Simplicity

Simplicity is a word I have always tried to live up to and I see it as a key defining factor of how I picture my life to be in the future.  I fully believe in the importance of buying fewer quality items rather than continually accruing new items, growing what food you can when possible, being mindful, and caring for the individuals and places you surround yourself with.  However, this seems to be common sense to me-actions that naturally make for a more fulfilling life.  We watched a brief video from some "news" program ( I quote "news" because I see most programs of that nature as well as many news programs as utter garbage-changes to Facebook and celebrities lives is not news) where someone interviewed an urban farmer, and it made me angry to see the angle of this program and how this family was portrayed.  The word "frugal" was used a nearly obscene number of times and the innovative ways this family has chosen to live was treated as something novel, something quirky and nearly anti-social, something done only as a way of saving money.  I disliked the angle, but was inspired by this family who has been able to create an almost rural way of life in a suburban/urban setting.  Now how does this relate to simplicity?  Providing for oneself, one´s family, and if possible, community is one of the most simplistic actions that can be undertaken.  This doesn´t mean easy necessarily, but simple in that it´s common sense to learn, understand, act on, and teach others how to care for oneself.

Part of this (sometimes) inner struggle towards simplicity is this feeling that things "should" be a certain way, a feeling summed up quite well by Shannon Hayes in the article Homemade Prosperity.  I had heard of Shannon through some blurb on the Yes! magazine website so it was good to have the opportunity read some of her work for class.  She talked of this inner war where she knew she wouldn´t be happy with a job she had worked towards for years-she even knew what she wanted to do but felt she needed to earn a paycheck to survive.  I´ve had this same thought many times and it´s tough because the idea of earning a paycheck-working for someone else, and worst of all having a job I won´t enjoy goes against my ideal of simplicity.  I strongly feel life doesn´t have to be that way regardless of who or what says otherwise-no one can tell me what I can or cannot do-especially to be happy.  I believe the first step is financial independence, and from there, there´s no limit.  Now I don´t mean being rich, I mean not owing any business anything-from there it´s totally possible to live as richly, as simply as you choose-even if it´s not in the traditional sense. 

-Sarah McKenney