Selwyn
Polit
Voluntary Simplicity
Just what does that mean? From what I've learned so far, it involves making choices in your life to spend time doing things I want to do, not doing things that a money-driven society wants me to do. It is also about paying attention to how my actions effect the environment, about my quality of life and relationships with people.
What are the possibilities?
In the workplace, many of us feel locked into 40 to 60 hours a week and more. There might be other options.How much money do we have to earn to afford that big house, to hire a cleaning service, a lawn service, day care for the children etc. etc. Then there is a mad rush to get home to spend time with the children. If the net result is zero, maybe a smaller place and simpler job with less income and there would be lots more time to spend with the children.
Time saving devices you say?
Sometimes, a lot of our time is consumed with managing and dealing with all our "time-saving" devices. We need a professional to keep our appliances going so we can save lots of time and have more quality time to spend with our families.
What living simply isn't.
Living simply does not mean poverty, antagonism to progress, rural living or missing out completely on the enjoyment of life. Rather, we can choose the areas of life where we individually want to simplify.
Where do I go from here?
There are discussion groups in the Austin area that are beginning to form to explore what this means to individuals. Some of these are following the program suggested by the Northwest Earth Institute These discussion groups are organized a series of readings which people discuss and answer questions about. I have started a mailing list for people to share thoughts on. Feel free to join and participate if you like.
Check out these links on living simply