Austin's Aunt Carol emailed me at the beginning of the year, soon after I started this blog, wondering what I think about voluntary simplicity. We didn't have a very long correspondence on this subject, but it set me thinking and I've come back to that phrase several times since then.
I love the idea of voluntary simplicity, of somehow living in a simpler and more intentional way, of seeking to get off the hamster wheel of constant motion and consumption that seems to be the default these days.
Choosing simplicity is like choosing to only buy wrinkle-free shirts, or clothes that don't need dry cleaning. You give something up (in this case a certain clothing choice) but you get something in the bargain (time spent ironing, money for the dry cleaner). Sometimes choosing simplicity makes sense, but sometimes not. Depends if you like wrinkle free shirts, right?
The point is, you don't want to choose simplicity and bypass something you enjoy or is really important. For example, I recently joined the local YMCA. It is far simpler to go for a run outside than to drive 40 minutes round trip to the gym. But I enjoy the pool, and I don't enjoy running. Hence simplicity gets sacrificed and I joined the Y.
So, like life, it all comes down to priorities and a balancing act. I often find it ironic that choosing simplicity in consumption often actually increases the complexity of my life. Take our clothesline. It would be great to use it regularly and opt-out of unnecessary clothes drying, but honestly, when push comes to shove, it's a lot simpler to put the laundry in the dryer. This same scenario works itself out with heating the house with wood, having a big garden, (really the list could go on and on). And it's worth it, at least some of the things, some of the time.
But what I strive for is the type of simplicity that actually saves both (human) energy AND consumption. Like not wrapping presents in a Christmas stocking (no wrapping, no wrapping paper). Like choosing to only have a TV antennae, freeing up the time and money otherwise devoted to cable.
You know, figuring out those areas where less can be more, where small can be beautiful, or where my standards don't need to be quite so high. :)
