by Annie H. Liko

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: March 08, 2009

Are you one of the many people who wish for life with a big house, beautiful wife or hunky husband, fancy cars and plenty of cash to splash around? Do you dream of mixing around with the elite class, discussing the latest designer fashions or outsmarting one another with the most recent money-making strategies?

If you are just like me, shoving your way through the crowd without even a soul giving a damn about you, squeezing for space on public transports or hovering for hours comparing the prices of groceries, well, dream no more. Wake up to the world of reality. Get rid of the grumblings and start living. Life doesn't have to be complicated. Joy and fulfillment come from the simplest act of appreciating life itself.

Complicated life on the other hand will always have a bitter end and misery because greed will add to the web of deceit. You will never be satisfied with what you have and will always be faced with a sense of insecurity. You don't have to go through all those; you don't have to compete to see who is doing better, you don't have to be wary of everybody. Just be yourself.

Leading a simple life doesn't mean you have to cut access to whatever are necessary amenities in your daily life or that you have to lead life as a miser. It just mean having basically what must be had but maintaining at a minimum. For instance, why must you have two TVs when everybody can access the one in the living room? Why do you need two cars when you can simply adjust the travel arrangement to make it convenient for everybody? Is it because your neighbor has three? By minimizing your needs means you are practicing safe spending to avoid unnecessary debts which are notoriously known as one of the demons which causes humans downfall.

Living life simple contributes immensely to a healthy body and mind. With simple needs, your body will not have to labor extra hard to satisfy your never ending material conquests in order to keep up with the Joneses and your mind will not have to rack itself mercilessly to figure out ways to get the resources every now and then. Simple life makes a person appreciative of his Creator, his existence, his family and friends and every simple things around him. He is able to see the purpose of his life clearly without demanding for unnecessary attentions or actions from others, without having any prejudice towards his fellow beings.

The most important factor about living a simple life is that it gives a sense of fulfillment to oneself because whatever you do, you are doing it for yourself, your belief, your loved ones and you are not acceding to anybody else's unnecessary demands. Too many violence erupted in the world today are a result of greed and selfishness and if more people could just adopt and adapt to simple living, life may be a little bit less complicated.

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