Simple living, often called voluntary simplicity, is an intentional lifestyle where individuals choose to minimize the pursuit of possessions and consumption. There are many benefits to simple living. Motives may vary but the choice is deliberate. Some reasons for choosing a more simple life include:

• reduced stress and promotion of better health

• abundance of wealth in time – engaged relationships

• sustainable choices, lessening the impact on the planet

• minimized financial requirements

• meaningful and less work- more play

• freedom to own your life

Golden Lilies

Different than poverty or deprivation, most people actually discover an intense freedom when they finally grasp the concept of simplicity. Simple living is about deliberate choices. It is the true spirit of finding time to do only the things you love. It is the absence of all things that complicate your life. It is peace and abundance. The driving force can not be any one of these values, it has to include a vision or philosophy to look at the world differently and set aside all that you have learned about how things are. It is not an easy road at first but becomes second nature over time and almost impossible to return from where you came.

Henry David Thoreau is often thought of as the father of simplicity as outlined in his book Walden. His book demonstrates an abundance of life experience during his experiment living in the wild. But in reality simple living is not about going without. It’s about being satisfied with what you have, removing the notion that the grass is always greener somewhere else. But there is more…it involves caring for people in your community, it requires care for the planet and environment, it takes strength to reach a simple life and often the resistance faced is purely pressure from others, not your own desires.

Following a life solely based on gain will usually only gain one thing – the expenditure of energy. While you are expending this energy you are also using or have a need to earn more resources. When you start living in a simple way, the need to earn more is eliminated and you instantly have the energy to spend on life. That energy will feed you, while following the other path can cost you health, time, money and relationships.

Simple Living is not just about these choices though. It is about the reasons behind it. In the early 90′s, thousands of senior scientist in the world, mostly Nobel Prize winners decreed that the world was on a collision course…it would not sustain itself. Over 1600 of them pledged to make changes in their lives. So there is a pull and a push to these changes, a benefit and a recourse.

Simple living is not what it eludes, simple. It is rather more complex.There are many ways to institute simplicity in your lifestyle. Voluntary simplicity is the act of being deliberate and not going down the path of consumerism. Social Enterprise is a form of business that focus on choices that are sustainable and healthy. Community is another area where the power of simple living can be exponentially increased by combined efforts. Peace and harmony can be achieved through spiritual growth and acceptance. Living a life with less clutter and less things – we’ve all heard the saying a cluttered life is a cluttered mind. Frugal living is a strong draw, not only for those without, but for those with huge debt or demands to earn – this simplicity has a big impact on the earth. Sustainability has the greatest impact and conservationist, naturalist, scientists, environmentalist, homesteaders, community minded, budget conscious and people from all walks of life are all drawn to this option. Our previous posting, what does green mean expands on this aspect of simplicity.

For those of us who choose this lifestyle a rich and rewarding path lies ahead, for those that resist the inevitable choice will be made for them…just look at an example of the supply and demand for gasoline, once it runs out the choice will be made for you, but learn to live with an alternative ahead of time and the adjustment will be easier. So don’t think of simple living with pity in your mind, but rather awe in the benefits and selfless attitude that people choosing this lifestyle are offering…not taking.