Friday 16 January 2004

Pic of the day: Putting the "Sim" back in simplicity. One of the benefit of quitting work is that you can stay in your pajamas all day. (I originally had a female here, but on second thought considered it too "ligniferous". But perhaps that's just me.)

Simple living

I mentioned yesterday that wisdom simplifies, by discerning between the essential and the non-essential. In all wisdom traditions that I know of, the soul is considered more important than the body, and the body more important than clothes and other material possessions. But most important of all is the inner spark of life that is not extinguished by death. We Christians call it the spirit, but it has other names in other cultures.

Thinking of death is rarely pleasant, unless you’re terminally ill and in great pain. Or a goth, I guess. But when we are aware of our own mortality, a lot of things become much simpler. It is certainly not necessary to sleep in a coffin at night to maintain this awareness, although I guess it might help; I have never tried. But as the Wisdom of Solomon points out, there is only one entry into this life and there is really only one exit as well. Unlike the faith shown by bronze-age burials, it is now commonly accepted that you cannot take your riches with you to the next life. Except possibly any riches you may carry in your spirit. But dying with the most toys will not do much good. You may have won the game of life, but it is still game over.

In this perspective, it makes more sense than ever to simplify our lives. To prune the excesses of desire – and I mean that in a rather wide sense – and stop getting involved in more and more things that are really marginal to our long-term happiness.

***

It is natural for children and the young to get ever more involved with the world. If not, how would we ever know what we like and dislike, and what is easy for us or hard, what we can do well and what we are less suited for? And then over time we build our resources. We get more money, more contacts, more experience, more confidence. It is easy then to continue our conquest outward, trying ever more of the same: A larger home, a faster car, more comfortable furniture, clothes of greater beauty or quality, traveling to new and more remote places.

Often, even though we may not think about it, there is an element of displaying our strength, often called status. This is a tendency that has served animals well for millions of years, to attract mates and deter rivals. By showing our position in the pack, we don’t need to fight every time we want our part of the limited food supply. But so easy it is to forget that we are no longer that kind of animal. Our goal is no longer simply to attract a good mate, reproduce and protect our offspring ... unless we choose for that to be our goal, of course. But even then, hoarding for ourselves is not the best path in our time. For we live in a time where material goods abound, but time and attention are scarce. Children need your time more than they need yet another costly piece of clothing. Do you not understand that they use the string of ever newer objects to try to secure positive attention from their peers? You should teach them life skills, so that they can win friends and influence people by their personality rather than by display of wealth. But how can you, if you do not master such skills yourself?

***

There is a tendency, growing slowly but surely, that some people rebel against the crazed consumerism. They begin to distance themselves from the carousel of working more to spend more. Often they move out of the city, to some cheap little home in the countryside. They may not be able to hold a well-paid job in the city while they live there, but then again they don’t need that. There are some jobs that don’t require you to live in the city or travel much. Writing, editing, translation, various arts and crafts come to mind. In the countryside, you can often get a fairly generous piece of land along with the house, enough to grow your own vegetables, berries and eventually some fruit. This further helps keep the expenses down, and if you enjoy gardening it is no sacrifice. In any case it is unlikely to be as stressful as most office and factory work.

Even if you don’t make a clean break with city life, you may try to avoid overtime and eventually find an opportunity to work part time. If you don’t have too large expenses, this may be enough. It is not necessary to live downtown or have a mansion in the suburbs, after all. Often there are small homes to buy or rent, originally meant for the young who are just establishing themselves and later move on to something bigger. But if you don’t fill them up with clutter, they can be serviceable for a long time. I can still vaguely remember the time when large families would live in homes the size of today’s bachelor apartments. While that was hardly ideal, it shows that ample space is a luxury rather than a basic need. Space may make us happier, but working ourselves to exhaustion makes us unhappy. What good is a large home if we barely have time to look at it as we stumble from work to bed? (Possibly first making a stop at the couch in front of the TV to vegetate an overextended brain.)

So more and more middle-aged people either change their pace of life completely, or at least begin to compromise. They quietly drop out of the race to keep up with the neighbors. They may not sell their earthly goods and give to the poor, but they hesitate to trade up, keeping the old sofa even though it is not the current fashion and even after it begins to look a little worn. When the car is getting unreliable, they trade it in for another used one or a smaller and less impressive model that is cheaper than they could really afford. That is the key, you see. Keep buying less than you can afford, and you can afford more and more. Eventually you may afford to work less. Unless you enjoy your work, of course! But even then, it is good to have some free time for yourself and other loved ones.

Prophets of simplicity often say "work less, live more". That's good I guess. But my observation is that voluntary simplicity makes for a more stable mood. You may not afford the most exquisite pleasures, but you don't have the painful stress and worries. You may never feel super and on top of the world, but you feel good all the time. If your goal is to live as intensely as possible, I am not sure this is the way to go, really. But it will give you the time and mental surplus to care for your soul. Whether you go all out spiritual with prayer and meditation, or simply take the time to enjoy a good book or a long symphony ... it is your call. Perhaps even delve into the archives of your favorite web journal! It is your life to live, for as long as it lasts. In the end, you can take nothing with you. But what you have done will stand there, unalterable, forever.

For a practical approach to simple living, you should probably look at simpleliving.net. I'm certainly not affiliated in any way, but there is a lot of stuff for you to read while I flutter on to the next flower.