- Melissa Warner
Posted January 4, 2009
Footprints
The rural village of Clear Lake, Washington sounds like a picturesque place
to live when I look at it on the map. For me the word village conjures up
fairy tale images, tidy rows of thatched roofs, houses with painted wooden
shutters and windowboxes overflowing with flowers. In reality, in my
application, rural village means that houses must be on no less than one
acre each.
Okay, I can work with that. My minds eye now sees cottages, a bit more far
flung, scattered peacefully across the pastoral countryside, complete with
vegetable patches, chicken coops and perhaps a milking cow in the backyard.
My minds eye seems to need corrective lenses.
Although I live on a gravel road that doesn't even appear on a map, and
somewhere near here is a family with ... - Thelma Leopold
Posted December 26, 2008
My Work Is Done
I wanted to be in a better situation before I retired, suddenly there was e-mail from Personnel announcing a position that I have always wanted and waited for in the last 28 years of working. The title of the position was Data Processing Specialist. I applied and got my qualification notice to test for that position. Also, I got a Jury Duty Summons about the same time that the test was to be given. I canceled my Jury Duty because I wanted to take the test for this position that was never available for hiring. Normally, when people got this positing they stayed for a long time because the position paid almost $5,000 a month.
I was so bored in the positing that I was working in, because I felt although I was being used. There were only two support staff in my ... - William I. Lengeman III
Posted December 17, 2008
More often these days I find myself becoming distressed by the act of shopping, my dis-ease
increasing in proportion to the size of the store I’m in. Stores aren’t getting any smaller these days, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, and if you think there are a lot more of them, well, you’re absolutely right. In 2003, there were forty-seven thousand shopping centers in the United States, up from about eleven thousand, in 1970.
There’s something unsettling about all this mercantile excess. I look at these vast emporia - pet stores the size of city parks, sporting goods stores large enough to host several football games at once and bookstores that must surely rival the ancient library of Alexandria - and I’m staggered, and perhaps a little bit ashamed, at this material bounty, the birthright of twenty-first century Americans. - Mara Fonseca
Posted December 8, 2008
How I Found that Enough is Enough
Standing on top of a stack of paper, I didn't realize how beautiful the view could be. Working in a cubicle with only my plants to provide me with much-needed fresh air, I never realized that I could see a full grove of redwood trees from my workstation. Looking at the stack of paper beneath my feet, I suddenly felt this tremendous remorse that I was standing on what was once a brother or sister tree to the redwoods.
Feeling lightheaded and nauseous, I immediately stepped off the paper, because I couldn't look at the redwood trees anymore. How was it that I went through two reams of paper--1,000 sheets--every week? How could I say that I was environmentally-conscious, when the proof of my lie was neatly stacked on the floor? Feeling my abdomen contract violently, I rushed ... - Shelly Schumacher
Posted November 28, 2008
Our family did not always adopt a simplicity approach, we were not satisfied
with what we had, always seeking more out of our lives. For all intents and
purposes, we were the definition of the "normal" American family, always on
the go and biting off more than we could chew. But due to a medical
condition in our youngest child, now age eight, we needed to reexamine how
we approached our daily lives. We began to focus on what was important and
discard what was not.
Our daughter is afflicted with sensory integration disorder as well as
obsessive compulsive and an impulse control disorder. She does not handle
stimuli in an appropriate manner, which causes her extreme anxiety. When
facing this anxiety, she becomes irrational and completely out of control.
She has impulses that create very odd behaviors. ... - Jayne Thurber-Smith
Posted November 18, 2008
Mission Possible -- A Stress-Free Vacation
Our family of six has enjoyed many vacations, including Disneyworld, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Six Flags, Cleveland. However, each one of these jaunts, while undoubtedly fun, was also stressful, expensive and involved hours of standing in long, hot, cranky line-ups.
My very favorite vacation happens to be the cheapest. It took place in what I consider the happiest place in the world, my hometown. I’m blessed in that two of my brothers and their wives bought houses just down the street from my mom’s. I have two other brothers and three sisters and every few years we all try to coordinate our summer vacations so that we can have a week to enjoy each other at Mom’s. Her twelve grandkids also get the opportunity to become acquainted with their aunts, uncles and cousins.
Even ... - Cat Rambo
Posted November 10, 2008
Five years ago we bought the condo we'd been renting. While home ownership has been stressful at times, it's also empowered us to create the spiritual space that helps us recharge and rest as well as accomodate our lifestyles. A raw foods diet has led to a cleaning out and elimination of many common appliances, for one thing, and we got rid of the "everyday" china and use the nice stuff because we like it. In the same pilosophy, a Goodwill mug with Texas blue-bonnets on it holds my grandmother's silverware on top of the counter.
Our cats mean that we don't keep a lot of knick-knacks, but we do have some ornaments - strings of pink and purple lights around the front window, a kitchen painted hot pink with copper cookie cutters mounted on the upper walls, and several posters from readings and thrift-store wooden masks. We ... - Wayne McLaughlin
Posted November 6, 2008
The Satisfaction of Enough
The Satisfaction of Enough is spiritual. It is a state we strive for but rarely achieve to the point that all our encounters are handled with that degree of equanimity. It is a journey. To have the Satisfaction of Enough is to achieve a state of grace.
There are an abundance of aphorisms and sayings extolling the beauty of simplicity. I can read them, feel enriched by these profound thoughts and nod to myself that I will follow their suggestions, at least until I need to get back to any one of life’s many realities.
Less is more is counter intuitive and the Satisfaction of Enough is not resignation and abject acceptance of the way things are. It is a construct from our success and failure - failure more so than success. In my 74 years on this planet, ... - Karen Putz
Posted October 28, 2008
If there's one lesson that I've learned throughout the years it is this: people matter, things do not.
So I seek out the joy in every relationship that develops in my life and I've learned to let go of the toxic relationships-- the ones that drain every ounce of life from my being and leave me with less of a sense of self. As a person who is deaf, I find that life has many challenges, from communicating with my neighbor to advocating for others and their basic right to communication. So I often find myself with the question: "Will the challenge that I face today matter tomorrow, or a month from now, a year from now or many years down the road?" When I look ahead at the results of my current actions, I find myself learning to let go of things that will not matter and ... - Andrea Lieser
Posted October 20, 2008
Is necessity the mother of invention, or is it simplicity? The epiphany to try to simplify your life usually stems from some personal strife or need of some kind. It's not just a random choice plucked from the air. Not just because it's the best way to go. It seems that in our society, more is better and that's how we are conditioned to believe. More money. Bigger houses. Newest cars. Trendiest fashions. That's how we "roll", as Americans. The coolest, newest, and biggest is always what we seem to be after. Not until some pivotal moment occurs does one consider that simplifying might be not only essential to one's survival but healthy for one's soul.
