do justice

to live. simply. January 25, 2010

At the beginning of this semester, Kristi Pratt—a sophomore at WP—told me that she wanted to live more simply. Kristi realized that she owned too many clothes, spent too much discretionary income on unnecessary items, and wound up tangled in the alluring web of consumerism. Those are my words, not hers. Yet her personal challenge to live more simply caught my attention.

I pride myself in living with simplicity. I choose not to purchase the latest fashions when they hit the stores.  I have cut back on my coffee outings. I try to purchase organic, fair trade, and local whenever I can for a simpler, cleaner diet. I find extraordinary thrill in planning creative and thrifty dates.

Yet as I thought more about it this weekend, simplicity is not merely financial.  Money plays a big role, yes, especially in our consumer-driven society.  But there is more to simplicity.  It is, as Charles Wagner stated, a state of mind.

What does it mean to live simply? Laura Ingalls Wilder said the simple things were the real ones. Painter and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, called simplicity “the ultimate sophistication.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe connected simplicity to truth.  And E.F. Schumacher called simplicity a courageous act, and one that demands a touch of genius.

The man who hung out by Walden Pond—Henry David Thoreau—reflected upon Simplicity and wrote quite emphatically, “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 thumb-nail.”

My affairs on my thumbnail?  Not very likely.  Particularly as I have unusually small fingers to begin with.  Still, what would Thoreau say if he saw our daily schedules or the stacks of DVDs next to our televisions? How might Wagner perceive our culture’s ever-frenzied desire to own the newest and best? Or our constant need to be productive?

Over the course of this semester, check back here to read about Kristi’s quest to reexamine the simple side of life. What does this really look like in our 21^st century, Western world? I invite you to travel with her.  Join Kristi on her challenges, if you feel so prompted. Or just read Kristi’s entries as she tackles the formidable endeavor of living simply.