Vfr

We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity helps answer, is the question of what IS enough so we may be happy right now in the present. A life of Voluntary Simplicity focuses our attention on the fact that "everything we own take a little piece ~ peace of us." And in doing so, we can let go of peace and life destroying rituals and possessions and replace them with a contented, satisfied and complete life in the present moment instead of a life that revolves around the next thing to be acquired in hopes of satisfying our insatiable appetites.

Greed is never satisfied by attainment - it is only satisfied by contentment. This orientation of conscious thought to simplify ones life in whatever activity the individual is engaged in is the foundation of success when it comes to simple living...mindfulness of our direction in life. Voluntary Simplicity is the tool I use to counter this desire to constantly expand my life with more complexities, stress and problems and to live within my comfortable boundaries for a serene life. I started with 12 step programs in 1974 to work on various addictions. As such, I find a less complex life very useful to my addictions recovery work. The 12 Step programs do actually touch on the VS topic, although it is not specifically called VS. Here are a couple of quotes that can be taken as their efforts at applying VS to one's life.

........From page 76 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous........

"The chief activator of our defects has been a self-centered fear-primarily that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustrations. Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands."

End of Quote

I cannot tell you that I have no unsatisfied demands in my life; but, I will say that since joining the simple living movent my unsatisfied demands can now be counted on one hand, whereas in my prior life, I needed a notebook to record them all.

........Taken from pages 122-125 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous.......

"In later life he (the addict) finds that real happiness is not to be found in just trying to be a number one man, or even a first-rater in the heartbreaking struggle for money, romance, or self-importance. He learns that he can be content as long as he plays well whatever cards life deal him. He's still ambitious, but not absurdly so, because he can now see and accept actual reality. He is willing to stay right size."

End of quote.

I find VS to be a very important state of mind to be in. It shows which direction a person is pointed in with their life. The same way an addiction has 3 roads to go down, so it goes with VS. An addict can be expanding their addiction, freezing their addiction or reducing their addiction. A person suffering from an overly stressed or complicated life can be expanding the complications, freezing the complications or reducing the complications. Thoreau says that we need food, shelter, fuel and clothes as necessities. In modern times, I will add transportation to the list depending on your local. Everything else is pretty much optional. If we have these needs met and are not happy, then their is no end to our supposed needs for that elusive state of happiness that we seek. We all seem to have no shortage of supposed needs or wants as complexity addicts. We only want to go in one direction...more.

Life does not go in one direction no matter how wealthy you are, life is always up and down. My goal in life prior to joining the VS movement was to get rich and buy anything I wanted to. My goal now is to live within my means, comfortably fit within my space and gratefully accept my current position in life. VS has contributed to this recovery and continues to do so each day. I make it a practice to wake up with VS, eat lunch with VS and to go to bed with VS the same way I do with my 12 step program work and without this constant awareness of how daily decisions affect my VS or 12 Step program, I'd be back on the road to my prior sick life.

Do not confuse VS with the misnomer of 'Voluntary Poverty' VS is not about living low, it is about making choices and balanced living. You get out what you put in with VS. If you do not cut back enough on the complexities that rob you of living life, then all you have is your same complex life back that you started with. If you cut out too many complexities and are unhappy or bored, don't worry, you can always add them back. We suffer from no shortage of stress and complexities of living, especially if you have a family. Life gives us plenty of problems for free. You can even trade the complexities that offer no reward other than more problems for new complexities that offer rich rewards or good feelings.

For instance, I gave up some of my computer compulsion time and put that time into yoga class and meditation. I started with VS in 1996 by canceling some subscriptions to 5 business newspapers and magazines and pulled out about 50-60 rosebushes that we could not care for. After that, I saw the beneficial results and kept at it, questioning everything and experimenting with which complexities could be removed and which needed to stay in order to live a balanced life. We make what we want of VS, there are no rules other than if you do not do enough you do not get any results. There are no VS police to boss you around and tell you what is right or wrong. We have to decide this for ourselves as individuals. As I have said before, the program is the final judge of your success, not you, not me, not anyone else.

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