Not a prime example of cutting back, we had just leased a brand new car. We felt we needed a safer, newer car for the new baby that was coming. Granted that ... - William Price
Posted October 11, 2008
Living the Simple Life
It has been said that we are what we eat, and in America this includes trans fat, sugar, additives, hormones, pesticides, and things that would scare the quills off a porcupine. Articles scream at us to lose weight, exercise, relieve stress, reduce clutter, downsize, practice Feng Shui, color coordinate our “space,” and get-back-to-nature!
Since there is so much that we need to do to live the “simple life,” the best thing to do is one thing at a time. So, my wife and I have embarked on the quest to eat “right,” and that began with a seminar by a noted nutritionist, Rose Payne, who told those assembled that we are eating the wrong things.
Because we know that Americans are obsessed with losing weight (watch TV for an hour if you don’t believe it), that America’s ... - Mishelle Shepard
Posted October 3, 2008
Why I'm an under-employed friendless anti-consumer (and damn proud of it)
My father brags that he needs less than five hours of sleep a night while at about 60 years old he still works 11-hour days. My sister works two jobs as the sole wage earner of her home while maintaining the social calendar of Princess Diana. My very few life-long friends are scattered around the globe and each suffer from a severe case of over-achiever’s syndrome. I know each of them secretly wonder why I, a semi-intelligent thirty-something with a Master’s degree, and a former globe-trotter myself, would choose an obscure life in small southern town without even kids or a real job to define and structure my existence. Maybe they assume it’s post-traumatic stress disorder, considering thanks to Hurricane Katrina, I lost my position at Tulane University only two weeks after ... - Farris B. Huff
Posted October 3, 2008
I love to read, at my leisure, which makes the library's use unacceptable for me. I have found the most wonderful website, www.Paperbackswap.com, and have been a member for years now. This website lets you share books with people all over the country. You first post the books you want to share, then you look for books you want to get in the mail for free. You get a point for sharing and another point for each book that is requested from you. You never pay anything but postage to mail the book out. The best part is the book is yours. You can send it along when you are done with it or you can keep it. I love this since I love decorating books and love to look at them for months or years. The books can ... - Ryan Fritts
Posted September 25, 2008
To go exploring. To brave the wild. To find oneself when life is stripped to the bone. This is what backpacking means to me. I crave that fresh open air. It draws me to such exploits. The sense of not knowing what is to come. To plan an a trip so methodically down to the very last detail, and then, the moment it arrives, the plan gets torn up and thrown out the window. There are no jobs, no commitments. In the truest sense, in the wilderness freedom awaits.
Backpacking is the only time I enjoy waking up early. Shivering as I crawl out of my cozy sleeping bag, pulling up my britches, and putting on my shoes. There is nothing much like that morning cup of joe. Just sitting and smiling. At times it's hard to put meaning to where the smile came from, but you just know. ... - Jennifer
Posted September 17, 2008
We now have three children and only (gasp!) three bedrooms in our home. Yes, our kids are sharing. And while they don't always love to share, they get over it. The youngest is 17 months old and we've used three different configurations since she arrived. Currently the oldest has his own room, although he has shared in the past as well. When my husband and I start feeling crowded we remind each other that this situation is not for ever. When the three of them are gone our small, just over 1,000 sq. ft. home, will feel huge. For now, we learn to cooperate and be extra kind to one another. - Nancy Rosenbaum
Posted September 14, 2008
Reality Came in the Form of Pizza
"Oh my God!" I wimpered as the pizza delivery came. Suddenly I could smell each individual ingredient that so lavishly displayed its beauty on these thirteen inch pies. Pepperoni, just barely spiced and warm. The ham would be sweet and almost melt in my mouth. At that moment I would have died to just have one tiny, itty bitty taste. There was no controlling the saliva beginning to build in my mouth as it waited in anticipation. Waiting was all my mouth could do because on a fast you do not have the luxury of pizza, warm garlic smothered cheese sticks, or any other wonderful tasting food. Water only comes in one flavor and that is tasteless.
After a twenty-one day fast even the box from the cereal becomes inviting. You learn to appreciate just having any kind ... - Laiza Mailes
Posted September 5, 2008
When I was a child, I felt satisfied but I had no shoes, Television, watch or radio. I was born in a little village in Zimbabwe. Everyone in that village depend on farming. The village is still the same, no electricity or running water. When I finally went out of this village that's when I finally feel I want more.
Now I have a house, husband, son, and a car here in the United Kingdom but I feel I have enough when it comes to riches but I am still studying at the university. - Shayna Schnereger
Posted September 3, 2008
Holiday Thoughts
As I watched my children and their cousins enthusiastically ripping through package after package, only to shove the gift aside and greedily search for the next, I realized it. I realized that as I sat there surrounded by family and friends on what was supposed to be a special holiday, instead of feeling warmth, love, joy, and contentment—I felt imprisoned.
I felt trapped inside my own head by the thousands of thoughts zooming around in my mind; bills, soccer practice, laundry, grocery shopping, more bills, housework, college courses, new car, new shoes, new clothes, should we purchase a new house, do I have the best educational toys for the kids, more bills…Theresa just got a boob job, should I get one? Should I highlight my hair, or get a gym membership, should I learn to play guitar (I’ve always wanted ... - anthony earl
Posted August 25, 2008
The simple life. I had determined that I wanted a plan to retire and explore the world at a young age. I started working and saving at the age of 16. It was my dream to be able to do and enjoy life by early 40's. I made it. I remember reading a story that life was backwards. We are born, go to school, work hard and then die. (This is a very simplified explanation, but you get the point). I decided that I was going to change this to work better for the average person. I was going to finish my education, work hard, then take time to see and enjoy the world and return to work later in life, if necessary. What i have found is that if you limit the collection of things, you spend a lot less, and then you made not need to continue to work ... - Judy Roth
Posted August 16, 2008
When my mother was growing up, the catch-phrase to persuade her to finish the food on her plate was, “Think of the starving Armenians.” I was cajoled to, “Think of the starving children all over the world.” Most children who are given this push wonder how eating their food is going to help other children who have none. And it won’t, if the thinking stops there.
But we have an opportunity, when considering the plight of others less fortunate, to take it further. We have the chance to make a difference. If thinking of others causes us to spend less money on ourselves and to send that money to those in need, we have made a difference. We’ve made a difference not only in the lives of others, but in our own well-being.
Giving feels good. That’s one of the reasons Christmas is ... - Mary Hyatt
Posted August 11, 2008
All my entire adult life and my later teens I have always said simplicity is the best way to handle any all obstacles in our lives especially nowadays with all this high tech of computers, e-mails, videos games, game console. It seems like everyone has gotten so busy that they want that quick fix, immediate satisfaction, but anything worth having sometimes takes time and nurturing in order for it to grow into perfection and complete satisfaction.
Simplicity at best is more complex and harder to achieve than (doing things the hard way if you will). For me I have found many ways to stretch that dollar much further than even I thought possible. My husband and I are both on disability so our income is very limited therefore doing things simple is a way of life. - Ray Sikorski
Posted August 6, 2008
For me, getting satisfied was never about learning to live with less. I grew up in a Buick family with a Cadillac income; these tenets were ingrained in me in an early age. My mother clipped coupons, we hunted for bargains, we never paid retail. This was not something my parents knowingly set out to do. Though I was born in 1968, my parents were not Flower Children. They were Children of the Depression, another animal altogether. My parents grew up with scarcity and rations, and it made them into who they are. We saved things that could be used again. We recycled before it was cool.
