Simplicity and Detatchment and Being 'Ish'

[QuakerBear]

Yesterday and today I read a small booklet containing 12 peoples spiritual/ethical take on the idea of simplicity. What they interpreted it to mean and how it effected their life and style of living. It was a really lovely little book and if anyone's I'll give you the details.

So, being nosey, what do you mean by 'a simple life', does simplicity have any relevence for your 'ish' lifestyle, would you like to live a more simple life and can one leave the hair shirt and still have integrity?

[hamster]

A 'simple' life for me is more of about simplicity of ideas than about 'practical' simplicity, in that I might end up doing more stuff in my quest to be SSish than I would otherwise, but that overall it's more simple. It's about having autonomy, or at least the possibilty of having autonomy, over the processes surrounding my actions.

So it might be simpler just to go and buy all my food at the supermarket, but this then means I'm buying stuff with a long supply chain, possibly with long ingredients lists, that I don't know the origin of or that might have travelled around the country several times. Getting organised to sow things, planting them out, varnishing wine boxes to grow things in, making jam and chutney etc requires a lot more faff than just going shopping, but it enables me to know more about what I'm eating, which feels 'simpler' to me.

Similarly, at work, I find if very difficult feeling like a tiny part of a large process. I worked in a shipping office for a defence company for about a fortnight, and I found it really distressing, because I was printing all these labels to put on packages, but I never actually saw any of the parts we were sending out, and never saw a courier's van, and I imagined all these bits of aeroplane eventually flying all over the world and the sheer number of people and processes involved in getting them there, and it was TERRIFYING! And even though my job was (fairly) innocuous, I still felt, because I was in the defence industry, like I was in some tiny way contributing to the marketing of dangerous weapons to small African children.

When I was working with disabled people, although the job was far harder and more complicated than just sitting on my bottom in front of a computer all day, required a lot more skills and dedication and had unpredictable hours, it was again 'simpler', because I understood that the consequence of me not doing my job meant that this person didn't get to eat, or that this person didn't get to go outside today, rather than the consequence of me not doing my job being that some number got put in the system wrong and some error code flashed up on somebody else's computer six months down the line or something. (And support work is shockingly paid and terribly undervalued and I think people working in homes should be paid FAR more than people doing cushy but repetitive office jobs, but no, market forces dictate, rant, rant, rant...)

Even in the job I'm in now, I find it hard when I have to transcribe or summarise a lot of 'business-speak' or too much financial waffle - I sometimes get these flashes of panic when I think that money is just an arbitrary value we give to something and yet so many people spend all their working life chasing it. I sometimes go to three-hour strategy presentations that you can summarise as, 'So, you're going to make this product, sell it, and make some money. Awesome.'

My ambition is not to achieve total self-sufficiency in everything, but I have this curse where I have to think through the entire chain of events surrounding everything I do, or buy, or eat. So although I never got round to making marmalade, I only buy marmalade with only sugar and oranges in, as I could make that myself. Or I try to buy clothes made from natural fibres because I can visualise how you get wool from sheep or cotton from cotton plants, but I would have NO idea how to make polyester or acrylic, so they freak me out. And I probably won't ever make all my own clothes, but learning to make clothes has meant that I understand how the clothes I buy are made so I can repair them.

It's not even a conscious choice - I just can't help seeing all these things whenever I do something. I can't even have a hot shower without visualising all the gas pipelines across Russia. So, yes, simplicity is an important part of my SSish life, but I think I have a weird understanding of simplicity. I don't know what the rest of you think.

Maybe I'm just a control freak.

Or just a freak.

Do you all think I'm nuts?

[red]

Do you all think I'm nuts?

yup - but in the same way the rest of us are.

for myself:
I dont think I am living.. or even trying to live a simple life.. but my life has become more prioritised.

for example my front window is on the street and passers by look in (cos i hate net curtains) and i have removed the pretty plants and the gonks and ornaments that were there, cos my potatoes are chitting there. getting the potatoes chitted and in are a priority over things looking nice.
another example.. there are thngs I want to go to and do.. but cant because of the livestock.
we are not pure - had a take away the other night! but things are beginning to become naturally sorted out just because of the way we have chosen to live our lives.

