living simply.

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying something to the effect of "there's enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed." Here in the States - and, generally, the West - we encounter excess and greed at every turn. I see it in the streets and supermarkets and churches of Cambridge and Boston. I see it in my clients' tired eyes on difficult days, when they long for another drink, another smoke, another hit - something more to dull the pain that itself feels excessive, too much, out-of-control. I see it, so often, in my heart and behavior - surely, I think, more money or friends or stuff will quiet the whisper that all is not well?

I've been thinking and reading lots lately about living simply. Apparently, it's become a bit of a movement where people live in tiny houses and compost just about everything - and, while intrigued, I'm not quite ready to follow in their footsteps. This idea of simplifying life, though, resonates - and, when things resonate, I start asking questions.

Is my preoccupation with the "stuff" of life - and the acquisition of more stuff - causing me to miss that which really matters?

How might I modify my consumptive habits to, in whatever small ways, create awareness of and begin to diminish the needs of others?

Would letting go of some of this stuff enable me to have greater solidarity with the [local & global] poor?

Do I really need all of these things?

Hmm.

I'm not demonizing having possessions - clearly, things aren't evil in and of themselves, and isn't it all a gift, anyway? I enjoy Starbucks and my iPod as much as the next gal, but I'm also convinced that life is richer, deeper, sweeter when our pursuit of spiritual growth - our own and our neighbors' - trumps our pursuit of yet another gadget.

Some folks, like this guy, have whittled their number of personal possessions to 100, most of which are necessities or items of significant sentimental value. When I think about taking on a similar challenge, I cringe - and not just a little bit - but, simultaneously, wonder how doing so would change the ways that I think about consumption and community.

links:

Wikipedia: simple living

rowdy kittens: social change through simple living

green living ideas: simple living

the simple way: a christian community committed to the practice of simple living