Simple Living
Found this interesting article by another A.I.D. volunteer, Arun Sripati, from another chapter. He has described his personal struggle towards simpler life and his thinking in this transition phase.Thanks to Arun for sharing it!
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
-- Henry David Thoreau
The main AID webpage proclaims a rather contradictory mission: "Learning humility, purity and simple living from those who don't take too much from the earth... targeting the problems of hunger, disease, and oppression that sadden their lives..." – We want to remove poverty and we want to live simply! This contradiction reflects a curious order in nature: when poverty is forced on you, it is violence – but when you choose poverty, it becomes an enriching expression of non-violence.
My experiment with simple living began a few years ago, when I was moving into a small apartment. I had furniture, clothes, books, papers, utensils, etc. – there was space for all this or for myself but not both! So I had to decide what I wanted and do away with the rest. I noticed that I was doing what great saints have suggested all along: that simplification brings peace of mind. I decided to try it systematically, even if it was inconvenient for the moment. Note: Even if.
So I began: I donated my old clothes and cut down on using paper and plastic. I sent out letters to marketing companies – and stopped receiving junk mail. No more TV. No multi-tasking (tough one!). I tried to check email only three times a day (no way!). I tried eating simpler, unprocessed food. I decided to tell the truth more often. I haven't gotten all the way in any, but I continue to try.
What good did it do? Isn't it making things "less simple" if I save one-sided printouts for rough work? What else will I do on Friday nights if I don't watch the Pirates of the Caribbean? Yes, I do have to bat all those googlies, and convince myself too. But I feel the positive effects of these choices sinking into me, bringing me peace of mind. Simple living reduces your wants, strengthening your mind, freeing up mental space and bringing greater meaning to what you do possess.
Today, my life is still far from simple, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that every attempt to simplify yielded immediate benefits. So my humble suggestion about simple living is this – try it. Your choices will be different from mine, but you will invariably experience the joys of simple living.
I will be glad to hear about such experiments: it will inspire me to live simpler.
Arun Sripati, is a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at the Carnegie-Mellon University. He completed his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay and his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University. Arun is a volunteer with AID since 2000.
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