[mrsflibble]

for me it's practicality rather than simplicity.
Growing my tomatoes and chillis is just to
1. show soph where they come from and 2. show James where they come from (he's 30 in may ).
I can't afford to be organic; unless I see reduced items.
I don't have any land to speak of.
We still own a car.
We shop at a supermarket.
BUT we don't go on foreign holidays.

For me Ish is what it says; it's living the life...ish!!! it for me isn't owning a smallholding and rearing all my own animals and growing all the food we need to survive and being self sufficient; I couldn't cope with all that and am in awe of those who do; that's not for me. Having tasty tomatoes and chillis IS for me. recycling cloth into new and exciting garments for soph IS for me.

I check labels BECAUSE I HAVE TO, not out of choice. I select purer/natural versions of shampoos etc because of my allergies, not because of what the chemicals may do to the environment. the few packet foodstuffs we eat are also checked meticulously- again due to my allergies. I cook from scratch because i was brought up to cook. convenience foods were considered a major no-no by my grandparents.

Spiritually; I'm a firm believer in karma in that you get whats coming to you based on how you behave to others. I believe in "do unto others..." but I am also a farily firm believer in "an eye for an eye".
I bleieve that by trying to make my daughter's life better, I will in turn make any of her children (if she decides to have any) have a better life too.

I try my best, it's all I can do. BUT I'm planning to phone my local turkish-run cafe (lovely place, everything cooked fresh) tonight and ask them to send a few pizzas round for me and jim to enjoy with my brothers, sister and our soph.

So ok, I don't always buy organic. I don't always buy local. We are having takeaway tonight, I still use washing powder, tampons, loo roll etc, I keep tropical fish...yeah I have my "bad" points...
but I recycle as much as I can, I have a compost bin, and all my fish were born and bred in the uk in a local shop. I buy bread from a local baker. finally, nearly all my clothing is second hand. I'm not perfect; but then “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone…â€

[witch way?]

For me the simple life means trying to get away from exploitative commercialism. I dont think its healthy that almost our whole country's food supplies are in the hands of 6 or 7 giant supermarkets. I hate the way media airbrushes models to give our teenagers unrealistic aspirations about the way they should look. Sport, art and music are all now so commercialised - give me a local boy scouts football match any day, childrens drawings to stick on the fridge door and real music played by real people at a gathering gives so much more pleasure than a C.D.

Its an awareness when making each little decision about general living rather than huge statements like 'I dont use supermarkets'. We grow our own, support organic, low carbon footprint etc., etc., but yes we have takeaways, pop into the Co-op occasionally and generally dont beat ourselves up.

Isnt that why we have the 'ish' on the end?

[mrsflibble]

yeah; terribly sorry but I'm an ex-media hype type person.... I did my fair share of airbrushing. sorry. in my defence I objected at the time and I don't do it any more.... I did what I was told.

[MKG]

I think it has to be a life which leaves you feeling OK with yourself. I, too, have had a job or two which nowadays make me cringe - but I think I've restored the balance in other ways, so that's OK. My aim nowadays is, when it's my turn to go belly up, to slip away so that no-one can tell I've been here.

[witch way?]

I think it has to be a life which leaves you feeling OK with yourself. I, too, have had a job or two which nowadays make me cringe - but I think I've restored the balance in other ways, so that's OK. My aim nowadays is, when it's my turn to go belly up, to slip away so that no-one can tell I've been here.

Leaving only memories ...... (fades away into the sunset .....) W.

[Milims]

