“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
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I try to live by this in several ways. One, to not be such a CONSUMER. It's bad for the planet, it's bad for me. I try to buy things only that I will really love and appreciate or that I can't do without. I try to eliminate impulsive purchases completely. I find by not having a lot of "stuff", and not being in competition for "who has the most and best toys", I can focus on other things. Besides, there is a lot of freedom in not being weighed down with a lot of things.
I personally think that excessive consumerism is a pathological sickness in north american society. I have friends who are addicted to Amazon or the shopping network. Or colleagues who go shopping at lunch as a form of recreation. I used to be like this myself, but what I found is that I appreciated things less. Now, when I buy something for myself, I find I take better care of it and value it more.
I also find a lot of value in de-cluttering my home. Not to the point where it looks minimalist (gotta still be cozy looking), but with a more streamlined approach. If I haven't used or worn something in a year, I'll probably bring it to Value Village or something. And on that note, I buy most of my clothes at second-hand stores; I get to look like a million for 10 bucks! (And if I didn't brag about my incredible ability to find a DEAL, nobody would ever know!)
Debt is another thing that weighs us down and burdens us. If we can live mostly on cash, it feels so good not to have to pay the piper at the end of the month!
I think freedom is a way of living that is very much overlooked in first world countries. But I think without it, life isn't worth living. I hate to feel overly burdened. I am thrilled that I have the choice to live fairly simply; I feel that I have a very rich life.
Just a few thoughts on simplicity!
Gotta love the second hand store! We had a nice new Salvation Army store open near us a year or two ago. Makes Ross Dress for Less look like Neiman Marcus. And if the prices were not crazy low enough to begin with...they have half price Wednesdays! My best find so far was a bicycling jacket that sells for well over $100 for 3 bucks! And of course I was quick to tell all my riding buddies about my great deal!
Now if they could just do something about that funky mothball smell that permeates the place...
I don't know if you've seen that Ikea commercial "start the car! start the car!" Anyway, that's me after a really good shopping spree at Value Village - I feel good when I walk out of there practically feeling like I stole the stuff!
But yes, I agree that you can get interesting, one of a kind items there. I don't like my place to look like everyone else's! For example, there was this antique lamp I admired at a pawn shop - $15. My son bought it for me for Xmas and it's one of my fave items.
This may sound strange, but when I have something that I admire and think is beautiful, whether it's in nature or human-made, I get a thrill that I think is kinda spiritual. (Maybe I'm the ultimate materialist, then??? Jest kidding!)
Love that Ikea commercial. And agree that cool things, especially older things can seem to have taken on a spiritual essence. Our imagination of course but the sensation is certainly real.
And there is little doubt by bike is a spiritual if not a sexual entity! My mistress!
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