Less Is More Simplicity with Cecile Andrews

Simplicity is Choice

2010-01-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

Ultimately, Voluntary Simplicity is about choice. The word "voluntary" certainly suggests this. For something to be voluntary, you need to be making a choice. People think that Simplicity is about clearing out your clutter, but you must first define clutter. For instance, if you have too many clothes and want to get rid of some of them, you must make a choice, and you must develop criteria: you would want to keep things that fit, or things that you feel good in, or things that serve their purpose — like keep you warm.

We have to make choices in our everyday lives, of course, but these choices are becoming more and more narrow. It's the equivalent of choosing a brand of cereal — there are scads of choices, but the choices are essentially all the same.

In Simplicity, we are making choices in terms of their benefit to the well being of people and the planet. (What other criteria could there be?) In terms of the well being of people, you need a variety of experiences in order to make a choice. That's why we need the stories of people who have gone a different route. We need to know about the people who choose to live on less, who choose to live close to the land, who find enjoyment in community and creativity. If we don't know about them, they can't be part of our choice.

Tonight in our simplicity circle I thought of it another way. We were talking about technology and kids and how they text all the time, no matter what else they're doing. One man said that they don't allow a cell phone to be used in the house. No one can text. You can pick up the land line and call someone, but that's all.

What this father is giving his 12 year old son is a different experience.He can use his phone when he's away from the house, yes.The son is getting two kinds of experience in terms of his cell phone.

You could also say that he is broadening his experience. Essentially, he is giving his son the same experience he had as a boy. That was how most of us lived. We could only call someone on our phone so we probably spent more time with our families. Maybe by giving him the same experience, he is creating a stronger link between the two of them.

It's the same with television. There should be times when there is no television so that we have a different experience. If you don't know about the experience, you can't choose it!

I think we've lost a lot of our sense abilities that we once had. Like how the Polynesians found their way to Hawaii. Who has that navigational sense now? Or our ability to sing in tune or track animals. Or our ability to connect socially. If people don't see others faces or hear their voices (texting), they are missing out on learning to "read" people. They can't pick up the cues.

Or, perhaps texting is a more shallow method of communication. You aren't getting the voice or seeing the smile or hearing the laughter or anger. Will this mean that people's connection to each other is not as deep? Are young people making committments to have life time partners? Or will they stay on the surface. The person immersed in technology may always be looking for the new, new thing — they improved model, so they can never committ.

Maybe what we want is to give young people, actually all people, as many different kinds of experiences as possible so that they can make a richer choice. So, for instance, I wouldn't totally banish a television in the home, but have times when it's not on. For instance, the Sabbath: no interacting with technology. Do as low technology as can. Like orthodox Jews: don't drive, don't do any work, etc. This opens you to other experiences.

So it was a very interesting evening. We went from talking about knowing about the stories of people who choose an unconventional life style to actually giving people an unconventional life style. Our coming down to Palo Alto in the winter isn't really that unconventional, but it isn't exactly conventional, either. It all comes back to Thoreau: "And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow." How do you do that unless you have a variety of experiences?

Social Networks Bring More Simplicity

2009-12-11T14:59:00.001-08:00

A new book Connected: The Surprising Poer of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives (2009, Little, Brown, and Co) has some important ideas for social change organizations. Create networks! If you really want to bring about change, don't just send out information in the form of newsletters, web sites, or magazines, create networks! You've probably heard something about the ideas of Christakis and Fowler — the news stories announce the fact that if your friend loses weight, you are more likely to lose weight. If your friend's friend is happy, you are more likely to be happy. In other words, emotions and actions spread. As I've said for many years (I heard it from someone and I like it) we become like the people we hang around. When I was a community college administrator I was a much stuffier person than when I was hanging around with faculty. I always used this as cautionary advice to people, telling them to be careful who they hung around with.

But it's just as important for social groups to understand. If you want people to behave differently, form groups and work with the leaders of the groups. If you want people to be more altruistic, select an altristic person as leader and give him or her information about the importance of altruism. If you want people to act more sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint, form a group and encourage the members to bring about changes. They are more likely to do this when they talk about the changes in their group than if you just give them their information on an individual basis.

What this says to me is that simplicity circles are very important! People are much more likely to live simply if they are in a simplicity group. Further, the effect will be even wider because each of these people is a member of other groups and they will affect their members.

We've always known that there are certain things that happen more efficiently if people act together. The authors use the example of putting out a fire. If you have people running to a river and carrying back buckets of water to a burning house, they are not as effective as the group that forms a line and passes the water along.

Further, it's clear that cooeration is part of our nature and has resulted at least in part, from evolution. There are just certain things done better if done with others — like fighting wild animals or predatory groups.

