smellincoffee
3-27-11, 3:48pm
I'm not sure how other people become interested in living simply, but my interest in it started as soon as I became working and learned the value of a dollar: having earned my spending money by spending ten hours a day of my life in steel-toed boots, working in a factory, I was not inclined to spend it.
Later I left the factory to start my university education, and in my first semester I chanced to read Erich Fromm and Epicures at the same time. I didn't encounter either in the classroom, but I am an avid reader and like to explore ideas. Fromm wrote "To Have or to Be?" wherein he criticized the modern habit of tying our identities to the things we possessed.
I also read Epicures, as I said, and if none of you have had the pleasure...he's a wonder. He advocated the simple life. As far as he was concerned, all of the cultural mess that people obsessed about -- nationality, religion, honor -- didn't matter. The most rational way to make sense of life was just to enjoy it, he thought, and the simple life was most amenable to that. He taught philosophy from a garden, where he lived with a few friends and strove to be self-sufficient. Though his name has been adopted by revelers and wine snobs, Epicures was a man of sober tastes who believed our enjoyment of life could be maximized if we taught ourselves to be content with less.
More importantly at this time I lived and worked on-campus. I needed only to walk across the street to attend most of my classes (as a history major, sociology minor) and go to work. I only had to drive my car once a month, when I visited home. The town was lovely: thanks to the university population it maintained a healthy main street, and everything I needed could be accessed within a 30 minute walk. I spent my days outside, playing games with friends, going for hikes, reading contentedly under a tree, or gazing at the stars...retiring to my room in the evening where, for the first time that day, I got online or played a computer game. Most of my life was contained in one bubble of authentic experiences, and I was happy. I needed no effort: I just woke up and realized where I was. :) I never had spending money, but if I'd worked another job to get that money, to buy things, where would I have been? I would have had less time to enjoy myself, and the work would probably unpleasant. I chose to live instead as someone who was forever without money, but always happy. :)
For me, simple living is the path to happiness...and I intend to continue walking it. The best cast scenario for me would be life in a small town like my university town, where I could walk or bike from my home to any place I needed to go, while being part of a community.
Later I left the factory to start my university education, and in my first semester I chanced to read Erich Fromm and Epicures at the same time. I didn't encounter either in the classroom, but I am an avid reader and like to explore ideas. Fromm wrote "To Have or to Be?" wherein he criticized the modern habit of tying our identities to the things we possessed.
I also read Epicures, as I said, and if none of you have had the pleasure...he's a wonder. He advocated the simple life. As far as he was concerned, all of the cultural mess that people obsessed about -- nationality, religion, honor -- didn't matter. The most rational way to make sense of life was just to enjoy it, he thought, and the simple life was most amenable to that. He taught philosophy from a garden, where he lived with a few friends and strove to be self-sufficient. Though his name has been adopted by revelers and wine snobs, Epicures was a man of sober tastes who believed our enjoyment of life could be maximized if we taught ourselves to be content with less.
More importantly at this time I lived and worked on-campus. I needed only to walk across the street to attend most of my classes (as a history major, sociology minor) and go to work. I only had to drive my car once a month, when I visited home. The town was lovely: thanks to the university population it maintained a healthy main street, and everything I needed could be accessed within a 30 minute walk. I spent my days outside, playing games with friends, going for hikes, reading contentedly under a tree, or gazing at the stars...retiring to my room in the evening where, for the first time that day, I got online or played a computer game. Most of my life was contained in one bubble of authentic experiences, and I was happy. I needed no effort: I just woke up and realized where I was. :) I never had spending money, but if I'd worked another job to get that money, to buy things, where would I have been? I would have had less time to enjoy myself, and the work would probably unpleasant. I chose to live instead as someone who was forever without money, but always happy. :)
For me, simple living is the path to happiness...and I intend to continue walking it. The best cast scenario for me would be life in a small town like my university town, where I could walk or bike from my home to any place I needed to go, while being part of a community.