books 14 Jul 2007 08:44 pm
Voluntary Simplicity
“To live more voluntarily is to live more deliberately, intentionally, and purposefully- in short, it is to live more consciously. We cannot be deliberate when we are distracted from life. We cannot be deliberate when we are distracted from life. We can not be intentional when we are not paying attention. We cannot be purposeful when we are not being present. Therefore, to act in a voluntary manner is to be aware of ourselves as we move through life….
….To live more simply is to live more purposefully and with a minimum of needless distraction. The particular expression of simplicity is a personal matter. We each know where our lives are unnecessarily complicated. We are all painfully aware of the clutter and pretense that weigh upon us and make our passage through the world more cumbersom and awkward. To live more simply is to unburden ourselves- to live more lightly, cleanly, aerodynamically. It is to establish a more direct, unpretentious, and unencombered relationship with all aspects of our lives….
…Simplicity of living means meeting life face-to-face. It means confronting life clearly, without unnecessary distractions. It means being direct and honest in relationships of all kinds….
….When we combine these two ideas for integrating the inner and outer aspects of our lives, we can describe voluntary simplicity as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living….
…the object is not to dogmatically live with less, but is a more demanding intention of living with balance in order to find a life of greater purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction.”
From chapter 1 of Voluntary Simplicity, Revised Edition: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich