- Welcome: A Letter From The Founder
- New Resources: Highlights Of The Latest Additions To Our Resource Directory
- A Call For Your Articles & Input: A Letter From The Editor
- Simplicity: The Journey To Wholeness
- I Don't Know What Tomorrow Holds, But I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
- Co-Creating Fulfillment: The New Roadmap Foundation
- New Documentary Searching For People Like You! American Dream, The Movie
- Simplicity & Social Justice: Thoughts On The Competitive Society
- Gems Of The Discussion Forums: New Column
- Money/Life Balance In The New Millennium: How Much Is Enough?
- Zen & The Art Of Clutter: Embracing The Mess
- Reducing Your Grocery Bill: The Dollar Stretcher
- The End Of The Internet
Dear Friends,
I'm pleased to welcome you to the 59th edition of our free, on-line Newsletter!
Summer has finally arrived here in beautiful Trout Lake, Washington. The garden is in full bloom, (I planted way too much garlic). The days are long and warm. Soon afternoons will be spent down by the river soaking up the sun, fishing and jumping into the refreshing waters of Trout Lake Creek. Simple pleasures.... Yes, life is good!
This issue of our Newsletter is busting at the seams once again. Editor Fred Ecks has assembled a nice collection of articles covering everything from finding fulfillment to reducing your grocery bill to envisioning the future, and much more. In fact, we even found "The End Of The Internet." In addition, there are several special announcements to note: a request for your input on this publication and an opportunity to contribute to a new documentary film about the "American Dream."
Use the Table Of Contents to navigate to all of the articles.
Perhaps the thing I, personally, am most excited about are the New Resources we have added to our on-line catalog. In particular, the new title, The Dangerous Book For Boys, deserves special mention. This is a magical book. It is one of the best "simple living" books for kids I've seen in a long time — containing hundreds of exciting ideas to get boys away from the computer and TV. A quick glance through the table of contents sparks the imagination in so many exciting ways. It is a perfect summer gift and I highly recommend it for every boy age eight to eighty!
Finally, as always, thank you to all of our generous CyberAngels — those of you who have pitched in to help us move toward our 2007 goal of $14,000 to cover the costs of user supported Community Services — this Newsletter, the Discussion Forums, SimpleRadio and the rest. Without contributions from folks like you, these services would not exist. Keep up the good work!
Enjoy,
Dave Wampler
Founder
The Simple Living Network
Copyright © The Simple Living Network. All Rights Reserved.
Dear Readers and Prospective Authors,
I'd like to take a moment here to encourage your article submissions and ideas for this Newsletter. We're always on the lookout for new voices and fresh perspectives in the realm of "simple living." If you would like to participate in making this Newsletter the best possible publication in our field, please contribute your thoughts and ideas! We've created a Discussion Forum specifically about this Newsletter — CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE. (PLEASE NOTE: If you are not yet a member of our Discussion Forums, you will be asked to create a User Name and Password before you can make submissions to The Simple Living Newsletter Forum. It's easy and free!) Submission guidelines for articles are available by clicking here.
Thank you! We hope you are having a warm and beautiful summer, and that you enjoy this 59th issue of our free, online Newsletter.
Fred Ecks
Newsletter Editor
The Simple Living Network
- All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More In Less Space!
- Deep Economy: The Wealth Of Communities & The Durable Future
- Living Green: A Practical Guide To Simple Sustainability
- My Job Sucks & I Can't Take It Any More! Help!
- The Dangerous Book For Boys: Recapture Sunday Afternoons & Long Summer Days - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- The Flip: Turn Your World Around!
- The Not So Big House: A Blueprint For The Way We Really Live
- The Not So Big Life: Making Room For What Really Matters
Copyright © 2007
A story tells that the great Buddhist saint Nagarjuna moved around naked except for a loincloth and, incongruously, a golden begging bowl gifted to him by the King, who was his disciple. One night he was about to lie down to sleep among the ruins of an ancient monastery when he noticed a thief lurking behind one of the columns."Here, take this," said Nagarjuna, holding out the golden begging bowl. That way you won't disturb me once I have fallen asleep."
