when that means assets, but otoh, sometimes there's a trade-off that is worth it. Now that I"m in an "okay" place and no longer struggling, I am able to give back to the community both financially and with volunteer time. And I simply cherish having the opportunity. A few years ago I was so hard pressed to get-by myself, I couldn't afford it.

Good point. Part of simple living is giving back both of our own personal time and hopefully financially, when we finally reach that place of feeling we have enough. Gratitude is so intrinsic to a simple life. All we have is gift and it is that understanding that lies at the heart of it. No two people will walk the same path in terms of simple living, just as no two people walk the exact same spiritual path.

I never thought that I would retire - I'm clearly a workoholic, and I suspect if it wasn't for Soulforce, I wouldn't have retired. But having the time to spend at the AIDS Center each week is absolutely - as they say in the Visa ad - PRICELESS!

I recall giving a workshop at our action in St. Louis on simple living. It was awesome because we ran the spectrum on how we lived our lives. There was one couple there that had lived with no electricity and no running water for a number of years. I found myself thinking, omg I have no right to be running this workshop these women are so far beyond my own capacity for simple living.

But then I remembered something someone once told me - we are all teachers and we are all students. Each of us teaches the other

Kara

[Jennifer5]

You're amazing Kara... I love just listening to all you have to say on this topic.

[kara speltz]

Dear Jennifer: Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad folks are finding this helpful. I just stumbled an an interesting resource guide, I'll copy below. Unfortunately almost all of the books and resources cost $$$$, but perhaps some libraries might have some of this. I found this particular page by googling "simple living."

Here's the resource list:


~ Articles & Essays ~
What is Voluntary Simplicity? by Linda Breen Pierce

Recipe for Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce


~ Organizations & Activities ~
Alternatives for Simple Living is a non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly.

Mindful Canada is an on-line resource organization for Voluntary Simplicity in Canada.

Seeds of Simplicity is a national, non-profit membership organization for the general public centered on voluntary simplicity. It sponsors the Simplicity Circles Project, directed by Cecile Andrews, author of Circle of Simplicity.

The Simple Living Network is a comprehensive web site featuring simplicity-related news and events, a free newsletter including articles and columns by well-known authors, a database of simplicity study groups, and links to other simplicity-friendly web sites. You can purchase many books and other simplicity-related publications from this web site.


~ Magazines & Newsletters ~

Simple Living Oasis, a quarterly journal edited by Janet Luhrs, author of The Simple Living Guide, offers tips, tools, and inspiration to those who want to live simply. is a newsletter featuring tips on simple living, letters from readers who share their experiences, book reviews and more.


~ Book Summaries ~
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2001). Explores the personal, social, economic, and environmental costs of overconsumption in North America. Suggests strategies for rebuilding families and communities, respecting the earth, and restoring personal health and sanity in a world suffering from excess.

Graceful Simplicity: Toward a Philosophy and Politics of Simple Living by Jerome M. Segal (New York: Henry Holt, 1999). Philosopher and political activist contends that the grass roots, self-help approach to simple living is inadequate to effectuate lasting changes in our culture. Proposes political and social changes to our cultural and financial institutions.

A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure, More Humane Existence by Ferenc Maté (Pflugerville, TX: Albatross Publishing, 2nd edition, 2000). Presents a compelling, witty, radical and passionate diatribe on the state of American society, with corresponding suggestions on how to turn our world back right-side-up.

The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture by David E. Shi (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, Reprinted 2001). Comprehensive historical review of various simplicity movements from the 17th to 20th centuries, written by scholar and researcher of intellectual history.

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living by Janet Luhrs (New York: Broadway Books, 1997). Comprehensive guide on various aspects of simple living, including time, money, inner simplicity, work, simple pleasures and romance, virtues, families, holidays, cooking and nutrition, health and exercise, housing, clutter, gardening and travel.

Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective by Michael Schut, editor (Denver, CO: Living the Good News, 1999). Diversified collection of essays written by experts in the simplicity movement offers excellent overview of the principles of voluntary simplicity.

Simplicity: Notes, Stories and Exercises for Developing Unimaginable Wealth by Mark A. Burch (Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 1995). Explores the spiritual nature of voluntary simplicity, mindfulness, direct personal involvement in everyday living, ecological issues such as reducing waste and consumption, sustainable development, and greater equitable distribution of the world's wealth and resources.

Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter by Elaine St. James (New York: Hyperion, 1994). Classic popular bestseller offering practical tips on simplifying in the areas of career, household, health, social, finance, and personal affairs.

The Value of Voluntary Simplicity by Richard Gregg (Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill, 1936). Philosophical essay on the need and benefits of living more simply. Still relevant for the 21st century. Author coined term "voluntary simplicity."

Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin (New York: Quill, Revised 1993). Classic seminal text for the modern voluntary simplicity movement. Discusses implications of voluntary simplicity from individual and societal/global points of view.

[Jamie McDaniel]

Originally Posted by kara speltz

...when we finally reach that place of feeling we have enough.

This is what draws me into the idea of simple living. That we can reach a place of having enough instead of buying all kinds of things we don't really need. Gluttony, be it food or material items, is not good.

Originally Posted by kara speltz

There was one couple there that had lived with no electricity and no running water for a number of years. I found myself thinking, omg I have no right to be running this workshop these women are so far beyond my own capacity for simple living.

And this is what sends me running away as it seems to classify running water and electricity as things we don't really need. I see technology as such a social help to the human race. So while I can respect (maybe?) the personal choice this couple made, I don't see the benefit of it. Shouldn't we work to get such basics to the masses rather than having those people that have them give them up?

Perhaps I misunderstand. Was the couple trying to experience the lack of running water and electricity so they could learn what it is like to live without these basics? Sort of like a fast to try and understand for just a moment the pain of the hungry poor? Or did they feel stronger as humans by learning to survive without these basics? (I just watched Cast Away, by the way.)

I guess I just get turned off whenever simple living seems to go the way of primitive living.

I sometimes have a similiar discussion regarding vegetarians and vegans. I often end up thinking that the vegans, in their extreme diet, aren't really persuading the masses to give up meat. Perhaps that is not the point, maybe it is just personal. But then again, what would we vegetarians and vegans consider better: a few people who ate no animal products whatsoever, or millions eating less meat. I'd go with the latter.

That is not an exact analogy to the idea of simple living, I know. But in both vegetarianism and simple living, I see the danger of extreme denial becoming an individual virtue rather than a call to the masses.

Thoughts?

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Jamie McDaniel

And this is what sends me running away as it seems to classify running water and electricity as things we don't really need. I see technology as such a social help to the human race. So while I can respect (maybe?) the personal choice this couple made, I don't see the benefit of it. Shouldn't we work to get such basics to the masses rather than having those people that have them give them up?

Perhaps I misunderstand. Was the couple trying to experience the lack of running water and electricity so they could learn what it is like to live without these basics? Sort of like a fast to try and understand for just a moment the pain of the hungry poor? Or did they feel stronger as humans by learning to survive without these basics? (I just watched Cast Away, by the way.)

The vast majority of people who strive to live simple lives do not find themselves in such primitive situations. As I listened to this couple, I think they spent somewhere between one and two years living in the cabin in order to slow down their very hectic lives. Eventually they returned to Cleveland and continued their activist work. But this was a time together for them to reflect on what is important in their lives. I remember when I came back from Iraq, it was a bit difficult to shop in regular grocery stores, because of the excess of so-called "choices" of, for instance, cereals. Do we really require an entire aisle of cereals???? Or, pet foods? I think it helped me understand on a whole different level, the excessiveness of our culture.

I firmly believe it's absolutely necessary for us recognize that we're all called to different paths. And it is NEVER acceptable for us to judge another's lifestyle. If we're paying attention to our own consumerism, I doubt if we'd have time to judge anothers. Compared to most who live within a Catholic Worker community, my life style (NOT as a homosexual, but as a consumer) might appear overly consumeristic, but I have had one friend call my lifestyle voluntary poverty - WHICH IT IS NOT by any stretch of the imagination.

It's important that we not "keep up with the Jones," whether they are consuming vast amounts of resources, or whether they're living in a cabin in the woods. It's about paying attention to where the Spirit leads us, .... not where the Spirit leads the "Jones."

kara

[Daniel]

I wish to associate with Dash's and Zerbie's comments about the musician's life. Art ain't cheap! That's for sure.

Training for it. Producing it. Selling it. More and more, the field (whether it is pop or opera) is becoming even more visually oriented than it is already. And in the rush for the appearance of things, I believe a great deal of substance, the real delights of the ear, are being lost in the quest for more visual stimulus.

That said, there is a paradox here worth contemplating.

There is one thing about music (especially classical music) that is very hard- and at the same time- very attractive- and very simple. One has to learn to appreciate living like a monk to really pull it off at a high level. This imposes an inner - as well as an outer - simplicity on one. I think that's a good thing. It requires a heightened kind of listening.

I like to think that listening, real honest-to-god listening, is actually a pretty simple matter. It doesn't require much fuss. Just focused attention. What could be more simple than that? And difficult....with so much competing for one's attention?

Yikes!

It's like we have to learn to see with our ears and hear with our eyes in order to make sense of things as they really are.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Daniel

That said, there is a paradox here worth contemplating.

There is one thing about music (especially classical music) that is very hard- and at the same time- very attractive- and very simple. One has to learn to appreciate living like a monk to really pull it off at a high level. This imposes an inner - as well as an outer - simplicity on one. I think that's a good thing. It requires a heightened kind of listening.

I like to think that listening, real honest-to-god listening, is actually a pretty simple matter. It doesn't require much fuss. Just focused attention. What could be more simple than that? And difficult....with so much competing for one's attention?

Yikes!

It's like we have to learn to see with our ears and hear with our eyes in order to make sense of things as they really are.

Dear Daniel: I've been thinking about your posting for a while now. We American's are so inundated with "stuff." It's very hard for people to take the time to focus and to really slow down to a kind of simplicity that brings focus to one's life.

Shortly after I moved into senior housing, my car broke down. It seemed to me to be an invitation to explore whether I could get by without one, given that my area has excellent public transportation.

I can't always get to where I want to go directly, but I've started walking a lot more. And the walking, along streets I used to drive through has been fascinating. I've seen so many things that I would have missed, had I been driving. Like a spectacular Bird of Paradise plant that had been blooming for weeks prior to my giving up my car, but had completely been missed as I sped by.

Within two weeks of walking and taking public transportation, I made the decision to get rid of my car, and it has really been a blessing. In the 6 months since then, I've rarely missed having a car. If I'm taking my grandkids, I rent a car for a day or two, but that's about it.

So each step, it seems to me, leads to another, and another, and .....

But again, I must emphasize that each persons path to simplicity is unique. I was reminded of that when I went to a nationwide Catholic Worker gathering a couple of weeks ago. I brought my cell phone, but expected to be "shamed," for having such an extravagent technological item. Much to my surprise there were all sorts of cell phones, and not one single negative remark about them!

So, I had made the mistake of expecting all Catholic Workers to be opposed to the idea of a cell phone and was very much surprised to see an understanding within the community that they can be very useful tools for organizers. I find the Catholic Worker to be a community that is very consistent in it's search for simplicity. Each of us must follow our own path and be in a constant process of discernment in terms of what are necessities and what aren't. This process might sound constraining, but it's actually challenging and extremely liberating.

kara

[NathanATX]

http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/
Welcome to The Compact.

We are a group of individuals committed to a 12-month flight from the consumer grid (calendar year 2007).
The Compact has several aims (more or less prioritized below):

• To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.
• To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).
• To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

We've agreed to follow two principles (see exceptions etc. on our blog).

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)
#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

[Daniel]

Could you go without your cellphone? If it meant being able to eat- I think you would. While not conclusive, the article below makes one ponder this.

http://news.independent.co.uk/enviro...cle2449968.ece

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.

Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."

The case against handsets

Evidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. But proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils, such as cancer, take decades to show up.

Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. But an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumour on the same side as they held the handset.

Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.

Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. And, more prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb", a form of RSI from constant texting.

Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries, warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.

For all we know, if may not be cellphones alone, but the towers that transmit the signals that reach them. Those towers are all over the countryside.

It would be a great irony if mankind was forced into a simpler way of living because technology current technology prevented us from living at all. All that stuff we've dreamed up to make life easier may be making it harder.