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Friday, September 17, 2010

Simple Living Manifesto: Your Words

It's been wonderful to hear back from many of you about what it means to you to live simply. Here are some bits of wisdom taken straight from your comments

16. Being real, being honest with yourself and then with others is, for me, part of living simply. I so often muddle my mind and therefore my relationships with things that don't really matter, it makes things more complicated. Being honest with myself is an important step in living a simple life. -Emily

17. I throw all the change I find in the washing machine in a jar, plus we do the same in the bedroom. Then I take it over to the Coinstar machine. -Mom2fur

18 Slow down and enjoy the little SIMPLE things: the sunrise, sunset. Watching the deer in the backyard. Taking a walk. Lunch in a park (to get me out of the office and not in a fast food joint). Another is I am really enjoying making random photos. Makes me slow down and really appreciate what I am looking at through the lens. -Sherri

19. Someone told me the other day that the world wants and does love you. Another part of understanding how to live simply is to let the world love you. I was talking down the path to my office the other day and there were some bushes that were a bit over grown. As the branches reached into the space of the sidewalk and gently touched the fabric of my pants I tried to concretely feel that this was the world reaching out her loving arms to get me through yet another day in an office. -the eloquent Emily again!

20. Buy nothing. Do nothing. -my sister Irene.
This was said in jest when I asked her how she manages to live so incredibly simply. And for her, it's sort of true... she manages to get by without buying much of anything or paying to do anything. She enjoys life's free pleasures; nature, family and friends. And she accepts hand-me-downs happily. So no, don't buy nothing and do nothing, but do think twice before you do!

Thank you for your thoughts! Are there any other ideas or suggestions out there?

3 comments:

Angela said...

Live with your long-term goals in mind. By that I mean-asking yourself if your current actions are in keeping with or support your ideal life- the fairytale life we wish to obtain.

Adele said...

Angela, what wise words. I agree: living as your best self (and as you would in your ideal life) is truly transformative. Thank you for sharing that.

Lauren Oliver said...

Two things:
1. Remind myself that this day, this moment, now, IS my life, not just all my memories, and not just all the futures I am planning for myself when I will really "start" to live, but TODAY. (Like that saying that Life is what happens to you while you're making plans.)
2. Make myself regularly encounter people who have much less material wealth than I but who love deeply and give thanks freely anyway- it gives one perspective.