Living Simply ... Simply Living

I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas in Baltimore and my subsequent visit with friends in Minneapolis. It was great fun to visit the National Aquarium, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA), Whole Foods, Half Price Books, a variety of restaurants, and more. Still, by the time I returned home to the woods I was overwhelmed by the too-muchness of it all....

Now that I've lived in the woods for seven years I've adopted a simpler lifestyle out of necessity and choice. I love that simplicity. Here I live frugally. I find my entertainment and nurturance in the woods and waters that surround me. I visit the library frequently. I spend my money locally when possible.

I discovered--or remembered--when I ventured out from under my forest canopy that cities are typically filled with endless stimulation, unending noise, constant marketing/advertising, and a multitude of opportunities to buy-buy-buy. In Minneapolis, for example, I filled my days with a trip to a movie theater to see Invictus, an afternoon at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to view their exhibit from the Louvre in Paris, and a breakfast, lunch and dinner with three different friends. In addition I watched TV (my home television is only used to view DVDs and videos) and shopped at a coop, bookstore, and bread store.

By the end of my travels I longed for the peace and quiet of my woodland home. While visiting over this holiday season I often thought about Frances's and my trip to Central America last winter. We spent our Christmas at Cerros Beach Resort in northern Belize just across the border from Mexico. On Christmas Day we traveled with one of our hosts to several local families' homes to deliver toys to their children. Three of the children lived with a chronic, undiagnosed health condition that crippled their bodies and left their parents filled with despair.

Frances and I then celebrated the beginning of 2009 in Placencia, Belize. There we were surrounded by local people who lived simple lives out of necessity. People rode bikes or travelled by bus. Some bikers balanced ladders on their shoulders as they rode. Others carried children or groceries.

My observations from two consecutive years of traveling over the Christmas/New Year holiday?

Our world is desperately out of balance. All of us--Americans first and foremost--must learn to live more sustainably in order to cope with climate change, famines, energy and water shortages, economic downturns, job loss, and more. I'm reminded of a comment about the movie Avatar. The writer said that we must stop blaming corporations for despoiling our natural world. First, this person suggested, we need to look at ourselves and accept responsibility for our own insatiable appetites for more things at cheaper prices.

Duane Elgin led the way toward a simpler life over 30 years ago with his book, Voluntary Simplicity. Today he continues to encourage: Live a life in which you determine what's important and "enough" for you and discard the rest. He challenges us to choose to live "in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich."

There are many resources available for those of us who wish to create balance in our lives. Unfortunately, American advertising is a well-oiled machine ... and an efficient and effective one at that. We often don't realize when we're being directed to spend money on unnecessary items (one example, the circuitous route we followed through the National Aquarium in Baltimore required us to navigate through food areas in order to move from exhibit to exhibit).

Like me, you may have to step back from life as it is to realize the extent to which media outlets bombard you with must-haves and ultimately determine the cultural norms by which you live. To learn how to do more with less go to Elgin's website at http://www.simpleliving.net/ or visit http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/. (Thanks to my friend, Doug, for modeling this lifestyle many long years ago.)