According to survey statistics happiness of wealthy people is no greater! So what DOES make us happy? The research findings of an international New Scientist happiness survey and other more local studies for health and happiness may surprise you! What is happiness? Happiness is an emotional state that indicates our satisfaction with life; a measure of how favorable we … [Read more...] about According to Survey Statistics Happiness of Wealthy People is No Greater!
Simple Living
Basic or Simple Living as a Lifestyle Choice
What is basic or simple living?
Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity describes it as:
simple and inwardly rich.
Basic or simple living is about the conscious pursuit of authentic happiness and finding true fulfillment in life. It allows us to escape the mindless consumption that keeps us shackled to the rat race, freeing up our lives and our time so that we can enjoy the really important things in life.
“Downshifting” to a more materially simple life allows us to exchange the stress, social injustice and ecological irresponsibility of consumerism for improved financial security, quality of life, personal sustainability and/or spirituality.
INDEED, THE ADVANTAGES OF VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY ARE MANY:
Happiness
As early as the fourth century BC, Greek philosopher Epicurius recognized that the troubles entailed in maintaining an extravagant lifestyle often outweigh the pleasure of partaking in it, leading him to conclude that the pursuit of consumption beyond that absolutely necessary for happiness, bodily comfort, and life itself should be either moderated or avoided. This truth has now been confirmed by scientific studies on happiness and wellbeing.
Personal freedom
Reducing our need for purchased goods and services frees many people to reduce debt to the point where they can minimize their participation in the economy, freeing up their time for more satisfying aspects of life. This allows us to live more with less.
Financial security
Limiting consumption to a personal level of material “enough” for sustaining our quality of life allows finances to be withdrawn from expensive debts and diverted to more prosperous investments.
Spirituality
Voluntary simplicity has been integral to the spiritual lifestyle for millennia, including Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian sects such as the Quakers and Amish. Sustainable living, while outwardly less materialistic, affords greater spirituality.
Global responsibility
Conspicuous consumption greatly inflates the impact we have on the planet, the ecological footprint of people in industrialized nations being many times that of the poorer majority of the world’s people. The immorality and irresponsibility of such inequity is a strong motivator for many advocates of the simple life who make a conscious choice to live simply so that others (people and species) may simply live.
HOW TO ACHIEVE BASIC OR SIMPLE LIVING
Enjoy Simple Living
LESS (stress, disorder, debt)
is MORE (freedom, purpose, peace).
There are many ways to slash consumption and establish a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle that simultaneously lightens our impact on the planet.
- Understand what delivers authentic happiness in life
- DIY Meat Butchering
- How to save money building your house!
- Simple living on farms
- Small business ideas for escaping the rat race
- Conscious consumption
- Slashing your energy bills
- Downsizing your home
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