# Do You Aim For A Simple Way Of Life?



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Just curious, do you consider your life to be actively simple? This probably means different things to different people. But may I ask if you at least prefer to have a simple way of life? And then if you do prefer to have a simple way of life, do you actively live it that way?


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I voted "yes". And I realize "simplicity" means different things to different people.


----------



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Yes, I do. It's purely a matter of temperament - that I would get stressed running around 'like a headless chicken'. I like to appreciate things in depth, rather than lots of different things. I like to be very conscious of my life - very self-aware and thoughtful. This is a lifelong trait: as a toddler, I spent hours singing nursery rhymes to myself, and then, after I broke my left tibia aged six, I spent weeks in bed - it was a bad break - reading, making up stories in my head, and trying to imagine what it would be like being dead. 
How does my 'simple life' work in practice? I eat the same foods for breakfast and lunch, and our evening meals don't have a huge choice either. I try to practise my violin for two hours every day. Daily prayers & church on Sunday. Shopping on Saturday. My mother, who has dementia, comes round on certain days of the week etc. 
The problem is that as well as being thoughtful by nature, I am also extremely lazy. I would far rather sit around reading or thinking than doing housework, going out etc. 
It's a good job that Taggart is a more active type who loves going out, planning shopping, and organising the kitchen and laundry. :tiphat:


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Thanks for sharing. Good point about meals. I don't eat gourmet restaurant meals but just homely meals or "normal" takeouts sometimes. A meal is just a meal as long as it's reasonably healthy and tastes alright (or that I'm used to).


----------



## Guest (Mar 8, 2015)

ArtMusic said:


> Just curious, do you consider your life to be actively simple? This probably means different things to different people. But may I ask if you at least prefer to have a simple way of life? And then if you do prefer to have a simple way of life, do you actively live it that way?


What piqued your curiosity?


----------



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

There is a sort of social movement (or something like that) called "voluntary simplicity" or "simple living" and so on, and it's had some influence on how I live in almost every respect. I'm not hardcore, but I believe in most of the principles of that movement, and there is almost nothing that I'm more thankful for than that. 

They have some kind of thing against investments other than government bonds. Don't listen to that unless you're, oh, 70 or so. Aside from that, however, they're just about right on.


----------



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Thanks, Science - I didn't know about that, so googled and got this link - http://www.sallylever.co.uk/2009/06/08/voluntary-simplicity-in-a-nutshell/ - most of which I agree with.


----------



## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

I voted "unsure" but I really mean "sort of." 

I strive for simplicity when it comes to the material aspects of life, but not the intellectual aspects.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Balthazar sort of said what I wanted to. I voted unsure, but thought about it.

Sure, I have gotten rid of tons of excess furniture, books, clothes and stuff in order to have more of what I need, including lots of space, and less clutter. I also cook more simply, using basic ingredients (from the perimeter of the store, mostly  ) and prepare in a simple, easy manner, rather than following arduous recipes that take hours of preparation. Perhaps my workout schedule has become somewhat more streamlined, but I am always working on shaking it up, too. My music collecting is definitely not simplified. Neither is my reading, as I am getting into more serious stuff again, but without the need to own it.

I think there is more simplicity in the chores and material assets, with much more time for exploring the intricacies of things I like to spend my time on.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

When I think of a simple way of living, the first thing that goes through my mind is having a minimal 'schedule'. I do my best to keep it that way, although medical appointments for myself and mother-in-law do interfere.


----------



## Templeton (Dec 20, 2014)

Great thread! I made a conscious effort to simplify things in my life, a few years ago, after a trip to Cambodia. For the first few weeks after our return, I was almost bereft at the level of superficiality around me. Since then, simplifying my life has been a work in progress, concentrating upon the pursuit of activities that provide me and my family with genuine pleasure, as well as trying to be a much better and altruistic individual towards others. I am much, much happier for it 

More of a focus upon classical music has been one of the most pleasurable returns to this approach.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Hah! Too much talk about polls lately, obviously. It's got ArtMusic revved up again.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I want a simple life. I want less drama than Lindsay Lohan.


