The Virtues of Simple Living

Simple living is to live life simply devoid of the comforts found in the technological and material world. Here, a person seeks to live his/her life in the most uncomplicated form. Simple living also involves leading a life that is simpler outwardly and richer inwardly. A simple person concentrates on the rich natural resources of the world and is not impacted by the plethora of material things that generally clutters one’s life.

You can lead a simple life either voluntarily or under compulsion. In the case of voluntary simple living, a family personally decides to live frugally by staying away from all types of material richness. They choose such a life for their own spiritual growth. Such families will not waste time and energy in buying too many goods, top quality services etc. They will also not be eager to take serious efforts to make more money.

Those who are afflicted by financial poverty or minimum financial resources will be forced to lead a simple lifestyle. Such people may not have the skill sets to pursue jobs that are well-paying and will just have to make do with a hand to mouth existence. Such people have no choice other than to lead a simple way of life.

For those families who are wealthy but still prefer to lead simple lifestyles, the motto will be environmental sustainability, better physical health, spirituality, or to spend quality time with the family. Irrespective of the reason, one should understand the fact that simple living does not mean avoidance of enjoyment. If you are eager to spend more money to maintain lavish lifestyles, you must also devote more time to earn the money spent. This means lesser time spent with your loved ones.

The virtues of leading a simple lifestyle are many. We can first and foremost conserve our environment by leading a simple lifestyle. It is not sufficient to just save for the education or future of our children. We must pay attention to save our environment for the safety of our future generation. This can be done through simple living and by resisting the use of equipments and machines that could pollute the fragile environment.

Better quality of life for our future generation can result by taking an oath to lead simpler lives. The things we buy, use and dispose today has a huge impact on the entire universe because we co-exist with each other. Other than its role in solving the ever growing environmental and economic crisis, the real merit of simple living is the happiness that results from leading such a life. This is because you can live as a close-knit family in a secure and healthy environment.

You can lead a simple life by ensuring that you follow a few rules everyday. You can switch of your tape recorders and spend some quiet moments in a natural setting.  You can spend some time rediscovering the library or going for a walk. You can concentrate on your breath for ten minutes everyday. This will help you to relax and take life slowly. Singing in a shower, writing a letter to a friend, seeing your old photo albums, writing a poem, eating your food slowly all are just small simple things which we must enjoy while doing.  This will make us lead simpler lives and appreciate the beauty of life around us which we often take for granted.