What is Voluntary Simplicity?
Voluntary Simplicity takes to heart the tired cliché that things don’t make one happy. While most people assent to the claim that the most valuable things in life are the intangible (spending time with loved ones, our spiritual and moral lives), many of us (particularly in Western societies) lose sight of these values in the mad quest for more and more stuff. Indeed, one could argue that the current economic crisis is a direct result of materialistic greed.
Unfortunately, our avid consumerism has a detrimental effect not only on the economic state of the world, but on the environment, our families, and our souls. Buying the bigger house or the latest technological gadget only temporarily satisfies our desires. One desire is replaced by another…because the hole we try to fill with all of our shiny new things can never be filled with with stuff. And while we vainly try to quell our neverending desires for newer and better things, our landfills and air choke the refuse of our discarded dreams.
Voluntary Simplicity is more than mere frugality. It is an attempt to get back to our spiritual core, to reject the soul-sucking, Earth-polluting consumerist lifestyle that is touted by mainstream society in favor of a simpler, saner life that focuses on what truly nurtures ourselves, those around us, and the world we live in.
Voluntary Simplicity doesn’t dictate a particular lifestyle, but allows the individual to figure out for herself what things she can live without. Granted, we all need stuff to live: we need a roof over our heads and food to eat, and certain things bring an amount of comfort or pleasure that we may loathe to give up. The simplicity movement does not aim to force us into a life of miserable poverty, but only a life where our focus is on what we truly value. How material stuff plays a part in that life is ultimately up to us.
And me? While I heartily subscribe to the tenants of voluntary simplicity, living up to it is a whole other matter. I still fall victim to the lure of more stuff (technology and books are my particular weaknesses), and I still mindlessly discard more than I should. But, as I see it, simplicity is not so much a state of being as it is a journey. Two steps forward and one step back is still progress!
I hope to share that journey with you…and hope you’ll contribute with ideas of your own!
If you want to learn more about the Voluntary Simplicity movement (beyond my impassioned but hopeless vague diatribe), I encourage you to take a look at the resources below.
Introductory Resources
Links:
- The Garden of Simplicity: An elegantly written introduction to Voluntary Simplicity. Its written by Duane Elgin, author of my favorite book on the subject.
- New American Dream: An organization that aims to take back the “American Dream”. It focuses on responsible consumer spending and environmentalism.
Books:
- Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin: The best, and most inspirational book I’ve read on the subject. A short but profound read!
- The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living: A great resource and reference for simple living ideas.
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