For us it starts with cutting out the carp. Stopping to think - do I really need this ..... bunch of chemicals in my food/shampoo/cleaning product.....new dress just because it's in the sale and its a lovely colour, despite the fact I'll never wear it.........new 3 piece suite just because the one we have isn't the latest fashion......new TV just because the screen is 1/2" smaller than the person next doors etc etc etc.
Since we started to live our simpler life we appreciate more of the simple things in life like each others company, fresh air and the joy of producing or growing something from scratch. We've enjoyed spending time experimenting, learning from failures, celebrating successes (esp the wine ones! ), finding new entertainment ways like watching the sky on a summer evening. Using simpler body care products has meant that my skin doesn't hurt when I get out of the bath, my hair is softer and shinier. Using simpler cleaning products like vinegar and borax means that our sense of smell is more sensitive to fresh air than "tropical fresh" soap powder smell.
Cooking from scratch has given us more enjoyable tastes as well as the opportunity to teach our children how to cook and enjoy the company of other while we cook.
Turning off the TV has given us the opportunity to come to know each other better, to have conversation, to listen to music and to look around us at the spectacular dramas that nature produces.
And as an added bonus we are financially richer than we have ever been. We have less income but have more disposable income because we don't just buy stuff. But more importantly we are spiritually richer, more fulfiled with life, calmer, truer to ourselves and generally more loving.

I've just come back from the bathroom - the place where I do all my best thinking and I wanted to say this....
Becoming more "ish" has made me more aware of my environment and the people I share it with. I have become more aware of my impact on it and, perhaps more importantly, it's impact on me. I feel more liberated that I ever was when I suffounded myself in the carp that shielded me from the real world!

[oldfella]

I am standing by the window looking the first blush of green on the trees and watching the dogs playing tag in the field, the cock Mr Hornblower has just crowed signaling all's well in his world, my neighbour Rène is in his garden down by the river I can"t see what he's doing, but I think it's too wet to do much today, but he has never missed a day in his garden for as long as I have known him, and this July we will be celebrating his 81st birthday with his wife Simone 83yrs old and the rest of the family.
My seasons here are about a month earlier than in the UK so my plants are ahead and they are all going well, the fruit trees are in bloom and providing we don't have bad frost we should have a good season.
The Vin de Noix we made last year has turned out well and the sloe wine is very nice, in fact I think it is the best we have ever made so must ask John Louie for a few more litres of d'eau-de-vie ready for the new season. The old oak 400yrs old is looking better for its pruning last year, the first in its life and it stands in the front garden and lifts my spirits every time I see it. Our lives are filled to over flowing with friends, and never a day go'es by that we don't have visitors to sit in front the fire with a glass of wine, and talk to put the world to rights. We recycle because it is easier than not too, we grow as much of our food as we can and with Rène's garden bursting at the seams with good food that his children never collect from him we have sufficient to meet our needs for the year. We are Ish because that is all we can be. So this is our simple life and when you think of Paridise think us, we live there

[SarahJane]

I read this thread yesterday , and have since been thinking about it and what the "simple life" means to me.

Do I live in paradise? No. I dont. I still have to go out to work each day, I enjoy my job but would rather be able to spend time doing something else. BUT! I lead a much simpler life now than I used to.
For a long time I was one of those people on the treamill of life, running faster and faster and getting nowhere. Oh I had material possesions, a nice big house, a fancy car, the latest gadget etc etc.....Do I have them now? Nope! I have a car that just about gets me from A to B, a tiny little cottage that always needs something doing at it, and most of the time if something breaks I cant afford to replace it!

Did having those material things bring me happiness? The simple answer is no. Since leaving that environment I have found that the very simple things in life have brought me pleasure. It started off with VERY simple things such as if the phone rang I knew it was for me and not a business call. Being able to express myself with the way I decorated a room, knowing that I never had to paint a wall magnolia as long as I lived, if I didnt want to. Closing the curtains on a cold winter night, snuggling up on the sofa with candles burning, listening to "my kind of music" ......small things which meant alot.

Over the last few years, as I have become more organised and experimenting in the garden, I have got huge pleasure out of seeing seeds coming up and growing into either tasty veggies or beautiful flowers. I cant describe how excited I get seeing everything growing! Then to actually make something edible out of what you have grown, that again is one of the simple pleasures in life.
I also started making chutneys, pickles, relishes etc, and seeing jars lined up on the shelves in the kitchen knowing that I have made them (and they taste pretty good!) that is another simple pleasure, as is being able to give them as gifts to friends. Cost=very little, pleasure=alot.

So to me, its the simple pleasures that make my simple life simply pleasurable!

