What is a simple life? How do we achieve such things?
From my personal experience I will tell you how far I have come to
achieving that and how much I have left to go.
Cutting things out: The basic foundation of
achieving the simple life is to cut out all the things that you don't need in
your everyday life. This means stuff. Not just any stuff, but all
the stuff that you do not need. This means stuff that builds up in your
home that has no value. It means being rid of objects that my become a
burden to you. Such things could include collectors’ items, magazines, to
do lists etc. The list goes on for a while. I myself have narrowed
down my hobbies to three things (a collector’s game, martial arts and reading).
By narrowing down these things I have reduced the clutter in my own life
and have given value to the things I continue to do. Martial arts gives
me both physical and some mental exercises. Book reading exercises my
brain and imagination, and finally the collectors game is just to break up the
monotony of everyday life and acts as another social activity I can do with my
friends. Sure your hobbies can be different from mine and that you can in
fact have more than what I have now. But make sure they have meaning to
them, as if they do not then they may just be a waste of your time.
Simpler path: In this case you want to achieve
the goals in life with the path of least resistance, but not at the cost of the
journey. What I mean by this is that while heading toward your goal it is
ok to take shortcuts. However, if those shortcuts break the law or create
guilt, then they are just more burdens on the path of life.
Treating others: This is very simple. In
fact, every religion has advocated it almost universally. Treat others as
you want to be treated. A simple concept that is hard to follow.
Basically this rule allows you to kill any enemies with kindness, and not
burn any relationships with those around you in a negative way. I cannot
say I have always followed this advice, but with the experiences I have had I
can say it is worth the effort to try.
Knowing when to let go: It is unfortunate that
sometimes living a simpler life means letting go of people in your life.
The member of your family that gets you into trouble with the law. That
friend that will not seek help for drug addiction while still hanging around
your family. There are times people have to hit rock bottom to wake up to
their delusions and thus seek help. Even then, they will struggle to
crawl out of the whole they dug themselves. So letting that individual go
and then recognizing when that individual is finally ready to try saving
themselves becomes very important. Love is also another area that this
falls under. If the person is being held back by you, then it may be time to
put some distance between you and that individual. It is sad and heart breaking,
which is true. However, if the person you loved can achieve happiness then it
is worth it in the end (at least from my perspective).
Conclusion: Living simply is unique to each
individual. The reason is because we each have our own burdens to bear.
By recognizing those burdens and either letting them go, or changing ones
situation we can a achieve a more harmonious life.
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