Naturally, this rubbed off on me. Perhaps one would think that with my upbringing I should be Simplicity’s loudest mouthpiece, that I should herald its praises throughout the land. Yes and no. Because to grow up with such a thing is quite ... - Michelle Clearman
Posted August 1, 2008
The Satisfaction of Enough
I have always been a simple person. I have never required much to be happy, but I was brain washed by society as a teen ager to think that more was better and after several years of grasping for a brass ring that was forever just outside my reach I realized that I was unhappy and I started making changes. My journey down the path of simplicity started out with needing to be frugal. I had made the decision to homeschool my children, and being the single mother of two with no child support it was amidst concerns from my family that I wouldn't be able to financially afford do this that I began this endeavor. I was young and determined and set forth with a plan in mind. Thankfully my father did support my decision. When I wasn't working at the library ... - Penny Watkins
Posted July 23, 2008
My journey into the simple life began decades ago when I was a young mom trying to figure out the best way to feed my family a healthy diet. Then, as now, my choices were influenced by my rural roots, my faith-informed values, my nursing education and my activist heart, which insists that I must do what I can to ensure justice and equity for all people.
As I searched for healthy recipes, I discovered the More With Less Cookbook, published by the Mennonite central committee in the 1970’s (it has recently been updated). This was the first time I realized that the food choices I made in Spokane, Washington made a difference for people in Zambia, Honduras and Nepal. It was my first introduction to the global effects of American consumerism. I became aware that my uninformed and unthinking choices—even choices about what to ... - Kris
Posted July 14, 2008
How much is Enough?
To live a stress free life, be clutter free. Condense your closets, cabinets, drawers, and personal items. Use the one in one out rule. When you purchase something, get rid of something.
We as a society use shopping to fill a void. Many of us neglect time for the simple things in life. Our daily routine is just that, a routine. Get out of the comfort zone. Smell the flowers, take a nature walk, and breathe a sigh of relief.
Use what you have, and have what you use. Anything else should be given away to a charity, or someone in need. You will feel like a weight has been lifted. Organize, evaluate, and dispose.
Time is a valuable asset. We need to be productive, and evaluate priorities. This frees up time to accomplish our goals. - Melanie Stevens
Posted July 10, 2008
We always feel that we don’t have enough of something. Whether it’s money, love, or absolution. They don’t pay enough attention to me. I don’t have enough money, I’m not strong enough. When will that point come where we reach the peak of satisfaction and most importantly how do we get ourselves there?
Satisfaction is a form of self-contentment. If we are not content with ourselves, then we can expect never to be satisfied with anything or anyone in our lives. Rather then looking for reasons why we can never reach fulfillment in everyone and everything around us, we should try evaluating ourselves. We are the roots to everything that resides in our lives. Keep in mind that I said, “resides” and not “what happens”. I realize we will be faced with situations beyond our control, but with those situations come choices and ... - Bridget Blanton
Posted July 1, 2008
Simplicity is a subject matter that I have encountered repeatedly in financial, spiritual and health related discussions. This issue first began appearing more than a decade ago, via articles in the pages of American publications. Today, ‘simplicity’ is very much in vogue. Applying the principles of simplicity to one’s lifestyle make sense because reducing our burdens often increases our inner peace. Today’s harried, busy, conflicted, average American likes the idea, but wonders where to begin?
My personal odyssey on the road to simplicity began one day as I was stuck in bed nursing a head cold. I was forced to bow out of meetings, eschew deadlines and let go of my daily responsibilities. I thought that the world would end without me; instead I learned that my life was completely out of balance. I had to ask myself, does the sum of my weekly achievements contribute ... - Hank Grizzle
Posted June 23, 2008
Peace and Satisfaction
In order to live simply successfully, it is imperative for me to ask myself what I believe. ”Treat others the way you want to be treated.” This variation of the Golden rule is Pan Culture. I think on the immortal words of Gandhi, “Live simply that others may simply live.” I find that simple living brings me peace and satisfaction. Peace and satisfaction, not things, define success for me.
I drive each day from my small ranch on the mountain to my teaching job on the Zuni Indian reservation in a 1989 Mercury Tracer. I paid nineteen hundred dollars cash for this car eight years ago and sent my daughter off to college in it. When she graduated from college four years ago, I gave her the down payment she would make on her next car and took the Tracer back. I’ve ... - Margot Russell
Posted June 18, 2008
Anyone who casts an eye across my bookshelves tries to pigeon-hole my level of enlightenment. I've got books on religion and spirituality, essays by enlightened thinkers who lived a hundred years ago, poems by sages, musings by saints. But everything I learned on my lifetime journey of self-discovery was washed away in a single year, in what I call the Longest Night Of the Soul.
Within those months, most everything that mattered to me was taken away and I was left to redefine myself by other means. Loss crept into the unforeseen cracks of my steadied life and claimed my ground. In January, I stood by the side of my best friend's bed and held her hand as she took her last breath, her four young children holding vigil next to me. Three months later, I would kiss my father's flushed forehead as the wires and tubes that ... - Karen Amato Schwartz
Posted June 9, 2008
It seems that for most of my life, I’ve been trying to either get rid of stuff or condense it. Why I’ve been doing that, when the rest of the world is intent of acquiring more, is a mystery to me.
For a long time, I blamed it on wanting to have the minimum possible to worry about, clean, and transport during moves. Then I pointed the finger at my new hobby of feng shui, claiming too much stuff “stagnated my chi”. Eventually, I was able to say that I just wanted less clutter and disorganization after becoming a mom. Finally I can admit that, to me, simply having fewer items is just plain liberating!
This desire goes farther than just owning a minimum articles of clothing or furniture; it is a mindset that is primarily based on a dislike of waste and a ... - Pittershawn Palmer
Posted June 3, 2008
Enough!
My awakening began at my job in the summer of 1999. It was simple really. I never imagined something as innocuous as a request from my boss for a letter to be typed would usher me down the path to my long overdue destiny. But there I sat, staring at the computer screen, wondering why I wasn’t pursing my love, why I was not writing. I began typing the letter, trying desperately to read his incredibly bad handwriting, while thinking, why is this important? Why have we, as humans, created a life so full of inconsequential movement? We spend so much time, I thought, creating things that in the grand scheme of it all, will not transform my souls—will not move us to the next level of our spiritual, intellectual and emotional journey.
So I sat and typed, and decided, as I pounded ... - Walter Rooks
Posted May 25, 2008
Raised to be thankful for the simple things in life,
food, clothing, shelter, family, love— those
fundamental principles I imagined as a child to be
saved only for our middle-class family, I am reminded
of always. Thinking back, I can’t remember ever
having to sleep without a roof over my head or, being
at an educational disadvantage because there were
patches ironed over the knee-holes in my corduroys.
