Extending the Definition of Simple Living

I have been thinking a lot lately about how a simple life is not just about owning less, but also doing less. After all, the problem with owning many objects is that each object has energy and zap your energy because of the time it takes to maintain and care for those items. The same applies for when you involve yourself with too many activities. I am definitely for living a full life in which enjoys themselves and/or helps the world, and not just lull around the house. However, I think many of us, including myself, involve ourselves daily in activities that do not contribute to our overall life goals. I know that after a long work week, we all need some activities to unwind, that do not occupy all of our mental faculties, but there must be limits also. Watching an interesting movie every now and then, or watching a program with your partner once or twice a week is fine. However, think of all the time wasted watching mindless television to kill time, time wasted window shopping, time wasted reading gossip or the like on the internet or in magazines, even time wasted talking repeatedly about topics that you are not particularly interested in or giving the same advice to someone over and over who does not really care.

Everyone has different interests, and that makes the world very interesting as well. However, I find that many of us, including myself, spend a lot of time on things that don’t really call to us and what we want to leave behind in life. I was thinking about my friend who passed away this year, and he valued people in his life, and always gave his time to bring friends together and spend time with them. Everyone who knew him remembers him as a kind person who always brought people together and would give his last dollar if a friend needed it. He also enjoyed activities like spending time with friends (dining, billiards, watching movies), cleaning and collecting kung fu figurines and movies. Before he got sick, he was into high end name brands of clothing and shoes. After he got sick, he still enjoyed the activities I mentioned above, but stopped buying name brand clothing and caring about image. It makes me think, if we had just a year to live, what would we change in our lives? What would we buy? What would we eat? What would we get rid of in our life? What would we do that we always wanted to? What would we do daily to make our life enjoyable each day? I know I would not waste money or energy buying clothing, shoes, or even certain books. I would not want to waste my time cleaning and organizing those things in my home. I would watch and read meaningful or substantive movies, plays and books. I would only wear clothes that were simple and easy to pull on in the morning without having to think about fashion or matching pieces. I would volunteer in the community or with children more. I would learn things daily that bring me closer to obtain a career that is more socially active. I would only keep things in my home that I could easily transport if I decide I want to pick up and move somewhere in short notice. I am trying to think along these lines and do some of these things daily as I was in a rut for a few weeks deciding what to do next after being unemployed since the end of August.

It’s a bit morbid to think about what we would do in our last days, but it is very poignant way to live to remember that each day is a gift. A gift that many who are in their last days wish they had. On our death bed, we will not miss or think about objects or useless activities nor regret not doing those things, but we will miss and remember the people in our lives and the activities that we found interesting and are passionate about.