But we have forgotten all of this in the US. Our ultra individualistic tendencies have made us ignore the importance of groups. Now happiness research is showing that people who have strong social ties are both happier and healthier. Again, it seems like common sense, but we don't seem to pay attention to things in this culture until the academic researchers pronounce that something is so. The true test is that we must begin to act on this knowldege by not only helping to form social networks but by creating a culture that brings people together. We need more public spaces and festivals as well as shorter working hours and less commuting in private cars. We need to quit encouraging competition and making rich people into celebrities. The best thing we can do is create wealth equality, because inequality encourages people to be out for themselves and to put greed ahead of caring

2009-12-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a few radio interviews that were very well done by the interviewers:
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/media/aftmag091202.mp3
http://www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/column_slowisbeautiful.htm

Savoring: The other side of gratitude

2009-12-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of evidence that focusing on gratitude has positive effect on one's well being. And gratitude is important because it's part of reflection, an central ingredient in living life more deliberately. But part of happiness is living consciously, experiencing life deliberately with depth and enjoyment. In this case, savoring is our goal — moving slowly, noticing, and appreciating. One thing that helps is talking to yourself —you can do this silently!— describing to yourself all the positive things going on. So when you're on a walk, instead of being lost in thought, try saying things like "Wow! What a beautiful day! Those flowers are beautiful! That sun feels wonderful." It's even better to do this kind of talk when you're with others. There are so many problems these days that we can fall into the habit of complaining about everything. Sooner or later, this gets old.
So, for increased happiness and health, learn to "savor" your life.

The pain of status: the snotty columnist

2009-08-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

The New York Times recently ran a column by a fashion columnist that shows why a country's wealth gap is so harmful. (It's the biggest predictor of longevity. The bigger the gap, the lower our life expectancy. It's not just because the poor bring down the average, the better off don't live as long because the gap destroys social ties. This column illustrates this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/fashion/13CRITIC.html
The snotty columnist just drips with elitism as she asks why Penney's was moving into Manhattan instead of staying in the suburbs where it belonged.
Here are some of the quotes from the column:
"Why would this dowdy Middle American entity waddle into Midtown in its big old shorts and flip-flops..."
"A good 96 percent of the Penney’s inventory is made of polyester"
"It took me a long time to find a size 2 among the racks. There are, however, abundant size 10’s, 12’s and 16’s."
"...it has the most obese mannequins I have ever seen. They probably need special insulin-based epoxy injections just to make their limbs stay on. It’s like a headless wax museum devoted entirely to the cast of “Roseanne.”
"The petites section features a bounty of items for women nearly as wide as they are tall;"

Being overweight is very strongly related to income: the lower the income, the more obese. Being obese is hard enough, but having to endure such feelings of disgust and disdain is almost as bad. Feeling respected, appreciated, and recognized is crucial for health and well being. As we can see from this column, you don't get this in a society where the gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting wider and wider.

New book is out! All about Less Is More...

2009-08-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

My new book, co-edited with Wanda Urbanska, is now in bookstores and on Amazon.com. As always, we'd prefer you buy from a local independent bookstore.

Less Is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, A Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness is a compilation of essays from the leading thinkers of Simplicity and Sustainability for our time, including Bill McKibben, Juliet Schor, Duane Elgin, John de Graaf, Theodore Roszak, David Korten, Jay Walljasper, Sarah Susanka, Bryan Welch and Ernest Callenbach (remember him from Ecotopia days?). It was an amazing experience to work with these brilliant author-philosophers and we feel privileged to be able to bring you their work.

We'll be doing readings on both coasts and I'll try to keep a calendar on this blog of upcoming events. For now, here's some early reviews and comments on Less Is More.

Winston-Salem Journal: "Here is a book with its roots in the earth that can move you to new places, stimulate ideas and encourage change..." Full review here.

