by Irina Diaconescu

Created on: December 25, 2008

Oh, yes. The simple life. What an easy concept, right? Take joy in the simple things, count your blessings, the best things in life are free...I could sit here and enumerate a long list of such simple, inspiring sayings that, I promise you, are easier said than done. When is the last time you didn't get all frantic during the holiday season, trying to outdo yourself and buy even more stuff than you did last year for your family and friends? When is the last time you told your kids "let's just do a family event together, instead of throwing you a birthday party. We'll just celebrate by going sledding and then volunteering at a soup kitchen." If these were your choices, then more power to you. That means you are a strong individual that can still hold on to the intangible values in life, a person that takes "the best things in life are free" to heart. A person that can withstand the pressures of a capitalist society that promotes mass consumption of, well, everything. Either that or you're broke and have no choice but to live a simple lifestyle, that only allows you to make simple choices. Unfortunate, but very much a reality. Most often than not, the only times we simplify, is when we are forced to. It is very rare that we make the conscious choice to live below our means and be satisfied with the simpler things in life.

A simplistic way of life means diferent things to different people, just like beauty, which we all know is in the eye of the beholder. A simplistic way of life is second nature to, say, a monk from Tibet. But a simplistic way of life is a difficult concept for westerners to grasp and live by. It goes against every fiber of their being. Not because they wouldn't want a simple lifestyle, but because that is simply not part of the western culture, it is not something that is promoted in our environment. Ok, well maybe now that the economy is at its worst in decades we're more aware that we should simplify, but let's face it, how many commercials are out there encouraging you NOT to buy anything? Um, none.

Let's make a comparison between two extremes: the monks from Tibet, and a westerner from the U.S. The Tibetan monks spend their lives in prayer and meditation. Their clothes are simple, their food is simple, and their overall lifestyle...you guessed it: simple. So if you asked them the question"can you live simply and be happy?", you would get a quick and concise "yes". But if you posed the same question to a westerner, who has the option of eating

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>