So how does it get all complicated? You know, that
chaos between not knowing anything and having to
figure everything out— at least until you’re
satisfied. - Marielle D. Marne
Posted May 20, 2008
There’s a reason why phrases such as Money doesn’t buy happiness and Simplify, Simplify, Simplify are trite and tired. Through the years, they still hold true! This is not to say, however, that the want of money is the root of all evil either. Happiness lies in a harmonious balance of want and need, penury and obscene wealth.
I used to be somebody. I earned my master’s and worked in county government as a law librarian. I had more knowledge on legal researching than the judges and lawyers I assisted. I used my decade long tenure to secure an elevated position in another city in state government as the second in command. An hour and a half commute one day as a result of a traffic accident caused me to rethink what was important – big bucks or a happy life. In ... - Regina McIlvaine
Posted May 11, 2008
Simple or Plain?
There is confusion between the terms 'simple' and 'plain'. When the distinction between the two is made clear, it opens vistas of satisfaction, especially for those who practice the true art of simplicity. For my own part, I associate simplicity with luxury: clean, open spaces within a home afford the best environment for showcasing a few, fine possessions and encourage satisfying activity.
Let me give you an example. When my older son was ten, we lived in a modest, two-bedroom apartment in New York City. One of his classmates was the only child of a film producer, and their apartment took up an entire floor of a building, facing the Museum of Natural History. My son came home after a playdate there one day, pretty dissatisfied with our situation. Our family at that time consisted of the two of us. He told ... - elise
Posted May 3, 2008
I'm fortunate to live in Canada, where a solid foundation of free universal health care and other social benefits means I don't struggle, as Americans do, with providing the most basic human necessities. I have to say that I'm shocked by the numbers of supposed "simple living" sites are actually promoting the sale of books or commercial goods or services! Simple living is EASY and has nothing to do with buying goods or services. That said, think of simple living as a responsibility. We owe ourselves, our families and our communities, as well as the planet as a whole, a more humane, less consumption prone, way of living. LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS. Buy a smaller house then you can afford. Drive an old car that you maintain well. Do what you can to reduce burdens on your time by having fewer "needs." Understand that your children need you -- so ... - Sarajane Hall
Posted April 30, 2008
I'm reading a book now about the dumbing down of America, an issue I find connected to simple living as well as my dissertation. It seems to me that if one is not encouraged or given the opportunity to think much, and therefore relies mostly on emotionally based knee-jerk reactions as the primary means for decision making, one will probably tend to accumulate stuff in an attempt to cure what ails. And in our culture so many do not even realize that an ailment is present both within and without in the form of a chronic but nameless emptiness lurking just offstage. - Darcy Silvers
Posted April 26, 2008
OK to say "No"
Our family lives in an upper-middle class suburb where the concept of “keeping up with the Joneses” translates as a Mercedes for mama’s boy and a shore home for mama. That said, our family’s theme song is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Unless you pay for it yourself.
Of course, if you asked our kids what their theme song is, it probably would be another Rolling Stones song: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” So how are we, as parents, supposed to instill in our children that enough is enough?
Throughout the years, I’ve tried to set an example by focusing on other people’s needs – not our own wants. I’ve volunteered on numerous boards and committees, ad nauseum. It’s getting to the point where I’m stretched a bit too ... - kamala venkatraman
Posted April 15, 2008
I believe in reuse and refuse. I do not bother to think about what other people think about my choices. If i am comfortable with it i go ahead with it.I firmly believe in carrying a cloth bag made out of used material. I carry i where ever i go. I refuse to carry the recent fashionable bags which r used widely today. I strongly advocate the use of alternate material instead of plastic carry bags.
I am satisfaied that that i am doing my bit to save MOTHER EARTH FROM BEING GARBAGE BIN. - Becca Tebon
Posted April 12, 2008
I am in the "subculture" of moms being "green moms!" Each day I try to be some shade of green. As a Wellness Lifestyle Coach, I try to teach my children, other moms and those around me how to live in a more natural way and not use harmful toxins to clean their home, change their lifestyle with baby steps to improve not only their life but the planet as well. Through a variety of Wellness components I teach others how to better their lives.
I am passionate about helping other moms like myself learn about how to do something good for their family, their health and the environment. Not only is it important for me to help moms learn about the products they use in their homes each day or what they put on their bodies or in their bodies but to help show moms how they ... - Janet Cobb
Posted April 8, 2008
I Thought I Knew Simplicity
Growing up seventh child of eight when my father abandoned my mother, I believed I was familiar with simple living. We struggled, from welfare check to foodstamp booklet, to make ends meet. While friends from school purchased new clothes and shoes each fall and arrived at school in new cars, sharing stories of ski trips and vacations, I cringed. Parked in front of the local thrift shop, I silently prayed that no one would see us as we hunted for a simple pair of pants with no holes. The only furniture we ever had in our home came from the generosity of our faith community, and our holiday meals each year arrived in boxes from the Thanksgiving Food Drive at church.
I thought I knew simplicity until I arrived as a missionary in Asia. The temporary housing shelters that littered ... - Karen Vanasse
Posted March 29, 2008
I am a single mother, with two beautiful boys, trying to make it in this world. I got pregnant with my second boy when I was 38 and, I, like many women had to choose whether to put my new baby in daycare all day while I chase the almighty dollar, or whether it was better to stay home with him for the first few years, knowing full well that I would struggle financially in doing so.
In our society, it is drummed into our heads that we 'need' the latest technologies, the biggest T.V., the 'coolest' car, etc. etc. etc...... my other son is 14, so you can imagine the stress on me to make sure that he doesn't go 'without' the things that a middle-school teenager needs to be accepted in this world.
So, do I give into the pressures of society and work full-time ... - Rick Fowler
Posted March 20, 2008
"Dock Questions"
Thereafter, each spring would be an exciting time for our family, especially our two children when they knew we were headed north to open the cottage. However, a realization set in every winter also when we noticed that our kids were getting bigger while our primary residence was getting smaller. The solution, build a bigger roomier home with all the amenities that our current house did not have. There was a problem however, with a new house we could not afford to keep our summer log home.
Throughout this particular summer there were many more “dock questions” as I’ve so named them. However, the realization of how beautiful and pure this one scene with my children was, led me to two different thinking modes. The first is how we, as parents, sometimes take our surrounding woods, lakes, streams and rivers for ... - Lynn Kindler
Posted March 14, 2008
My whole life seems as if it has been focused on trying to catch up to that elusive "just enough" but not enough ideal. I carried the baggage of my parents, the small bags of my brother and my own bags for many years. It seems as if the past 20 years has coalesced all of the help I've been giving myself, whether it be through 12-step programs, various forms of spiritual spelunking or just plain growing up into being able to be really grateful (most of the time) for all that I have in my life. I'm enough, my husband's enough, my animals are enough, our home is enough and our cars are enough.