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Balthazar said:


> I voted "unsure" but I really mean "sort of."
> 
> I strive for simplicity when it comes to the material aspects of life, but not the intellectual aspects.


Yes, I meant more the material aspects of life. Intellectual and artistic aspects can themselves be simple forms of living. Reading about visual arts and appreciating paintings I think is simple living, as compared with spending the same amount of time sitting in fronts of computer screens becoming self-absorbed in playing games, reading gossip/twittering, giving likes/expecting to receive likes, etc .etc.


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Albert7 said:


> I want a simple life. I want less drama than Lindsay Lohan.


She's pretty but her lifestyle (rich and famous) is the exact opposite of what I am trying to discuss here.


----------



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

No, I like my gadgets and gizmos. 

Actually, I really just like my computer. I'm not the type of person that needs to go out and get the latest I-whatever. I don't even have an Ipad or an Iphone. Just a little razor phone that doesn't work anymore.


----------



## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I voted no because the phrase "simple way of life" makes me think of a life full of simple, steady routines which can have a dulling effect on the mind.

That is definitely something I don't need.


----------



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

If the phrase "simple way of life" means living out in the woods and living off the land, then no. My medical conditions prevent me from living outside of a functioning, technological society.

I think I do live a somewhat simple life, but that's more due to laziness on my part rather than a concerted effort to live a simple life.


----------



## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

I voted for TalkingHead.


----------



## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

_I found the simple life ain't so simple, when I jumped out on that road. 
I got no love, no love you'd call real. Ain't got nobody, waitin' at home (yeah-ah!)._

My life is probably simpler than most of my contemporaries, but not simple by historical standards. I own stuff and "consume" a good deal of art and entertainment.


----------



## GhenghisKhan (Dec 25, 2014)

Hell no. 

hippies are the scum of the earth.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I sold off a lot of my CD collection and novels to make my life simpler lately.


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2015)

I voted for Beethoven.


----------



## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

Yes I do

Keeping up the marriage for the kids and the status quo, but having a mistress as well, my wife has the poolboy but we both pretend not to know. I'm now re-mortgaging the house to buy horibly complicated financial products speculating on an upswing of the oilprice corelated to a fall in the Chinese economy. My doctor tells me to take it easier a notch or two but at the same time prescribes me those betablockers I need to calm my heartrate. It gets fired up because my stepdaughter refuses to go to her rehab meetings and I'm the one that "volunteered" to be her sponsor.
Meanwhile, in court, I was charged with fraudulent bankrupcy, which is totally unfair because the Porsches were already sold to the company and no longer in my private posession at the time of the buy-out.
I can handle the drinking, it's not that much, and that cocaine thing was just a one time joke, honestly darlings.......


----------



## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

I do, and in more ways than one. I have never been particularly materialistic, I don't buy clothes often, don't use make up, my only gadgets are my laptop and cell phone, both several years old, I don't even own a car (in a city with excellent public transportation I don't need to), don't care for gourmet meals either, my eating out usually consists of something simple like pizza, I don't do clubbing (I go to metal shows every once in a while - next one is coming up this Friday!), and I try to avoid stress as best I can by not letting things I cannot change destroy my peace of mind (that does not always work though). 

However, there are things I am not willing to cut back on, at least not a lot: nature and travel (I have an entire list of places in Germany alone that I have not seen yet, and after that I want to go exploring the rest of Europe), sports (I am going to set aside some money until next winter to get lessons in alpine skiing), books and music. 

I also aim for simplicity in my relationships. I don't like to get into other people's drama, and I prefer honesty and straightforwardness to complicated mind games, to such an extent that I have actually told my man he should simply come and tell me if he ever finds someone else or wants to end our relationship. 

