Simplicity Makes Sense: Here’s How and Why

We can learn a lot about what to do about our universe when we turn down the decibels of our fast-paced lives, as the state of our society now forces us to do.  Perhaps that will lead to our living a life centered in giving and in values connected to each other.  Perhaps that may be the reason why we see all around us the signs of struggle: material, emotional and spiritual.
A view of Lake Livingston in Northern Louisiana

The pace of our culture has been deadly.  Perhaps that’s why so many of us need pills to sleep or get through the day.  At the same time, the materialism that hits us from every direction is toxic, and it provides a noisy disruption that overcomes our need to have quiet time where we can appreciate nature, each other and the joys of just being alive. 

Simplicity is not an obligation or an impossible burden.  It is the direction we need to travel in order to survive during hard times and any times in order to keep our basic humanity.  Perhaps these difficult times that are coming, and for some here already, are a clarion call for all of us to return to the roots of our humanity, that began with one neighbor caring for another, one hand reaching to another, learning to depend upon one another as all nature does and that the Creator of us all likely intended. 

Joseph Woolman admonished people to examine their material world to see if it might be the cause of war and many of our social ills.  He said, in fact, that we should “look at our possessions to see if the seeds of  war do not reside in these. ” This statement needs to be read and reread by all of us today, given its impact on our lives and the greater society.  When we went on the journey towards war and followed along with increasing wants as opposed to needs in great decibels, perhaps we brought a combined and collective interaction that is now bringing many people in the world to a state of fear about the future. 

But our worries may be translated into a kind of joy, depending upon how we view the world around us.  A return to the simple life of growing our own food, fixing our things, making our clothes and sharing with others can wind down stress, turn down the decibels of our fast-paced culture and perhaps bring our children to resourcefulness and concern at levels we never had.  Indeed what may come may bring a strength and resourcefulness among us that will move us to higher levels of humane, not just human, advancement, knowing how close we have come to annihilating ourselves and how poised we remain to do just that.

People in rural areas still practice neighborliness, although that has faded as more and more people move to cities to find work and abandon the land, the small towns and the simple ways.  Simplicity, however, is not synonymous with bigotry, fear of others, and selfishness.  Simplicity means reducing needs and living within one’s limits and helping others to do likewise.  It also means being able to share with the helpless and hopeless without guilt on the part of the giver or receiver, ever as much as religious texts have stressed. 

Several years ago the world had a great example of love and forgiveness in a religious group called the Amish in Pennsylvania.  A stranger entered their religious community and a schoolhouse, terrorized and killed some of the children.  How did the Amish react to this terrible tragedy?  They asked for understanding and guidance and returned love to the assailant, rather than enmity.  That’s the example we can all admire, regardless of our particular belief.  Contrast that with America’s boundless energy in production of material goods far and above human needs and the lack of relative focus on advances that might bring emotional, physical and spiritual health for everyone.  Who has it right?  Simple people like those still in rural areas across the world or the Amish of Pennsylvania who aren’t in the rush of consumption but have taught themselves survival skills or those of us who know everything there is to know about the Internet but nothing about feeding a hungry man? Which type of behavior, simple and loving, or consuming and power-seeking will lead to the survival of mankind and which might lead to its destruction?

I believe simplicity is the way for us to travel now.  In every town, city and countryside we can begin to stretch out our arms and truly embrace each other, getting away from tribal labels such as Republican or Democrat, Jew or Christian, Catholic or Protestant, black or white or all those myriad cultures, races and religions across the country, and become as neighbors living simply again.  We are going to need it, which is likely the lesson that we need to learn.  Let’s accept that lesson with full hearts and move forward to embrace each day and be thankful for it.

Here to share are simple truths:

 “Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
–Benjamin Franklin

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.
.”The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
–Helen Keller
“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”
Nelson Mandela
“There is more to life  than increasing its speed.”  -Gandhi

“When morality comes up against  profit,  it is seldom that profit loses.”  -
Shirley  Chisholm

“Comedy is acting out optimism.”
Robin Williams