Simple Living

I was driving in the car on my way home from Toledo and a very enjoyable visit with my in-laws. During the last two days I had been able to let go of some of my everyday stresses and worries. I read a book called Affluenza, all about living a simpler life to bring clarity and peace to your soul. And it rang true to me. Having already started the process of simplification about two years ago and making baby steps of progress ever since, I have seen the promised seedlings of peace and clarity.

And it has made me want more. For fun I search through my life, digging for what I can simplify. What I can de-junk and not miss. What stores I don't have to visit, clothes I don't need to buy. How I can cut back on a consumerist lifestyle and not feel the sting of sacrifice. What activities I can omit without feeling deprived.

During the last 2 years of Baby-Step Simplification, I have watched less TV and read more books, spent less money and found more security, stopped dreaming about exotic vacations and started hiking through the woods near my home.

Do I want to go all crazy with this? No. I don't. I don't want to be the person who won't get internet because I'm "simplifying my life." (I lose too many connections with family and friends if I give up internet.) And I don't want to be the person who won't drive 2 hours to a family event because I've cut gasoline out of my budget. (Family is important and family events are, too.)

But I also don't want to be that 45-year-old who can't figure out how I acquired $40,000 in credit card debt because I couldn't cut anything out (that trip to Hawaii was "deserved," that sound system was a "reward," and that monthly cable bill was "neccessary").

And it's not all about the money. It's about the peace and clarity.

Having spent the last two days re-connecting with this idea, I felt more peaceful and calm than I had for a while. I spoke to my children in kinder, gentler, and quieter tones. They responded in the same peaceful manner. I smiled as I thought about what wonderful examples children can be. Really, if I follow their lead, I would be less stressed, more filled with wonder, and living a simpler life. I would be a better person. Just like that guy who lived 2000 years ago said.