Health & Simplicity
By Linda Breen Pierce
Copyright © 2003. All Rights Reserved.
This article is excerpted from Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide To Living Simply by Linda Breen Pierce.
At its best, simplicity embodies the basics, the essentials of the good life. Your health and well-being are as basic as it gets. It is through our bodies that we feel most connected with the earth. We eat food grown in the earth's soil. We breathe in fresh air. Our senses witness the earth's beauty -- we see the spectacular colors and textures in plants and trees, we hear a bird's beautiful song, we feel the smooth caress of water when we bathe.
When you live simply, you have time and energy to engage in healthful practices -- taking in nutritious foods, appropriate exercise, sufficient sleep, and hopefully unpolluted air. You also develop the mindfulness necessary to determine what your body needs.
Living in harmony with our natural rhythms is a marvelous fringe benefit of living simply. Once a reporter asked me, "What has made the biggest impact in your life as a result of simplifying?" Without giving much thought to the question, I immediately responded, "Sleep." I now get enough sleep, in sharp contrast to my years as a lawyer, dragging myself out of bed each morning after being awake half the night fretting over some work issue. Now I go to sleep when I'm tired and I wake up when my mind and body are ready to embrace the day, typically eight to nine hours later. I do not use an alarm clock unless I have an early morning appointment, which is rare. To me, waking up after a good night's sleep is one of life's finest pleasures.
It is not unusual for people who simplify their lives to experience changes in their eating and drinking habits. For example, many participants in my simplicity study reported a decrease in their use of caffeine and alcohol. They explained that it happened naturally, without force or discipline. This makes sense. When you live simply, you engage in mindful living, paying attention, focusing on what is happening in the present. So, for example, if you feel terrible the morning after drinking too much alcohol -- and you have the presence of mind to acknowledge it to yourself -- it may only be a matter of time before you reduce or eliminate alcohol from your diet. After all, psychologists concur that we have a natural, inborn desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
This does not mean that drinking coffee or alcohol is contrary to simplicity. While either in excess can be damaging, we also associate positive experiences with them. The caffeine in coffee can jump start your brain, giving you a boost of energy. Alcohol can induce a state of relaxation and a sense of well-being. Some medical researchers claim that drinking frequent, moderate amounts of alcohol lowers your risk of heart disease.
It's important to be mindful of your body's reactions to substances you take in and to refrain from ingesting substances that result in negative reactions, whether coffee, alcohol, sugar, wheat, dairy food, or any other substance. Sometimes it is a matter of degree. For example, my body gets along very well on one cup of coffee a day, but two or three cups gives me the jitters, followed by fatigue and sometimes depression. Since I find it difficult to limit myself to one cup only, I try to avoid it altogether.
When people have the presence of mind to really listen to their bodies, they seem to naturally cut back on meat and heavily processed foods, favoring natural, nutrient-rich fresh foods, vegetables, and fruits. I suspect this is because our bodies feel better when we eat healthy foods.
It is interesting that 32 percent of the participants in my simplicity study eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, while another 51 percent include some meat but otherwise focus on fresh, unprocessed foods. Many vegetarians are motivated not only by health issues, but also by their concern for preserving the earth's resources and their compassion for animals raised in American factory farms. In Diet For A New America and The Food Revolution, John Robbins presents a compelling three-pronged rationale -- based on health, the environment, and animal rights -- to support a vegetarian diet. While I find his arguments persuasive, I don't believe a vegetarian diet is indispensable to a life lived simply. The essence of living simply is living authentically from within rather than adhering to a set of rules imposed from the outside. If you feel drawn to a vegetarian diet because of health concerns, compassion for animals, or concern for the earth, then it's a good choice for you. But it is a choice; the simplicity police will not be banging on your door if you eat meat.
Deciding what to eat is complicated by the vast array of conflicting advice by experts. We are told by some to eat a high protein diet, while others recommend a high carbohydrate, low-fat diet. Sugar and fat compete for being the most harmful foods. At least there is a consensus that more nutrients are retained in less processed food.
We also know that American diets are dangerously unhealthy. Lack of exercise alone cannot account for the fact that nearly two out of three North Americans are overweight or excessively fat, or that obesity has increased by 50 percent during the last decade. Whether we eat the wrong foods or simply too much volume of food is a matter of debate. In the end, we must each do our own research and experimentation with food choices.
Preparing and cooking food generally plays a significant role in the lives of people who live simply. Learning to be mindful while preparing food offers a sensual pleasure of its own -- focusing on the colors and textures of food. Cooking from raw ingredients is one of the most nurturing things you can do for yourself and your loved ones. Preparing meals uses all of you -- your body, your mind, and your heart.
For those inclined to grow a vegetable garden, the rewards are substantial. Many who grow their own food and prepare it mindfully report that it reconnects them with what's essential and basic in life. For them it becomes the very essence of simple living. Delicious food and an intimate awareness of the earth's abundant nature can add much joy to life.
Mindful cooking leads to mindful, relaxed eating. If food preparation is a relaxing, sensual experience, you are unlikely to follow it with a rushed, distracted meal. However, if you watch TV or read during your meals, you and your stomach will hardly notice what you are eating. You are missing out on one of life's finest, simplest pleasures -- enjoying the taste of food while you are actually eating it!
About The Author
Intrigued by the allure of living a simpler life but not sure where to start? Perhaps you’ve started to make changes but your progress is slower and more challenging than anticipated. Linda Breen Pierce will answer your questions and discuss issues related to living simply in a complex world.
Linda Breen Pierce is the author of Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace & Fulfillment In A Complex World (Gallagher Press, 2000)and Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide To Living Simply (Gallagher Press, 2003). She is also the founder of The Pierce Simplicity Study, a three-year study of 200+ people who live simply. If you would like to submit a question to Linda, send her an e-mail.
E-Mail: pierce@gallagherpress.com
Web Site: The Simplicity Resource Guide