I've come to believe that the machine of marketing and advertising that we created many years ago is becoming obsolete for the conscious. If we are to grow beyond being a human lemming who ... - Debbie Heintz
Posted March 3, 2008
What is true satisfaction? When is enough? How do we know how to get to enough and how do we know when we are finally there? So many question that would be answered so differently given the person who is asked the question. Take me for instance
I am a 48 year old widow of fourteen years. I have dedicated my life to raising my three children alone and have held down the same so called place of employment for seventeen years. I guess I could say that 11 years ago I was content with my bills being paid on time, my children wearing a new pair of sneakers and a occasional trip to the local diner for dinner. I was way to busy to picture my life being filled with anything more glamorous than a bubble bath. I felt satisfied and I felt content with what I had.
<... - Kacey E. Cloues
Posted February 25, 2008
Cats and the Appreciation of Simplicity
My cats have this great four-foot tall, multi-cubbied scratching post that’s been in the spare bedroom (the Cat Room) for years. There was a time when they absolutely adored it, and a day didn’t go by without a squabble over who got the coveted top bunk. But then they lost interest. In fact, the scratching post went completely unnoticed for a good six months. Then, I moved it. During a fit of spring cleaning, I emptied out the Cat Room, shut the door, and swept, mopped, and dusted until the formerly furry space sparkled. I opened the door and what do I see out in the hallway but all three cats excitedly gathered around the scratching post like it was the Mother Ship descended at long last from the heavens.
It wasn’t a bright shiny ... - Gene C. Sager
Posted February 16, 2008
Bigness Gone Berserk
by Gene C. Sager
In a strange, modern way, Berserkers are among us today. The original Berserkers were ancient Viking warriors whose overkill destruction gained them notoriety and a place in our language. Berserkers became so “zoned” that they were capable of unbelievable, irrational behavior. Hence, we use the phrase “gone berserk.”
As a philosopher, I stand on the streets of the nation, crying, “Why?” Why are the new houses today twice as big as those built in the 1950’s? Why do so many people drive the big and tall Urban Attack Vehicles (UAVs)? Soft drink cups provide such a Big Gulp that many Americans have expanded to XXXL and beyond. Popular culture idealizes large genitalia, encouraging outrageous surgeries, drugs, and enhancers. Many writers have remarked on the gargantuan size of international corporations which arguable wield more power than some ... - Paula Bailey
Posted February 7, 2008
This website is an excellent resource!!! I came searching for like-minded information and found much more; authors, websites, community, etc. I have become more focused on the ease of simple living.
I was inspired to again review and think about my own life and my experiences of enough. My father's motto and guideline of how to live life: "if you are out in the desert and dying of thirst and hunger, what do you do?" and we'd all chorus back, "CHARGE IT." This was also paired with the expectation to fake "having it" in any situation.
My own life has been a ever present awareness of how at the most elemental level of life I contribute to the well-being of the world and the universe. For me, the most pure practice of simplicity is to keep in my thoughts and deeds all of that consciousness - ... - MarkAaron Perry
Posted January 30, 2008
Some herbs that I grew from seed, three book cases with an array
of books, an eight-year-old laptop, and a seven-year-old Toyota
Corolla that I will drive at least four more years….That’s my
life in a nutshell. It’s what I call having enough. I have no
SUV, no big house, no cable T.V., no iPod, no MP3 player, and no
extravagant entertainment system.
I confess, I did break down a few years ago (but many years
after everyone else) and conformed to society by getting a cell
phone, but that was mainly because of my job as a truck driver.
Otherwise, I would probably live without that too. I live a
simple life with my partner in a two bedroom, 800 square foot
apartment that we are comfortable calling home. We utilize all
our ... - Joanne Verallis
Posted January 21, 2008
by Joanne Verallis
Like most post-baby boomers during the eighties and nineties, I was on a path, more like a treadmill in actuality, to succeed. Success is such an intangible and highly personal concept that I still find its meaning difficult to grasp. What I did, at that time, was to set up goals for myself that, in hindsight, were very materialistic in nature. These consisted of plans for having children, building a big house and earning a certain income by a given date. By 1999 I had the home, three children, a full-time job and a mini-van - we were like a poster-family for suburbian Nirvana. Keeping up with the Joneses was important to me at that time. In my mind it somehow validated my accomplishments. Though I ran myself ragged to try and achieve more and acquire more, all I ever really achieved and acquired was more stress.<... - Delores Sandeen
Posted January 12, 2008
My story of simplicity and satisfaction is about how I find relaxation and meditative qualities through knitting. I learned to knit four years ago from a book. I kind of miss the traditional route of passing along crafts, by the older generation to the younger. Knitting helps me through stressful situations and studies have shown how therapeutic the repetitive motions can be. As more people discover or rediscover this craft, I believe it can have a huge impact on society. Also, knitters who are more or less celebrities in the crafting world have made great inroads for various charities. - Orville Desjarlais
Posted January 3, 2008
A 6-year-old girl in a bright green dress and sandals entered a school for the first time in Afghanistan after years of Taliban suppression.
Children in Sri Lanka used crayons to draw pictures of the deadly destruction caused by a tsunami the day after Christmas. Stick figures depicted bodies strewn across a village completely destroyed.
Injured or dying New Orleans residents reached out for help, unable to move, while they lay on stretchers in Concord D of the New Orleans airport after Hurricane Katrina. Unable to help them all, I passed by each one in despair.
As a former military journalist for the Air Force, I’ve traveled the world to visit places others are trying to escape.
In every one of those instances, life and death walked hand in hand. Material things meant nothing. Food and shelter -- the very bottom ... - Juliet Johnson
Posted December 24, 2007
To Live and Drive in L.A.
By Juliet Johnson
I drive a horse-drawn carriage in Los Angeles, for my newly-started wedding carriage business. Today someone has rented the carriage to propose to his girlfriend in Pasadena. I angle the huge white horse Clyde out into traffic, pulling our decorated white carriage. It’s a Sunday afternoon. We’re picking up the groom around the corner from where he’s going to surprise his girlfriend and ask her to marry him.
Old people always smile at the carriage and big old Clyde’s head. They’re in the crosswalk, or on the sidewalk, bent over, they look up at me like elves or trolls, smiling. Look, the ice man is here.
The groom appears. He’s Chinese.
“Hi, I’m David,” he offers his hand. “My sister arranged ... - Pola Muzyka
Posted December 23, 2007
'Secrets of a Woodsman'
Mom canned enough food to get us through an entire winter and spring and still have enough canned goods left over to share. She prepared the best kielbasa imaginable from deer meat, garlic and spices. Dad would smoke them with hickory wood over a large fireplace for hours and everyone who had a chance to taste Mom’s prized kielbasa would always ask for more. Mom gave kielbasa out as presents and the reputation of her kielbasa spread throughout our family and all our neighbors on the mountain.
Hunting and fishing seasons were always great times for Dad. His buddies, my Uncles, and he would sit around, talk about the upcoming events, and clean their guns or even make flies for their fishing hooks. When they hunted, they went out in groups and helped each other carry the game home.
