We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity helps answer, is the question of what IS enough so we may be happy right now in the present. A life of Voluntary Simplicity focuses our attention on the fact that "everything we own take a little piece ~ peace of us." And in doing so, we can let go of peace and life destroying rituals and possessions and replace them with a contented, satisfied and complete life in the present moment instead of a life that revolves around the next thing to be acquired in hopes of satisfying our insatiable appetites. Greed is never satisfied by attainment - it is only satisfied by contentment. This orientation of conscious thought to simplify ones life in whatever activity the individual is engaged in is the foundation of success when it comes to simple living...mindfulness of our direction in life. Voluntary Simplicity is the tool I use to counter this desire to constantly expand my life with more complexities, stress and problems and to live within my comfortable boundaries for a serene life.
Although I started with 12 step programs in 1974 I was not able to enjoy balanced recovery efforts until I joined the Voluntary Simplicity or Simple Living movement in 1996. 12 step programs make up about 60% of my recovery work and 40% of my recovery comes from VS, so personally, I need that mix for successful recovery. The 12 Step programs do actually touch on the VS topic, but I could never see it, I guess it didn't go into enough detail for me. I've read quotes about VS in the 12 and 12 decades ago, although it is not specifically promoted or called VS by the program. I just glossed over the quotes until coming to VS. Once I became super sensitized to VS, these quotes shot out at me and the recovery picture all came together. Here are a couple of quotes that can be taken as the 12 Step programs efforts at VS.
........From page 76 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous........
"The chief activator of our defects has been a self-centered fear-primarily that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustrations. Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands."
End of Quote
I cannot tell you that I have no unsatisfied demands in my life; but, I will say that since joining the simple living movent my unsatisfied demands can now be counted on one hand, whereas in my prior life, I needed a notebook to record them all.
........Taken from pages 122-125 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous.......
"In later life he (the addict) finds that real happiness is not to be found in just trying to be a number one man, or even a first-rater in the heartbreaking struggle for money, romance, or self-importance. He learns that he can be content as long as he plays well whatever cards life deal him. He's still ambitious, but not absurdly so, because he can now see and accept actual reality. He is willing to stay right size.
Still more Wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be specially distinguished among our fellows in order to be useful and p happy. Not many of us can be leaders of prominence, nor do we wish to be. Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things---these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition was not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of God."
End of quote.
I find VS to be a very important state of mind to be in. It shows which direction a person is pointed in with their life. The same way an addiction has 3 roads to go down, so it goes with VS. An addict can be expanding their addiction, freezing their addiction or reducing their addiction. A person suffering from an overly stressed or complicated life can be expanding the complications, freezing the complications or reducing the complications. Thoreau says that we need food, shelter, fuel and clothes as necessities. In modern times, I will add transportation to the list depending on your local. Everything else is pretty much optional. If we have these needs met and are not happy, then their is no end to our supposed needs for that elusive state of happiness that we seek. We all seem to have no shortage of supposed needs or wants as addicts. The problem arises when we have to scale back and force ourselves as the 12 and 12 says to live "right size" and our self worth is attached to the idea of looking for inner fulfillment through outer possessions. Many of us are rebellious when it comes to scaling back. We only want to go in one direction...more. Life does not go in one direction no matter how wealthy you are, life is always up and down. My goal in life prior to joining the VS movement was to get rich and buy anything I wanted to. My goal now is to live within my means, comfortably fit within my space and gratefully accept my current position in life. VS has contributed to this recovery and continues to do so each day. I make it a practice to wake up with VS, eat lunch with VS and to go to bed with VS the same way I do with my 12 step program work and without this constant awareness of how daily decisions affect my VS or 12 Step program, I'd be back on the road to my prior sick life.
VS is not about living low, it is about choices and balance. You get out what you put in with VS. If you do not cut back enough on the complexities that rob you of living life, then all you have is your same complex life back that you started with. If you cut out too many complexities and are unhappy or bored, don't worry, you can always add them back. We suffer from no shortage of stress and complexities of living, especially if you have a family. Life gives us plenty of problems for free. You can even trade the complexities that offer no reward other than more problems for new complexities that offer rich rewards or good feelings. For instance, I gave up some of my computer compulsion time and put that time into yoga class and mediation. I started with VS in 1996 by canceling some subscriptions to 5 business newspapers and magazines and pulled out about 50-60 rosebushes that we could not care for. After that, I saw the beneficial results and kept at it, questioning everything and experimenting with which complexities could be removed and which needed to stay in order to live a balanced life. We make what we want of VS, there are no rules other than if you do not do enough you do not get any results. There are no VS police to boss you around and tell you what is right or wrong. We have to decide this for ourselves as individuals. As I have said before, the program is the final judge of your success, not you, not me, not anyone else, whether it be 12 step or VS.
A lady wrote in asking if she could be into VS and still have a gold chain? Yes, we can have a gold chain, we can even have 10 gold chains if we please. Can a person have 100 gold chains and still be into VS? No, I could not say with a straight face I was into VS and own 100 gold chains. But, the person that has scaled back from owning 1000 gold chains could definitely say they have applied VS to their lifestyle by cutting back from 1000 to 100 gold chains. It is all relative and all up to us and what we wish to derive from our efforts at simplicity. Another fellow posted how he wanted a canoe, but his wife said he could not have one and be a VS devotee. It is not up to others to tell us what we can have - our recovery or VS program will tell us. If the canoe would comfortably fit within a financial budget, and a person has the comfortable space required to store it and the object does not cause a person any undue harm or problems such as maintenance that they cannot upkeep, legal problems or rob them of time they cannot afford to give, I see no problem in having it. A person wrote me and asked, "Is writing your long 5 page post really simple living? " My response was, "Yes, writing 5 pages or even 5000 pages is vastly superior to living the old, sick life that I used to live." Critics are all around us and work to tear down programs instead of building them up. Either our efforts at simplicity or recovery will promote our peace or destroy our peace - so put peace first. Always listen to your recovery program instead of the critics - it has the final say.
Below are some definitions of VS from the book The Circle of Simplicity ~ Andrews.
"For me, voluntary simplicity is living consciously, trying to eliminate the unnecessary, the superficial clutter. It is trying to live morally and ethically in the global economy by using less."
"I think that voluntary simplicity as living on purpose, making sure I have the time to do the things I want to do, not wishing my time away."
"I think voluntary simplicity is being true to yourself, true to the environment. It's finding that place for every facet of my life and defining how much is enough. For me it is spiritual."
"It's choosing to enhance one's life by surrounding yourself with what really brings you fulfillment. It is defining my own standard of success and prosperity, community and fun."
"Voluntary simplicity is balancing the realities of my life (limited economics, time and energy) with my values and implementing them into a lifestyle that is comfortable and rewarding. I think voluntary simplicity is an "art of living." I believe it is an art to live, to be true to yourself and to be open to innovation."
end of part 1
God bless , i will pray for you
