Tara called me out on my top ten list. I tried for several days to decide if I would try to defend my list, or if I would add a couple new things. But the fact is, there aren't too many things I regularly spend a lot on. Not that I don't spend money; there will always be something on my christmas list like really expensive raw pigments or a video camera. And from time to time we'll buy these things.
But as a general rule, John and I try to live without a lot of unnecessary things, not for money sake, but to simplify our lives. When I think about it, it's funny that I even tried to come up with that list now.
John and I have both been reading A Plain Life, by Scott Savage, and as a result we are asking ourselves how we can simplify even more. It certainly isn't just about giving things up, or being ascetic, but it is really about weighing convenience against community. It is about filling our lives with people instead of things; having a sense of place rather than always going somewhere.
3 comments:
Is this the same Scott Savage who is a librarian, and a Quaker, and was assailed for recommending the book "Marketing Evil" to freshmen at OSU? Not sure. Peter Jenkins writes some good books about walking too.
My biggest hang up with leaving society is the high cost of health care if something bad happens and the fact that Christians need to be light in darkness. Of course, no one really had health insurance until about 80 years ago.
I would think that FHU and Henderson would be an excellent place to build community and be more involved in your co-workers' and neighbors' lives.
I don't necessarily think there's one answer here. There would be a big difference if most people just chose more fuel efficient cars, only owned one car and walked and biked more.
ha, yes this Scott Savage is a quaker and was a librarian - though I don't know about the OSU thing.
I'm not necessarily wanting to give up my car and retreat from society (not speaking for John, of course), I'm just looking at the things in my life and wondering where can I simplify.
The internet is sucking me in, so I'm thinking facebook might be the first thing to go.
Here's another cool Web site related to simplicity: www.buynothingchristmas.org.
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