Recipe for Simplicity
by Linda Breen Pierce (fonte
)
"Simplify, Simplify…" More than a century after Henry
David Thoreau uttered these words, his plea for simplicity has
more significance now than ever before. We work hard and play
hard, filling nearly every moment with activity. Most families
believe they need two incomes to pay for a standard of living
that has doubled in the last 50 years. But do we? Based on my
three-year study of over 200 people who have simplified their
lives, I found that we can work less, want less, and spend less,
and be happier and more fulfilled in the process. Here are ten
suggestions to simplify your life. Don't try to simplify your
life in a few weeks or months; most people need an initial period
of three to five years to complete this transition. Small, gradual
steps are best.
1. Don't let any material thing come into your home unless
you absolutely love it and want to keep it until it is beyond
repair. Too much stuff - it's suffocating us. Purchasing,
maintaining, insuring, storing and eventually disposing of our
stuff sucks up our precious life energy.
2. Live in a home with only those rooms that you or someone
in your family use every day. Create a cozy home environment
that fits your family. You will find this is much more satisfying
than living in a museum designed to impress your friends. Spending
time and money to maintain a home that is larger than you truly
need diverts these resources from more fulfilling endeavors.
3. Limit your work (outside of the home) to 30 hours a week,
20 if you are a parent. To live a balanced life, we need
"down" time - time to daydream, to relax, to prepare a leisurely
meal, to take a walk. If we surround our structured activities
with empty spaces, those activities will become more productive
and meaningful.
4. Select a home and place of employment no more than 30
minutes away from each other. Commuting time is dead time.
It nourishes not the body, the mind, nor the soul. Preserve
your energy and money for more rewarding life experiences.
5. Limit your children's extracurricular activities to one
to three a week, depending on age. Otherwise, you will exhaust
yourself and your children will grow up addicted to constant
stimulation.
6. Take three to four months off every few years and go
live in a foreign country. Living in a different culture
fascinates, excites, and vitalizes us. It teaches us to live
in the present, a core practice of simple living. We gain perspective
when we experience a foreign culture. We learn how much we have
to be grateful for.
7. Spend at least an hour a week in a natural setting, away
from crowds of people, traffic, and buildings. Three to
four hours of nature time each week is even better. There is
nothing more basic, more simple, than the natural world.
8. Do whatever you need to do to connect with a sense of
spirit in your life, whether it be prayer, religious services,
journal writing, meditation, or spiritually-related reading.
Simplicity leads to spirituality; spirituality leads to simplicity.
Cultivate a practice of silence and solitude, even for 15 to
30 minutes a day. Your spirituality will evolve naturally.
9. Seek the support of others who want to simplify their
lives. Join or start a simplicity circle if you enjoy group
interaction. Living simply in our culture can be a lonely journey.
Your friends and family may still be on the work-and-spend treadmill
and are unlikely to give you support. Participating in a study
group will give you support and validation for your choices.
10. Practice saying no. Say no to those things that
don't bring you inner peace and fulfillment, whether it be more
material things, greater career responsibility, or added social
activities. Be vigilant with your time and energy; they are
limited resources. If you say yes to one thing (like a job promotion),
recognize that you are saying no to something else (perhaps
more time with family). Live consciously and deliberately.
Linda Breen Pierce is the author of Choosing
Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex
World and Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living
Simply. She can be reached via email
or at (831) 626-8486 (Pacific time).
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