One ... - Sarah Hall
Posted December 15, 2007
THE POWER OF NO
Some years ago, I worked in the basement of a Los Angeles theatre where I telemarketed season ticket subscriptions. I've never forgotten our supervisor's advice. "When you hear the father's no," he said, "stop selling, thank the person for their time, and hang up. The father's no is a final no. Respect it."
We can all declare the final no, so I have never thought of the father's no as a gender no, but as a person's no, hence my no, and never more my no than today as I am learning to live a simpler, cleaner, clearer, more meaningful life. No, I am not going to remain in this toxic relationship. No, I will not put up with this inane television program. No, I will not eat food or buy any products that will damage my health, the health of other ... - Susan Silver
Posted December 12, 2007
Reflecting on Get SatisfiedTrue Stories
I love to read true stories because they help me reflect on life in general and my life in particular. That's my experience as I'm reading each true story in Get Satisfied.
What strikes me is how each writer describes an important aspect of their life journey that led to a deep sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, and purpose in life. And each story is like a mirror: you can't help but reflect on your own journey and ask yourself, Where am I now?
I like what I see in my life's mirror, which in turn reflects the images, messages, and revelations in the writers' stories. It's like looking into a mirror that reflects another mirror producing an infinity of mirror images.
What a wonderful book to reflect on with others at a <... - Susan Justice
Posted December 6, 2007
If I had not had a friend who contributed one of the essays in "Get Satisfied," I wouldn’t have given this book much attention. Since I “knew” the content, I wouldn’t have bothered to read it. However, he held a book signing locally and I purchased the book to be supportive.
Buying a book I did not think I needed was certainly in opposition to “Simple Living,” and actually bothered me a little at the time. Something urged me to do it and, of course, it turned out to be absolutely the right thing to do.
I’ve known about Voluntary Simplicity and Living Simply for a couple of decades (it’s one of my many “been there; done that’s) but I was genuinely delighted with the stories found within this collection of essays. Each story is beautifully written, many by a person ... - Sarah Jane Hall
Posted December 5, 2007
I get a really strong message from the cosmos in many instances that the simplicity Zeitgeist is getting increasingly strong and apparent to a wider and wider segment of the population, including psychologists. - Ingrid
Posted December 2, 2007
I am offering a free yoga class to anyone who is new to yoga. One hour per class for those in Santa Monica & West L.A.
Ingrid
www.attuneyoga.com - Diane Gandee Sorbi
Posted November 13, 2007
The realization has taken me quite a while - more stuff does not equal more happiness. For many years I accumulated as many books, clothes, dishes, towels, cooking utensils, etc. as I could afford. Fortunately, I'm a neat person who can't stand clutter, so when every closet, drawer, and cupboard was full, I figured my days of retail therapy were over. Then I found a solution - upgrading! Higher thread-count sheets, better- quality everything, that was the way to go. The plan came complete with its own justificaton. I could give away all the old stuff to people who needed it, and for every one item in, one item went out. It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. At some point during my quest for the best, it dawned on me that each purchase wasn't making me any happier. Things are just things. They are no substitute for what is ... - Horacio Velasco
Posted November 12, 2007
The key to "simple" living is to distinguish between the merely countable from what really counts, to borrow an eloquent distinction made by the ecological economist, Herman Daly. This begs the question of how one makes such a distinction. A strong hint in this regard, it seems to me, is afforded us by a repeated lament David Letterman makes whenever he sees a bad movie: “There goes another two hours of my life I’ll never get back.”
The implication of Mr. Letterman’s lament is clear: As finite beings, the limited amount of time we have should be the supreme arbiter of what we decide to do with our time. Two attitudes, one intuitive, the other, counterintuitive, naturally arise to confront this brute fact of the limited amount of time we have as mortal beings.
The intuitive attitude is one that is, sadly, brought out ... - Cynthia Carlson
Posted November 7, 2007
Wanted to let you know that I am very satisfied with my copy of
Get Satisfied! I hope to share it lots as soon as I finish reading
it. It's enlightening to know the life changes people have been able
to make! - Brenda Bonin
Posted November 4, 2007
After years of daily battling with my naturally curly hair, I discovered quite by accident that going “au naturale” would translate to tremendous time and money savings and ultimately a more relaxed and liberated lifestyle.
Bad hair days – I’d had too many to count over the last 40 years. My whole life I had spent one to two hours a day working with my hair, vainly attempting to force it to be straight. Most recently my regimen was to first blow it dry with a round brush, pulling and pulling the curl out with each twist and turn of the wrist. The next step was to further flatten any remaining curl with a ceramic flat iron, removing even the slightest hint of a bend. I would then assess in the mirror that it was too straight and proceed to adding back the right amount of curl with a ... - Alice Fulton-Osborne
Posted October 26, 2007
Since our book, IT'S HERE...SOMEWHERE, came out in 1985, my co-author (Pauline Hatch) and I have spent the last 20 years helping people understand that "big isn't better, it's just BIG," "less is best," and the space we have is perfectly fine as long as it's NOT holding things we don't like, don't use, don't need, don't want, and don't have room for.
We've studied why bright, well-meaning people hold on to things they don't like, don't use, don't need, don't want, and don't have room for. There are 3 main reasons: 1)Sentiment or obligation ("Aunt Ethel will just DIE if I get rid of the afghan she made for our wedding!"). Fact: nobody dies when we pass things along that others would like, use, need, want or have room for.
Reason 2)"I paid good money for this!" Fact: there are three price-tags to things. The first is ... - Cynthia Carlson
Posted October 18, 2007
My move to Tennessee did not simplify my life. Interesting how
there are hidden costs to everything! Hidden costs for us were being
FAR from family and friends (although we made a number of new, close
friends during the time we were there). Also, home ownership had a
lot of costs in terms of time and money that I had never considered,
although there were benefits too -- the primary one being the great
neighbors we had. And then the new environment had both new costs and
new savings which pretty much cancelled each other out.
We discovered that long-term relationships have great value! Starting over is not
that easy. We had overlooked many of the benefits we had in
California because we got too busy with busyness. Now we are more
careful. Relationships make life sweet, less ... - Sylvia Boldt
Posted October 10, 2007
Art and I were married in l974. After having been raised in a single parent home, I felt desparate to be home full time. We decided to start having children. So I had one son and three daughters by l979, We were very poor but managed to have bought a little three bedroom home with the VA benefit and cashing in an insurance policy. No one every mailed us credit card offers. That is how poor we were. We survived with simple meals, bags of clothing given to us by others and shopping at second hand stores. We drove old cars and even went without a car for one year. People kept telling us that we had to start borrowing money, but we didn't.
Life begin to change for us when I felt comfortable being a substitute teacher in l989. I began getting credit card offers. Having felt ... - juelle
Posted September 30, 2007
COMPARED TO WHOM?
I traveled alone to Mexico at the age of sixteen and saw how the “third world” lives. In some cases, the shock was sudden and unforgettable. I remember a little girl in Cuernavaca who had only one eye. Other faces haunt me too.