The thief eagerly grabbed the bowl and made off — only to return next morning with the bowl and a request. He said, "When you gave this bowl so freely last night, you made me feel very poor. Please teach me how to acquire the riches that make this kind of lighthearted detachment possible."
A Buddhist Story
The call of simplicity is the call of renunciation that can lead us to a better life, a more skillfully enriched life. It's a call that Nagarjuna recognized as giving him an inner peace, freeing him from an agitated mind preoccupied with the worry of looking after possessions. But in our modern shopping mall culture, how many of us are really listening to that call? How many of us are prepared to simplify our lives? How many of us are prepared to tread Nagarjuna's path?
Western society is increasingly being influenced by a fierce consumer-led market economy where financial value seems to be attached to everything. "Sales forecasts", "Marketing strategies", "Production targets", and "Distribution networks" are just a few of the terms used in an economic language that seems to penetrate every dimension of our lives, seeking us out, even in our very homes through television, the internet, radio, newspapers, magazines, telephone sales, promotion leaflets, et cetera. Who can then resist the temptation to buy, especially when so many people see their "purchasing power" as a normal function of everyday living and an expression of their individual liberties / freedom? The proliferation of shopping malls and retail parks attest to the effectiveness of this language which insists that we increase our consumption of goods and services despite any reference to real need.
Yet despite our engagement with an unprecedented level of consumerism and its implicit promise of a better life, health problems (both physical and mental) are still increasing — sharply in some areas. It seems that although our material needs are being met, deeper, more personal needs are not.
Another consequence of this attachment to consumerism is the amount of time that we give up — not only in the activity of buying, installing, maintaining and replacing goods and services, but also in the very time that we spend at the workplace in order to pay for it all. Time, along with our health, is the most precious commodity that we have, so we must spend it wisely. Unfortunately, in our busy lives (which are now rebranded "busy schedules"), we just don't seem to have the time!
Simplicity, if we really engage with it like Nagarjuna, gives us more time to focus on what's important in our lives. It provides opportunities for reflection. It provides space so that a more contemplative frame of mind can open up, leading to deeper insights, clearer understanding — panna vimutta (liberation through wisdom).
Simplicity helps to make our lives more manageable, less stressful, with positive implications for our health.
Simplicity gives us time to enjoy ourselves more.
Simplicity brings greater moments of contentment and well-being.
Simplicity helps in our relationships, making them less strained.
Simplicity increases the quality of life, and increases our enjoyment.
Simplicity brings a presence of mind that aids clarity.
Simplicity cultivates mindfulness, making us more alert and more sensitized.
Gandhi once said, "Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication, but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants. This alone promotes real happiness and contentment." These are wise words for us to reflect upon. Simplicity, in all its manifestations, enriches our lives in proportion to how much we let go. It's not reductionism but liberation, taking us away from the acquisition and greed that can flourish in our attitudes of control and attachment. However, this is not to suggest that simplicity is easy, that we can quickly and effectively bring it into our lives. Simplicity is a constantly evolving issue / dynamic that needs negotiation, compromise and flexibility. We need to be regularly looking at the finer details of our lives to see if we can make appropriate adjustments and reductions. The quest for a simpler style of life may involve us in some struggle with others, and with ourselves, but a rich harvest will eventually follow if we pursue our aims skillfully and mindfully.
The work ethic that has taken root in our society shows no signs of abating. Indeed, many reports highlight widespread increases in the number of hours we officially work. The "overtime culture" that we have allowed to develop in the workplace has now become the norm. Workaholics are now, unfortunately, no longer a rare breed. The prevalent attitude of "It's good to work, lazy not to, so carry on and do as much as you can" is a flawed attitude. Studies show that after 50 hours of work our performance drops by as much 25%. Then after 70 hours it drops at an alarming rate where we are not really contributing anything and may even be undoing our previous efforts. Another problem with the "work is good" brigade is their non-discriminatory approach. Work is considered good irrespective of its intrinsic merit. This traditionally supports many quite unskillful industries (e.g. the manufacturing and selling of armaments) because, it is argued, they contribute to the economy and provide employment, but this gives no account whatsoever to the harm and damage that they may cause in a wider context.
