the problem of simple living

Lately I’ve had the pleasure to laugh at people who call their life ‘simple.’ Or even more so, the life style magazines that vow ways to make your life ‘simple.’

Let me explain. Life isn’t simple. That’s the beauty of it. There will always be disappointments, problems, trouble, complex things. If there wasn’t the ups for all the downs , life be worth living for.

These magazines and ‘simple living’ people vouch for eating fresh, green fruit, vegetables, excersising, etc. That’s all great, but that’s a ‘healthy’ living style. I wouldn’t consider that simple.

They also advocate products like planners, drawers, and other organization knick knacks. That’s all great, but that’s just organization, I wouldn’t consider that simple.

Also, a big part of simple living is what makes you happy! So enjoy life, sit back and relax with a good novel, take a mini vacation.


Many people can’t afford to buy fruit and vegetables (quick rant for an instance, I honestly believe that only cultures and countries that are wealthy, like America, can afford to go vegan. Our culture sticks the idea of veganism down everyone's throats as a healthy lifestyle and a way for one to be an animal rights advocate. Well if you're an impoverished country and your kids are dying of hunger, you wouldn't really care what you're eating, especially if its vegan, as long as its food. I don't see any advertisements promoting veganism in Cambodia... nothing against vegans, i respect their choice of lifestyle, just my pov) and knick knacks promoting organization. And most people honestly don’t have the time to do such things because they work multiple jobs to even have a lifestyle thats not on the streets, nevertheless what our culture calls a 'simple' one.
Now what is simple living?

“Simple living is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. Rather, it is about living an examined life — one in which you have determined what is important, or "enough," for you, discarding the rest.” – Duane Elgin, author of ”Voluntary Simplicity.”

Hmm, that sounds wonderful, but lets look at it from another perspective. Mainly the part of “’enough’ for you, discarding the rest.”

What is enough for some people is not enough for others.
What I’m trying to say is, simple living can only be lived by those that can afford to live their life simply. If you can't afford much, you'll always want more, which by definition isn't simple living. People collect so much over their years of growing up, that by discarding ‘the rest’ of what they don’t need, they consider it simple. It’s ironic that the accumulation of items that would ‘clutter’ your life means nothing to you when you discard them, but could mean the world to others. It’s also ironic that most of this clutter are things at one time or another the person had said “I need that.”

But for those that already live their life ‘simply,’ they don’t consider it simple. Which is why I find the phrase ‘simple living’ so problematic, because everyone needs something at one time or another in their life that is more or less ‘worthless.’

For example (its a little far fetched, but a good one nontheless.) Shoes. We all wear it, we all ‘need’ it. But many kids in Africa survive without shoes. It doesn’t mean we can’t either, but we don’t. So does that mean I’m living in luxury? Yes, but to our culture no. But seeing kids in Africa with no shoes makes us realize that we really don't need shoes to live. Hence, if I discarded my shoes, in American culture I will call it simple living, but to the impoverished people of Africa it wouldn't. But hypothetically, lets say I did stop wearing shoes. Yes, I would be doing 'simple living' because its something I don't necessarily need to live, but I won't be happy with not having shoes, therefore simple living is unattainable. There are many perspectives and examples for looking at ‘simple living’ but I’m not going to describe them.


There is no such thing as simple living during this modern era. If they don’t give you step by step instructions on how to live your life simply when your house burns down, when the stock market crashes and you lose your life savings, or when a family member dies, I don’t believe it.

When your house burns down you wouldn’t be looking to these instructions for guideance: (http://www.ohmishka.blogspot.com/)

1. have an outside day. go to markets, parks, have picnics, etc.
this is even more fun if you do this via bicycle.
{my boyfriend and i love to bike to the farmers market in
charleston, buy fresh fruit, and bike down to the waterfront
and have a little picnic!}

2. buy fresh flowers to put in your kitchen...
a luxury worth regularly indulging in.
{pretty flowers always brighten my day}

3. bake cupcakes for someone
{and have a friend for life}

4. buy or make pretty stationary and write a letter
to someone you haven't talked to in a long time.
{or become regular pen pals with your grandma, like me.
finding a letter in the mailbox always makes my day!}

5. make dinner with a friend.
{my boyfriend and i looove cooking together. eating is
one of our favorite hobbies, and it is also a great excuse
to dance around the kitchen.}

I’m sorry, do you have a job oh Mishka? Because somehow it doesn’t seem like it with so much time.


Just saying, is that simple living? Seems pretty shallow to me.
But I advocate happiness, not the theory of 'simple living." And happiness is not the number of flowers you buy, not the cute little stationary, not the bike rides. Yes it can make you happy, but you don't need all that material goods. In general, your true "simple living" and happiness can only be attained with they way you think, and not how you live your life, contrary to the belief that simple living is how you life your life, that will affect how you think. If everyone gave in to this form of simple living and baked cupcakes everyday, cupcakes wouldn't be very special and valuable then?

Everyone lives their life differently, and everyone has problems. And the only way to achieve the 'happiness' that comes with 'simple living' is being content with yourself. You don't need the rest of the world telling you what you need or don't need and how to do that.