I think I would enjoy living out in the woods (as long as I could still have Internet), in a small town - or even in a big one, but one that has a lot of greenery, and where people are not running around like those headless chickens.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Jos said:


> Yes I do
> 
> Keeping up the marriage for the kids and the status quo, but having a mistress as well, my wife has the poolboy but we both pretend not to know. I'm now re-mortgaging the house to buy horibly complicated financial products speculating on an upswing of the oilprice corelated to a fall in the Chinese economy. My doctor tells me to take it easier a notch or two but at the same time prescribes me those betablockers I need to calm my heartrate. It gets fired up because my stepdaughter refuses to go to her rehab meetings and I'm the one that "volunteered" to be her sponsor.
> Meanwhile, in court, I was charged with fraudulent bankrupcy, which is totally unfair because the Porsches were already sold to the company and no longer in my private posession at the time of the buy-out.
> I can handle the drinking, it's not that much, and that cocaine thing was just a one time joke, honestly darlings.......


OMG... I thought that I was reading a Bret Easton Ellis novel here LOL


----------



## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

Albert7 said:


> OMG... I thought that I was reading a Bret Easton Ellis novel here LOL


But Albert, you know that Bret Easton Ellis writes fiction..........:lol:


----------



## Giordano (Aug 10, 2014)

I want to get really simple.
I want to be a whale.


----------



## aajj (Dec 28, 2014)

Materially, I have for years tried to keep my possessions minimal. I moved a couple of years ago and I enjoyed unloading all kinds of "stuff" I had no further need of, some given to charity and some to the trash. I am anti-clutter. My CD collection is one space-consuming luxury I cannot part with, despite often using digital files. 

Emotionally, my life often feels like a test against complications. I work for a company that seems to find the most difficult way to approach every task, while I counter by searching for the simplest and most efficient. In my personal life, I often find myself telling friends "it can't be that complicated" or words to that effect. I'm talking about decisions that should be easy enough, such as choosing a restaurant. Some of this I account to the fact that my friends and I are getting older; with advanced age sometimes comes difficulty in getting from A to B. Some of this I put on my growing impatience with people and life - and a growing impatience with myself!


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

SiegendesLicht said:


> I do, and in more ways than one. I have never been particularly materialistic, I don't buy clothes often, don't use make up, my only gadgets are my laptop and cell phone, both several years old, I don't even own a car (in a city with excellent public transportation I don't need to), don't care for gourmet meals either, my eating out usually consists of something simple like pizza, I don't do clubbing (I go to metal shows every once in a while - next one is coming up this Friday!), and I try to avoid stress as best I can by not letting things I cannot change destroy my peace of mind (that does not always work though).
> 
> However, there are things I am not willing to cut back on, at least not a lot: nature and travel (I have an entire list of places in Germany alone that I have not seen yet, and after that I want to go exploring the rest of Europe), sports (I am going to set aside some money until next winter to get lessons in alpine skiing), books and music.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I remember a great old comic where young guys are drinking beer in a car on a forest road. They're discussing a simpler way of life. First they're all for it, getting away from all the complicated stuff, living in a cabin in the woods, but then they start thinking about the complications. In the end, they have made a huge list of things they want to take with them... "A cabin in the woods, nothing else! Except a woman, a gun, cartridges, a license, a car, gasoline, a stereo deck, tapes, a jacuzi etc."

Still, I'm for it. I could hunt by morning, fish by day, tend cattle by afternoon, and do art criticism by evening. Except that I'm a vegetarian but yeah.


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Xaltotun said:


> I remember a great old comic where young guys are drinking beer in a car on a forest road. They're discussing a simpler way of life. First they're all for it, getting away from all the complicated stuff, living in a cabin in the woods, but then they start thinking about the complications. In the end, they have made a huge list of things they want to take with them... "A cabin in the woods, nothing else! Except a woman, a gun, cartridges, a license, a car, gasoline, a stereo deck, tapes, a jacuzi etc."
> 
> Still, I'm for it. I could hunt by morning, fish by day, tend cattle by afternoon, and do art criticism by evening. Except that I'm a vegetarian but yeah.


That's nice. I think one can have a simpler life given whatever his/her situation is right now. Little things together can make it a lot easier. Simpler meals say, get rid of payment for things you don't really need say (like pay TV), etc. etc.


----------



## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)

Yes, I prefer a simple way of life. In fact, that's my ideal. Quiet life, and solitude.


----------

