Living Simply
Since my teens I have been attracted to simple living in its many guises. This includes walking or riding a bike instead of driving, bringing my own home-cooked lunch to work, making instead of buying gifts, buying practically all my clothes at the thrift store, and no doubt countless other ways in which I “do things different” and don’t realize. For me the ideas are based on living a holistic lifestyle which is healthy and in harmony with and respectful to Nature. Living where you can walk or bike to work, for instance, allows you to exercise naturally during your day, rather than paying money to exercise at a gym…because the rest of the day all you did was sit!
In the 90’s I started a “Voluntary Simplicity Support Group” in my town. We met for eight and a half years. I remember when I first heard the term “Voluntary Simplicity”. It was like when I first read about masturbation in “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex but was Afraid to Ask”. Bewildered and disbelieving, I thought, “You mean there’s actually a WORD for that?” I was shocked and a little appalled to learn there was even a magazine (more paper, more trees, more intellectual discussion instead of actually changing one’s life…how ironic!) covering this theme.
For five years in the eighties I lived abroad, in England and India. For those five years I didn’t drive a car, as both countries were set up for easy walking, biking, bussing. This manner of getting around spoke to my sensibilities and from that point it was always my desire to live where I could walk or ride to town as well as walk and be in the woods. I struggled much with wanting to live in the country but also acknowledging that I like the resources of the city and do not desire to spend all my time living “self-sufficiently”. While I agree with it in principal, I am an artist and having time for creative expression is my priority. Little did I know that I would find my dream lifestyle in village life, Mexico.
You will recognize how this manner of living permeates all my writings on this blog; it is a strong part of my essence. I welcome your reflections and questions regarding Living Simply.