Stress-related illnesses have shown a marked increase in recent years, and it is our attachment to over-burdened work activity that is causing some of the damage. In our present climate of overachieving, we rush through our days telling ourselves that we can manage, that we may even be able to push our boundaries on performance even further, but can we really? Is this what we want, or are we just being swept up in a competitive neurosis in the name of personal growth and development?
The quest to achieve in an harsh, competitive marketplace may be indicative of deeper, underlying motives. Psychologist Cary Cooper has carried out research in this field and has shown that many high achievers "recalled vividly, memories of loss, whether of parents or place, and associated feelings of insecurity." It seems that where we have been lacking in some areas of our lives, we may try to seek out some form of compensation elsewhere.
Slowing down and letting go are the prerequisites of a simple life that can reward us in so many enriching ways, if we are prepared to listen attentively to its message. The choice is ours. Do we decide to keep on the treadmill of activity and acquisition that can cause us so much damage, or do we follow the call of simplicity that can release us into a more manageable, saner world?
Nagarjuna knew the answer to this question and followed the call of simplicity, but it is unlikely that we could ever commit ourselves to his degree of personal engagement — after all, we are not Buddhist saints! However, the path of simplicity invites everyone, with no exceptions, to journey along its way. This is what we must do: accept the path, in the knowledge that it is progress that we are seeking, and not perfection.
"'Tis a gift to be simple."A Shaker's Saying
Journey well into simplicity.
About The Author
Michael Lewin, who has a degree in Psychology, has spent 25 years teaching and supporting a variety of different groups, from children with special needs to adults with learning difficulties. He is active in a number of UK-based Buddhist groups and has regularly published articles in a number of UK psycho/spiritual magazines. As he says, "I am at that stage in my life that I want to pursue the spiritual path even further to find out the depth I can penetrate. I am a seeker, if not for perfection, then at least for some kind of personal progress that can bring me joy, contentment and happiness." Contact Michael at: lewinmick@hotmail.com.
Copyright © 2007. Reprinted here with special permission from GreenMoney Journal
There's a line attributed to either Yogi Berra or Dan Quayle: "It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future."
Actually, despite its absurdity I agree with this statement. None of us knows what the future holds. But one thing is certain, especially in the face of clear and unassailable evidence about the declining condition of our planet — failure to try to influence humans' behavior towards the earth is inexcusable. Or, as a friend of mine says, even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
At Stonyfield, our motto has always been that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. And so, in that pathologically optimistic spirit, I pen this essay with an optimistic activist's bias. I will briefly discuss climate, energy and food, the three topics that have defined my last 30 years' work.
Several weeks ago, I heard a presentation by Dr. James McCarthy, President-Elect of the AAAS and Alexander Agassiz, Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University, upon their return from the 4th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Jim relayed that the consensus of the global scientific community is that we have about a decade to "downwardly adjust" the current trajectory of global warming trends from the worst-case "business as usual" path that will yield catastrophic impacts on the natural world in the middle of this century. The scientists believe that if we act swiftly and definitively we can potentially induce a leveling of the greenhouse gas production and coincidental temperature increases to more tolerable and survivable levels.
I believe that awareness of the ecological consequences of climate change will do nothing to wake our species from our fossil fuel stupor. But the clear and growing alarm about the economic consequences of these trends will be the dominant social and economic reality of the next 15 years, as well as the next century.
I studied the causes of climate change and advancing alpine tree line back in the 1970's. Despite the attempts by many activists to sound the alarm since then, we have lost 30 years as a species. We've known what to do, but we've lacked a renewable resource — will power- to act. I believe that the economic realities have finally woken us up, and that we will see dramatic changes in our behaviors and activities in the near future. What does this look like?
