How to Be Simple

LIFE-HOW TO BE SIMPLE

Instead of spending the evening in front of a plasma-screen television, a voluntary simplifier might cook a meal with the vegetables he grew in his garden. Instead of splurging on two lattes a day, he might bring his home-brewed beverage of choice to work in a reusable mug.

Because I love the idea of voluntary simplicity but often find myself involuntarily making life complicated, I wanted to ask him: Don't you ever have the urge to go on a shopping spree or crave a material indulgence? Kasser agreed to share his thoughts on those questions and more. Please add your own ideas about voluntary simplicity below—do you like the idea of giving up purchases, or are you doing it already? One commenter will be randomly selected to receive a copy of David E. Shi's The Simple Life

That is, just like a plant needs to have a certain amount of water, a certain amount of light, and certain nutrients from the soil and air in order to survive and thrive, people have certain psychological needs that must be satisfied if they are to be healthy and thrive..

At 53, there are many of my generation who read the book "Voluntary Simplicity". It was a powerful book, espousing non-materialistic living. Many now will have seen the bumper sticker that says "live simply, so that others may simply live". That sentiment speaks to the matter directly: our planet, with increasing numbers of people, has finite (read diminishing)resources. Thus, for us in the US to binge on having, owning, polluting JUST BECAUSE WE CAN is inappropriate, selfish, uncooperative with other members of our species and with the planet itself.