[Stonehead]

Even in the job I'm in now, I find it hard when I have to transcribe or summarise a lot of 'business-speak' or too much financial waffle - I sometimes get these flashes of panic when I think that money is just an arbitrary value we give to something and yet so many people spend all their working life chasing it. I sometimes go to three-hour strategy presentations that you can summarise as, 'So, you're going to make this product, sell it, and make some money. Awesome.'

Try being a senior manager and thinking like that. I was, ahem, infamous for cutting through the bollocks and using pithy Australianisms to fearsome effect in presentations and meetings in various workplaces.

I have a yearly appraisal here somewhere that reads something along the lines of "must learn to curb his Colonial directness of speech".

A certain MD had most of the managers enthralled and applauding his master plan for market dominance, until my tongue escaped my teeth and uttered the immortal words "total bullshit, it will never work and this bunch of bum-lickers all know it". Oops...

I much prefer working with pigs.

So for me, living a simple life means being free to call a spade a spade and then being able to dig my own hole with it.

[oldfella]

Stonehead

A certain MD had most of the managers enthralled and applauding his master plan for market dominance, until my tongue escaped my teeth and uttered the immortal words "total bullshit, it will never work and this bunch of bum-lickers all know it". Oops...

I much prefer working with pigs.

So for me, living a simple life means being free to call a spade a spade and then being able to dig my own hole with it. [/quote]

How to make friends and influence people, maybe not but I bet he still remembers you,

[circlecross]

Have been trying to put my finger on a growing sense of dissatisfaction, and i think my mind has never left the bgg but life has passed so quickly and I am swept along on the tide of preparing children for their various needs, outings and entertainments. I wouldn't not have had my kids, but they do take up a lot of my head space and time (as they should) and they are too little to be left to their own devices (even tho I am constantly feeling guilty that I don't give them enough time!)

So, we haven't made wine for a few years, I didn't make jam last year, I didn't get much planted last year, and being off work for maternity leave has left our bank account VERY unhealthy, so all our ideas for greening up are on hold (switching power providers, greener car etc).

I am determined that this year we will grow more, and I am still entertaining the notion of keeping chooks and my friend has her own smallholding that I will visit and steal ideas from. I read posts from people who are "living the dream" and am jealous. I do not have rose tinted specs, I know most of the NEEPS lot and Stonehead work VERY hard at their "jobs" and it is not some idyllic existence of just venturing out to perfect soil and dropping the odd potato in here and there and this feeds you for the year, I KNOW it is hard. I am not looking for sympathy or anything.

As usual I have lost the notion of what I was trying to say. I feel my life is anything but simple. I think when I was growing up my parents had quite gender specific delineated roles and we just don't have that now, (phew - means I can do the gardening!) but it does complicate things aswell, maybe what our expectations should be - maybe my mum didn't EXPECT to dig the garden, or be a major wage earner, or bath the children, so if she didn't get to do these things, it wasn't a disappointment!

I do go on.

[mybarnconversion]

Even in the job I'm in now, I find it hard when I have to transcribe or summarise a lot of 'business-speak' or too much financial waffle - I sometimes get these flashes of panic when I think that money is just an arbitrary value we give to something and yet so many people spend all their working life chasing it. I sometimes go to three-hour strategy presentations that you can summarise as, 'So, you're going to make this product, sell it, and make some money. Awesome.'

Try being a senior manager and thinking like that. I was, ahem, infamous for cutting through the bollocks and using pithy Australianisms to fearsome effect in presentations and meetings in various workplaces.

I have a yearly appraisal here somewhere that reads something along the lines of "must learn to curb his Colonial directness of speech".

A certain MD had most of the managers enthralled and applauding his master plan for market dominance, until my tongue escaped my teeth and uttered the immortal words "total bullshit, it will never work and this bunch of bum-lickers all know it". Oops...

I much prefer working with pigs.

So for me, living a simple life means being free to call a spade a spade and then being able to dig my own hole with it.

My experiences are very similar -- I think those of us that call a spade a spade are being squeezed out of the corporate world as big business attempts to turn its employees into easily managed corporate thinkers & speakers. Easily managed line-towers make things so much easier for brainless forelock tugging, bonus chasing Directors! ...and the 'truth', common sense and decency get further away...