First, in general, the next 15 years will be characterized by a national identity crisis as Americans undergo a deep and painful but hopefully "civil" war between two polar worldviews. On one side will be a large segment of actual or "wanna be" affluentials who will be reluctant to shrink, downsize or reduce our homes, cars, gadgets and footprints. This populace will embrace new technology that allows them to maintain the traditional American lifestyle while advocating nuclear over fossil fuels, offsetting vs. actually reducing energy usage, and ultimately paying a premium to maintain the world they were raised to expect.
On the other side will be a large populace who, for mostly economic (as opposed to moral or ecological) reasons, will accept the lower social and environmental risks of downsizing (within reason) but who also treasure security and will be reluctant to embrace the proliferation risks of a nuclear-powered society.
These two worldviews will dominate American political debate starting with the 2012 races.
Here are some other predictions:
Insurance Costs — A variety of tax initiatives will be introduced to move us in stages from taxing income to instead surcharging waste and consumption, but well before these triggers are in force, we will all feel the pinch of rising insurance costs. Indeed, many regions, especially those in low-lying coastal areas, will find that property insurance will become unaffordable and this will force people and businesses to relocate.
Legislation and Commerce — We will soon see a National Emissions Cap and Trade System. Companies large and small will become engaged in a vigorous accounting and trading of greenhouse gas credits. Measurement systems and auditing enterprises will abound, as will a whole new wave of credible but also scam advisory services and technologies to help businesses drive down emissions. Just as mobile phones went from being a fad to a necessity in the last decade, the business of reducing greenhouse gases and climate footprints will transition from being a virtuous "image" building exercise, to a routine business practice.
Unfortunately, few if any politicians will be brave enough to lead a debate about enacting the really necessary fuel tax surcharges on consumers that will be required to make deep dents in America's climate footprints. But a few brave leaders will advocate credible campaigns to fund a national "Apollo-like" investment program funded by surcharges on businesses, and some of these ideas will be enacted. These will of course have the same effect as a consumer tax, and eventually, by the time 15 years have passed, this too will be widely accepted.
Legislatures will be fiercely competing to offer the most attractive incentives to lure renewable energy and organic food businesses to set up shop in their states. And all cities and towns will be required to convert aerobic energy-consuming waste treatment plants to anaerobic digesters that rely on the gas produced to fuel air-compressor pumps for these operations.
Technology — We will shortly see an avalanche of new hardware and software to help businesses and individuals understand and reduce our footprints. Hybrid cars and low-wattage light bulbs are just the start. Motion-sensitive light switches will become the norm. Miles-Per-Gallon meters will be featured on every car's speedometer as will engine kill switches to limit idling at stoplights. Pneumatic, compressed air storage and power systems will obviate the need to convert fuels into electricity to run motors and other mechanical systems. Screen savers will disappear in favor of higher speed shut-off (and turn on) sensors. Just as organic foods "suddenly" showed up in markets everywhere, consumers will suddenly see a rash of super-insulated refrigerators, convective stoves, solar photovoltaic roof panels, insulated window shades, lower wattage appliances, etc.
Energy Choices will of course dramatically change, once the legislative incentives begin to be felt. A new industry will emerge that enables home owners to convert their roofs into utilities — companies will effectively lease your roof space, installing photovoltaic cells on rooftops which trickle flow back into the electric grids, and the homeowners will be charged for the net electricity they use. Wind farms, especially in offshore venues, will sprout. A fierce and highly public debate will take place over the role of nuclear power, but a couple of terrorist scares will quickly put an end to that fight as fears about proliferation win out. New highly efficient fuel cells will become widely available as will tree farms and wood chip gasification utilities.
Food — Consumption in general will become a much more conscious endeavor. New certification groups will emerge who will offer third party climate footprint scoring similar to organic or kosher certifiers today. Readers can get a look at an early version of this type of effort by going to a new NGO funded by Stonyfield called Climate Counts (www.climatecounts.org).
Food manufacturers will publish climate ratings on their packaging right next to the nutrition information, and even fruits and vegetables will be rated based on their food miles, and embodied energy. Organic food and fiber products will be ubiquitous, and thanks to both volume efficiencies and the new fossil fuel surcharges, they will cost less than non-organic items. A new 3-star hierarchy will be established in which the organic, local and most nutritious items earn the highest ratings, while the merely organic receive only one star.
