I thought I would use this vehicle to blog about my 2009 experiment of "Voluntary Simplicity". The idea came from an article in Oprah's magazine, January 2009 edition. The article talked about how the more we own, the more we have to work to maintain those possesions, and the less time we have to develop a life rich in contemplation, relationships, development of talents, and service to others. This isn't an entirely new concept to me, though I was unfamiliar with the title given it.

I have been a single parent for over 16 years now. I gave up a high pressure job with long hours in health care, so that I could raise my kids instead of paying a babysitter to do it for me. I entered the field of education eight years ago. I found a job within walking distance of my apartment, and since grocery shopping, the library, and other services were close by, I was able to save the expense of owning a car. Many people in the neighborhood know me as the lady who walks everywhere. I use public transit to get to places not in walking distance, and although sometimes inconvenient, it gives me much needed contact with the struggles of the unnoticed segments of society.

I have lived a simple life in general, so this will not require a huge shift in my personal philosophy or style. I have always felt great commune with nature, and am most alive when I am hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, or climbing a mountain. In my early adulthood, I spent two years living off the land in the Montana wilderness.

I am finding out though, that Voluntary Simplicity is not a call to leave society and live as a recluse, as romantic as that sounds to me at times. It is a call to simplify ones life so that you can free up time to develop your innerself and relationships with the surrounding world. A call to get rid of what we truly do not need, so that we can give of ourself and possesions to others. This is not a call to live like a monk or a call to voluntary poverty.

Before even reading this article, for the past couple of months, I have been raiding my closets and drawers, going through all my storage containers one by one, to get rid of the clutter surrounding me. This is my first step. Freeing up space. I home schooled my children for several years, so I had many items which I thought might be useful to the teachers at the elementary school I work for, and I have donated those to whomever can use them. I went through all of my clothing (and had my son go through his) to get rid of what I truly don't use, so that it can be donated and of use to someone else. I've donated cupboards full of books to the local library where I can check them out if I really ever get around to reading them, and I have shredded, recycled, and thrown away the remainder of my unneccessary clutter.

Although this process is very freeing to the mind and to my personal space, I caution about getting rid of anything that you still have an attachment to. Duane Elgin quotes Mahatma Gandhi in his book Voluntary Simplicity; "As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it. If you were to give it up in a mood of self-sacrafice or out of a stern sense of duty, you would continue to want it back, and that unsatisfied want would make trouble for you. Only give up a thing when you want some other condition so much that the thing no longer has any attraction for you."

In my case, I want to be rid of cluttered spaces in my apartment more than I want to keep these things. As a result of decluttering, I will have more peace of mind when I look around, and my apartment will be easier to clean. To me, an uncluttered space means an uncluttered mind.