Living Simply

So the lovely Fiona Hariss and the Book of Common Prayer came together to offer us some food for thought in the form of a book called ‘Living Simply’. In it Crean et al tell us

“Guidelines for a simpler life cannot be laid down in universal rules but must be redeveloped by individuals and communities according to their own imagination and situation.”

They warn us that community living may be embarked on for the wrong reasons; out of guilt, as a substitute for political action, in a quest for moral purity. But they offer ten ways in which it could become meaningful and significant, ways that we have chatted about and if not always agreed with, have offered us some food for thought -

1. As an act of faith performed for the sake of personal integrity and as an expression of personal commitment to a more equitable distribution of the world’s resources.

2. As an act of self-defence against the mind-and-body-polluting effects of overconsumption.

3. As an act of withdrawal from achievement neurosis of our high-pressure, materialistic societies.

4. As an act of solidarity with the majority of humankind, which has no choice about lifestyle.

5. As an act of sharing with others what has been given to us, or of returning what was usurped by us through unjust social and economic structures.

6. As an act of celebration of the riches found in creativity, spirituality, and community with others, rather than in mindless materialism.

7. As an act of provocation to arouse curiosity leading to dialog with others about affluence, alienation, poverty, and social injustice.

8. As an act of anticipation of the era when the self-confidence and assertiveness of the underprivileged forces new power relationships and new patterns of resource allocation upon us.

9. As an act of advocacy of legislated changes in present patterns of production and consumption, in the direction of a new international economic order.

10. As an exercise of purchasing power to re-direct production away from the satisfaction of artificially created wants, toward the supplying of goods and services that meet genuine social needs.”

Living Simply, An examination of Christian Lifestyles

edited by David Crean and Eric and Helen Ebbeson.

Personally I do find some of this reasoning a little patronising. I’m not sure if those in developing nations will be all too concerned with whether I live with my husband or 5 additional people. I’m not sure how far I could contribute to ‘a new international economic order’, or ‘new patterns of resource allocation’ but I’m certainly not doing too much to change it by doing nothing right now.

But just perhaps if what I have saved by sharing with those 5 other people I can offer out to others it begins to make a bit of a difference to one other person. Perhaps I could be a little more aware of the mindless materialism I regularly chase after by considering what we really ‘need’. Perhaps I could develop more meaningful relationships with those I am with and around instead of thinking about where else I could be or spend money. Perhaps I could become more concerned about the needs of others who are not on my doorstep but in our front room. Perhaps I could think a little less about me and a little more about we?