(This essay was posted in a different version in my previous blog, Nomad Needles, 2 years ago. I’m bringing over some of the “Best Of” posts from that blog, especially if I believe they’re still relevant.)
One evening in the mid-90s, I was meandering through a local bookstore. I remember it being a mellow time in my life – mellow in the sense that I was bored, directionless and needing something new. As I glanced over the selection, I saw a book, Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Matter by Elaine St. James. Sounded intriguing. I picked up the book, found a corner and began skimming through. I was entranced with sections like:
* “Reduce the clutter in your life”
* “Move to a smaller house”
* “Reduce your go-go entertainment”
* “Stop newspaper delivery”
* “Live on half of what you earn, save the other half”
* “Reduce your need for goods and services”
* “Do what you really want to do”
* “Throw out everything but the aspirin”
* “Clean up your relationships”
* “Stop trying to change other people”
and my favorite – “Hard core simplicity” where she challenged readers to “Rent rather than own,” ” Get rid of your car,” and “Get rid of your phone.”
Simple living books & journals
This concept grabbed me. The idea that I didn’t have to keep everything I’d always owned seemed incredibly liberating to me. Over the next several months, starting that night, I was on a rampage to remove everything unnecessary (my definition for that word was rather narrow then) from my life and re-examine my high-maintenance relationships. Elaine’s book was my guide during this time.
This was radical for me. I didn’t know anyone who did this. But something was shifting and it became very important that I get rid of all, or most, of my extraneous possessions and not bring anything else new into my life. At least for awhile. I realized later this need to purge was a manifestation of a more psychological change, but at the time, all I knew was how good it felt to haul bag after bag of old files, clothes, excess kitchen items and knickknacks to the trash or recycling. (Later, I would give away my TV, car and several pieces of furniture.)
The next year, St. James published Inner Simplicity, followed by Living the Simple Life. By this point I was fully on board and you’d think these later books would be redundant. But I kept learning from them and they continued to challenge me to pare down, find what was important in life and to be diligent about how I spent my time and with whom – if anyone. My love for solitude was also validated during this transformation.
During this season, I also came across a quarterly, Simple Living: The Journal of Voluntary Simplicity edited by Janet Luhrs* (she also wrote the book The Simple Living Guide). Each issue was full of advice and ideas, relating any topic to simple living – finances, relationships, food, raising kids, living alternatively. There was something new in every issue and I anticipated the arrival of each one.
Now this information, and many aspects related to it, can be found in a plethora of blogs and websites.* I quit subscribing to the journal several years ago when it seemed to veer from its grass-roots approach and started being published in a glossied, mainstream way. (The last issue of The Simple Living Journal was published in September 2009.)
For me, coming across these books and journals was life-changing, and although they were my favorites, I read many others. My life has taken on different degrees of simplicity, but the desire to pursue meaningful work and activities, nurture deep relationships and be smart with my money has remained a foundation. These resources were a huge part of that process and now that I’ve incorporated their principles and have new avenues for information, it feels ok to let them go. It’s ironic to me that literature that put me on a path of minimalism is now being purged. I’m approaching this in the same way I’ve dealt with other things I’ve purged – they served their purpose and now they can go back into the world to serve someone else.
*Here are just a few of the simple living/minimalism blogs that are popular today (please mention other blogs that you like in the comments section):
Miss Minimalist
Zen Habits
mnmlist
Rowdy Kittens
(In the drop-down Categories section to the right, you can find a couple other posts on ‘minimalism’.)
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