A peasant woman on a bus said to me, “You’re from America? You must be very rich”. I shook my head no, but since then I have come to agree with her. Forty years have passed, and I am still counting myself fortunate. I have learned to appreciate ice cubes, plumbing that works, and other modern conveniences.
My income has fallen below the poverty line for more than half of my adult years, yet I feel rich. Why? Because of whom I choose to compare myself with – those who have less, not more.
I don’t have a three ... - Mara
Posted September 27, 2007
"Standing on top of a stack of paper, I didn't realize how beautiful the view could be. Working in a cubicle with only my plants to provide me with much-needed fresh air, I never realized that I could see a full grove of redwood trees from my workstation. Looking at the stack of paper beneath my feet, I suddenly felt this tremendous remorse that I was standing on what was once a brother or sister tree to the redwoods.
Feeling lightheaded and nauseous, I immediately stepped off the paper, because I couldn't look at the redwood trees anymore. How was it that I went through two reams of paper--1,000 sheets--every week? How could I say that I was environmentally-conscious, when the proof of my lie was neatly stacked on the floor? Feeling my abdomen contract violently, I rushed out of my workstation and ran to the nearest bathroom ... - Sandra B.
Posted September 18, 2007
WHAT MATTERS MOST
By Sandra Bretting
I should have known something was up when my husband stood back from the hubbub surrounding the Christmas tree. I had picked up his gift to me, which was a thin envelope not much bigger than a checkbook cover, and was opening it.
The first thing I saw was a sliver of sky-blue on a Continental Airlines ticket. Then, as I unfurled the page, I read the words “Charles De Gaulle Airport” under the heading “destination.” We were going to Paris.
“Merry Christmas,” my husband mouthed, from his corner of the room.
Little did I know, the best was yet to come. That a week after we would return, after the dirty laundry had been put away and the film had been developed by Walgreens, I would receive my true present.
... - Bob Jacoby
Posted September 18, 2007
At age fifty, I had pretty much decided that life was done and it was just a matter of time. Not that I had any dire health issues or anything, but I had become tired of life, tired of trying, and just wanted to be “finished”. I was lonely (a life–long bachelor after one disastrous relationship in my youth) and bored, with no real goals and little hope of improvement. I had some modest financial security and some great friendships, but it was not enough. So I was ready to be done.
But life had other ideas, and just two years later, I had a wife, two kids and a grandson! Instead of being alone, I had a family and someone who cared for me and I became rich in all the things that I really value. In my case, a simple miracle was all it took.<... - Carolyn Starnes
Posted September 17, 2007
The Satisfaction of Enough
My introduction to simplicity came at an early age. There are so many memories that I could share that would leave no doubt that the experiences made me what I am today.
As second oldest of six children and born at the end of World War II, I lived in rural areas until I married in 1965. That is, with the exception of a year or so while I was in fourth and fifth grade. It was during that time that my father decided the family needed to move with him to construction jobs in Texas and Louisiana. Those of us old enough to go to school went to seven different schools during that time...always the "new kids." We are of strong, well-adjusted stock, so we survived without warped personalities. However, the experience of that period was enough to change our father's ... - chris
Posted September 12, 2007
looking back, i think that my most pivotol turning point was when i was diagnosed with cancer; it's true what a lot of people say - you look at life very differently after that - your priorities become crystal clear - i'm fine now - but that feeling has never left me - i don't take anything in my life for granted and appreciate the smallest things that most people never notice; anytime i purchase something i think about what it's total cost is - the cost to the planet and the cost to me in terms of time and money - simple thing, but you don't purchase things idly anymore; everything has a price - Trudy Gardner
Posted September 8, 2007
For the last seven years I have watched with dismay and anger how the overspending is ruining our economy and the environment of the world.
We have become addicted to buying 'stuff' we could easily live without. An overabundance of goods are obsolete overnight because new 'improved' models are on the shelf tomorrow. Like sheep we have adapted to this regimen of 'must have' spending.
It is time to look reasonably at our way of living.I think that 'Get Satisfied' will help to bring the public to its senses.Thank you for all your good work! - Bruce Lloyd Kates
Posted September 5, 2007
There is a saying -- "Enough is enough!" Being that I have been studying French for many years, I was struck. quite some time ago, by the fact that the words for "an egg" in French are "un oeuf" which sounds almost exactly like the word "enough." So, one could make a bilingual play on words by saying in French "Un oeuf est un oeuf" which means "An egg is an egg" but which sounds almost exactly as if you were saying "Enough is enough!" - Moreah Vestan
Posted September 4, 2007
Movies on Short Notice
One thing my son and daughter and I enjoy together is movies. So I bought seven tickets for $20, and we’ve seen Stand By Me (so good I stayed in the theater and saw it next showing); Crocodile Dundee (fun like Greystoke was); The Great Wall; Twist and Shout (poignant), and Peggy Sue Got Married. After it, we talked about what things WE might do differently if we went back in time several years.
Often we decide on 25 minutes’ notice that we all three are free, and we scramble into the car, even deciding from the Sunday paper half way onto the freeway which movie we’ll see. Last time, I was short money to see the movie we chose (not the 7 for $20); I took the chance that Kathryn, who lives in the house WE lived in for 7 years on Capitol Hill, could ... - Moreah Vestan
Posted September 4, 2007
Salmon Spawning, Chocolate and Trees
Whew, enough mental stuff for now. The second highlight of last month, of all things, centered around salmon spawning. Two women friends and I drove to Issaquah to the Fish Hatchery, and we saw hundreds of salmon battling upstream in inches-deep water to spawn. I found the dogged determination/ instinctual destiny awesome to contemplate. Several times a maelstrom would force them downstream several yards; they would valiantly cover the same ground again. They were driven, but not like the times I’ve been driven. There was majesty and power and the incredible beauty of creatures totally being themselves. I have NEVER so identified with a creature before!
That day became even more special when we managed to get on the last tour (till February) of Boehm’s chocolate factory. I may have had my fill of chocolate (for the day). Then we ... - Moreah Vestan
Posted September 4, 2007
How do you Know you are Loved?
A dear friend her husband and I had driven east to around Snoqualmie. We found a friendly river (lots of rocks and rippling water.) The three of us sat on the boulders eating our fruit and sandwiches. Ahna was sharing some childhood memories with her folks; I asked if she felt loved. “Oh, yes!” “How did you know?” She replied, “He grinned at me!” So simple, yet so rich a statement.
I observed myself the next few days with my children; we talked, we laughed, we went on outings, but the deep intimacy of shared soul-secrets that shows itself in grins was rarely there. I had to ask myself why! I suspect that grins, as opposed to laughs, need the soil of relaxed, unhurried hanging-out time. As several past and present housemates could attest, “hanging out” is not my forte. ... - Bruce Lloyd Kates
Posted September 3, 2007
N/A - Anonymous
Posted September 2, 2007
I've always been a shopper, but I like a bargain and don't like to spend big dollars. It really urks me to see something I bought on at the regular price on sale. I'm an old lady now and have collected a lot of things over the years, but hate to give them up.. It's hard for me to let go. Since I'm retired I've taken up several hobbies. I have packs of notecards. I don't know I'll ever use them up. I still buy something when I see it on sale, so I think I'm saving money. But when does it stop and where do I put all this stuff? I'm stufficating. HELP! - Antonia
Posted August 26, 2007
I am very happy with my life but when I read about Kiva.org I immediatley knew that I found THE LAST MISSING piece for total happyness. Since then I loan money I do not need to people who need it desperately. Thank you Kiva for existing.