Edible and compost-able films that are grown without the use of fossil fuels will now serve the function formerly filled by cellophane or plastic. Organically raised fish will replace meats and poultry as the top choice for protein. And corn-based feeds for dairy and other livestock will be replaced with algal and other lower-on-the-food-chain nutrient sources, which in addition to reducing the energy costs of feed will also dramatically reduce cow flatulence. Dairy barns will have solar powered pumps to inhale the cow gas for recapture and use.
Other packaged goods — packaging weights will plummet as industry and consumers jointly recognize the enormous opportunity posed by source reduction to both dramatically cut the embodied energy of products, but also the fuel required for transportation.
Retailers too will compete to have the lowest carbon footprints.
While clearly this is a somewhat optimistic view of the next 15 years, I am, after all, a businessperson and thus a realist. Thus, I do believe that none of these changes are going to transpire automatically. Regrettably, there will continue to be truth to the adage that "experience is something you don't get until just after you need it," and I fear that each positive step will require considerable economic, ecologic and health pains before they can be manifest. The wild card of course is the question of what degree and level of terrorist activity will result from the chaos of shifting energy priorities and disappearing ecological resources. It is completely conceivable that nations will go to war over, for instance, water, as climate changes impact fresh water supplies in marginal and coastal zones. How we respond to these outbreaks will be as decisive a factor in our social behavior as energy taxes.
In the end, though I have faith in my fellow humans. My favorite philosopher Lily Tomlin says "No Matter How Cynical I Get, its Hard to Keep Up", and while our ostrich-like behaviors over the last decades might give rise to gloom, doom and cynicism, I prefer to think that necessity will be the mother of wonderful invention in the years ahead. My $325 million per year enterprise started 24 years ago with seven cows and a leaky barn, but has grown over 27 percent per year for the last 18 consecutive years. If we can do that, than I guess anything is possible.
Article By Gary Hirshberg, President and CE-YO of Stonyfield Farm, Inc. More information at: www.stonyfield.com. Article originally published in the GreenMoney Journal's special 15th Anniversary "Visionaries" issue (Summer 2007). More information at: www.greenmoney.com.
Copyright © 2007
Editor's Note: The following article introduces three questions which are core to those seeking alignment of their finances with their personal values. This is explored further in the article "How Much Is Enough?" later in this Newsletter.
I have two piles of money worth $2 each. One pile is a $2 bill, and the other is a pile of two silver dollars. Theoretically all have the same value, right? They will all buy a sticky bun, for example. But if I say you can have $2, which pile would you take and why?
My late Grandmother would have said: "Who needs a sticky bun?" When she had the chance, she'd get silver dollars and rather than spend them, would give them to me. In turn I would save them in a special place so that they still wouldn't be spent. What that $2 in silver represented for both my grandmother and myself is a loving connection that endures even twenty years after she died. Notice, however, that she hadn't given them to her grandson, who may have immediately spent them on baseball cards!
When dealing with others around the issue of money, there are two aspects that determine the quality of the interaction, one is values and the other is behavior. This is universal. A "product" arises out of the behavior of the producer. If the behavior of the producer aligns with what the customer values: voila! Mutual satisfaction. This is also true in the most intimate of situations. If a wife makes a purchase with the household money, and that purchase aligns with the values of the husband: voila! Mutual satisfaction! The question is, what do people value? If we really explore this, we find that it is rarely actually fulfilled with the thing bought, or the money made. The value — or, more often, the unconscious psychological need — is met by what that transaction represents.
The problem with western economic theory, as well as most personal finance advice, is that we think the economic sphere is somehow separate from the complex web of human values and needs. This is the fallacy that leads to so much dissatisfaction and conflict in people's personal experiences.
- Error #1: We don't recognize that every transaction we do is based upon either our values (life, liberty, etc.) or our immediate psychological needs/fears (prestige, security, acceptance, etc.)
- Erro