Antonia - Linda J. Baker
Posted August 23, 2007
Fields, Friends and Familiar Faces
I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. Pushing my way through the mall and inching my way through traffic came with the territory. As a teenager, it never occured to me that people actually lived in the southern part of the state. I never planned to attend college in a small twon in West Central Illinois. In fact, the idea of trading shopping centers and chain restaurants for cows and cornfields made me nervous. As I looked around the town where I would spend four years of my life (far from any Interstate), I had no intention of staying longer than necessary.
After college, ironically, I married a man from a tiny town not found on a map of Illinois. We made our home in a community of fourteen hundred people. Living in a place without even a single stoplight ... - Jan Jones
Posted August 22, 2007
The Satisfaction of Enough
I used to dread Mondays. They signaled the beginning of yet another week of work that sapped my energy and left me unfulfilled. As I write this, it is a Monday. It’s early, and I’m enjoying my first cup of tea as I watch the birds come to the feeders outside my window. Rather than facing a week ahead of me spent in meetings or with my face turned towards a computer screen, I’m now facing the coming week with joyful anticipation. Rather than a week spending my evenings rushing to get errands, housework and meals completed before collapsing in front of the TV, now my evenings are spent doing things that are much more fun! My life has changed dramatically since I’ve learned about simple living, but the difference for me came when I was able to answer the ... - Tim Miller
Posted August 9, 2007
Howdy.
Oh Joe how i wish you were here.
5 years ago middle of the night could not sleep again. Tube on PBS, people talking of fulfillment an a book about money an or your life. Got the book then a few years later re-directed. I'm taking the road less traveled Joe & Vickie made all the difference.
Back then struggeling with wants and needs, living the American Dream- unsatisfied. I had a dream. I was driving down the interstate. In the wide mediam as far as i could see was all the material things of the world. All of it free for the taking. All i had to do was stop and pick it, load it,and go on. While creeping along in the dream marveling an wondering what more to get it dawned on me if I could have it all the only satisfying choice ... - Michelle Mitchell
Posted August 8, 2007
Every couple of years I resign from my job. It is usally due to the dissatisfaction i feel fro working to omany hours and not having any life - work can be all-encompassing and take over life (which I allow). The sectors that I have chosen to work in encourage the contribution of one's life and soul in exchange for dollars (child-protection).
When I work in these heavy-duty jobs, I am happy that I am doing something that is purposeful, but there is something usually missing that the money that I trade for my precious time, just cannot buy.
It's the time I like to take to process what is going on with me e otionally...it is the time that I like to take to get out of bed - when i want to..it is the time that I like to take to enjoy ... - Kris Adams
Posted August 8, 2007
As I pulled onto the highway out of Madison, Wisconsin and attempted to slow my rapid pulse, I began to cry. In my car, I had everything I would need for a solo road trip across the country: clothes for warm and cold weather, notebooks to write in, my favorite pen, my AAA card, my guitar and a conga drum. Though I felt panic, I refused to turn myself around and head back to town. The decision to sell my furniture and most of my clothes, cash in my savings and take a road trip across the country had become a reality and I was terrified at what I was choosing to do. I had no apartment, no job, and was leaving my family and friends to follow a calling I’d heard in my own heart. For years, I had lived a life where joy felt hard to come ... - Steve Sears
Posted August 8, 2007
You never realize what you have until you do not, or almost do not, have it anymore.
People and everyday necessities – life itself, even - are taken for granted.
Even the spot you live, the state you grew up in, one of the original thirteen colonies that, for some, has turned into a punch line of a big joke, can be taken for granted.
New Jersey, I never did ignore your beauty and glory, but God kept me alive so I could increase my knowledge of you.
Life was good. I had been married for almost nine years to my best friend, my wife Lucille, the only woman I’d ever loved. I also was the recipient of a beautiful gift: one child, the daughter I’d always wanted, Stefanie. She was named after me and bore a very strong resemblance, both ... - Henry Harris
Posted August 2, 2007
I have a slightly different take on this subject. We have an entire economy based on the idea of dissatisfaction. We are constantly told we should be dissatisfied in what we have, what we look like, and so forth. This is, of course, a con game played for money based on the human desire to be liked and admired. We're also told that for us to cater to our own desires is selfish and immoral. There's a fundamental contradiction here, and anytime there is a built in contradiction of values, it's bad for people but good for the kind of people who prey on weakness.
This is all about control of the masses for money and power. Unfortunately it works all too well. So how do we fight it?
Simply this: become your own person. Ignore propaganda and search for truth whenever you find it. Unlike ... - Karen
Posted August 1, 2007
We have retired and are preparing to get away from the city with a move to small town in northern California that has some land and fruit trees, where we will also grow a lot of our own food as organically as possible. We look forward to making some environmentally friendly changes to the house.
I thought I would miss working and I really thought my husband would miss it. We don't. We are both putting our energies into volunteer work meanwhile, except for when we are working on the land. Our days are incredibly full and satisfying! - Susan Silver
Posted July 31, 2007
The 'Satisfaction of Enough' by Being Fully Engaged
I think I first became consciously aware that I had 'enough' when I joined the predecessor organization to Simple Living America in 1998--Seeds of Simplicity. At that time I discovered like-minded individuals who consciously chose to differentiate between the "stuff" and "nonstuff" of life.
For me the 'satisfaction of enough' naturally flows when I'm fully engaged in the present moment in my life--living, loving, and learning. I experience it most fully when I'm living life mindfully by helping and teaching others, caring for the environment, building community, helping to make a better world, expanding my own horizons through learning and growth, doing meaningful work (volunteer and otherwise), connecting spiritually, appreciating and participating in the beauty that exists in the world (through nature, music, and the arts, for example), and living with a focus on the real ... - Tom Brady
Posted July 31, 2007
There is a complex relationship between being satisfied and following your passions. When I was in high school, I found that I was dissatisfied because I was too influenced by how others related to me. In response, I did some reading, particularly Emerson’s “Self Reliance,” which helped show me the importance of knowing myself and what I really needed in life. I found over time that I had passions for community, social justice, hiking, gardening, reading, running, and the environment. I found that as long as I was following those passions, and found others with similar interests, and a related job (as an environmental professional), I did not worry about how others saw me.
All this does not mean that I am immune to dissatisfaction or desires. Everyone has ups and downs with spouses and friends, but there is always someone to talk to when problems arise. ... - Anonymous
Posted July 31, 2007
"If man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."
- Henry David Thoreau
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