Simplicity Circle Guide

2009-05-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Simplicity Circle Guide
Assumptions: We think that if we’re rich, we’ll be happy. In truth, after a certain point, more money does not correlate with greater happiness. In fact, it could hinder it, particularly as the income gap grows. (The biggest predictor of the health of a nation, as measured in longevity, is the wealth gap. Even the rich person in this country does not live as long as the average person in Denmark, where the gap is small.)
The biggest contributor to happiness is connection with others, something that has continued to decline.
Our consumerism is destroying the planet: polluting, using up resources, and causing global warming/climate crisis.
Our goal is to create a belief system than moves from “every man for himself” to one in which “we’re all in this together.”
Defining Simplicity:
Simplicity as Clarity: Living an uncluttered life, reducing chaos in terms of things as well as emotions.
Simplicity as True Wealth: Reducing outer wealth so we can increase inner wealth.
Simplicity as the examined life: Making conscious choices about our behavior for the well being of people and the planet.
Simplicity Circles: An Approach to Personal and Social Change.
Assumptions: We learn and change best when we learn from each other and tell our stories. We learn best when we examine our own lives, with books and experts ideas used only as a catalyst. In Simplicity there are no experts; the wisdom is in the people.
Areas Affected:
Money: Simplicity helps people save money and stay out of debt.
Things: Simplicity helps reduce clutter and consumerism.
Work: Simplicity helps us find a way to do our true work and reduce our “false” work;
Time: We’re meant to be enjoying and savoring our lives. Simplicity helps us find more time for things that matter and learn to move in a leisurely fashion that allows us to feel and think deeply.
Connection with Others: Happiness comes from connection with others with empathy, community, and joie de vivre.
Connection with Nature: If we don’t love nature, we won’t save it; we’ll only love nature when we engage with it.
Connection with the Universe: Simplicity allows us to develop our contemplative skills and be open to the forces of life.
Circle Format: Meet weekly and discuss these points. (Periodically talk first in pairs.)
I. What did you do this week to simplify your life: ( What ways did you save money? What simple pleasures did you engage in? In what ways did you “live lightly” and reduce your impact on the planet? How did you incorporate reflection into your life? In what ways were you able to slow down? How did you participate in community or make connections with others? How did you pursue your particular passion? How did you contribute to the common good?)
II. What new insights did you have about simplicity? (From reading, self, and media) Keep a journal.
III. Bring a quotation to share. (In particular, find a Thoreau quote.)

Simplicity is more than saving money

2009-03-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Most people think simplicity is just about saving money. Too many people are looking for temporary ways to be frugal, planning to go back to their profligate spending when the economy improves. But my forthcoming book is called Less is More, a broader approach to simplicity. It's fun to do a "fill in the blank" game. Take this sentence: Less consumerism is more ______________. More what?
I did this recently with a group of Unitarians and we got a lot of interesting responses. There were the obvious ones like, Less consumerism is more savings. But there were other, more unique, responses:

Less consumerism is more generosity: There is something about focusing on more, more, more in the consumer society that seems to make people selfish. They never feel they have enough, so they're sure not going to share anything.

Less consumerism means more creativity: In the consumer society, when you run into a problem, you buy something to solve it. But when you resist that impulse, you become more creative in you problem solving.

Less consumerism is more balance: We're all ultimately looking for lives of balance. In particular, we're sick of our frantic, frenetic lives. People who consume less usually have less debt, often allowing them to cut back on their work hours and take the time for things like exercise, reading, and naps , activities that bring balance.

Maybe my favorite is: Less consumerism is more reflection: If there's anything we need in the culture is time to think, time to make conscious decisions, and shopping takes a lot of time! (Further, almost nothing works, so you have to take it back, having more of your time stolen from you). In fact, that's the way I define simplicity: It's the "examined life," taking time to think through your decisions and choosing what's best for the welfare of people and the planet.

Try it yourself. Thinking about this will lead you to conclude that less consumerism means more life.

Simplicity and the Economic Crisis

2009-01-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Simplicity movement needs to move beyond individual solutions. Personal change is imperative, but we need to propose larger solutions. We need to respond to the economic crisis in more ways than just recommending that people turn their heat down or drive a Prius.
What do we have to say that would provide more jobs without contributing to global warming? The government should subsidize service jobs, jobs that help people but don't involve just building more things. And one efficient way to do it would be to expand successful programs. For instance, take the college work/study programs. We could expand this to small businesses and non profit agencies. The government would contribute 80% and the employer 20%. Since these enterprises are small and there is always lots to do, the new people could be put to work immediately. This would avoid a huge bureaucracy and would benefit people directly, both the new job holders and the recipients of the services. Further, these jobs wouldn't be as expensive and could employ more women and older people than the infrastructure jobs we hear so much about. (projects that can't be started fast and would cost more in the way of materials.)

Simplicity and Obama’s Inaugural Address

2009-01-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

If anyone wonders what the Simplicity movement is about, they need only read Obama’s inaugural speech, because his underlying themes strongly support the values of this movement. Let me select a few of his phrases (in bold face) to show you what I mean.

First, most basic of all, Simplicity is about challenging the belief system that the pursuit of wealth is the ultimate human goal. Or, as Obama put it, the greatness of the United States has not been built by those who “ seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.” He goes further — he blames our crumbling economy on “greed and irresponsiblity.” Obama understands that there is more to life than making money.

But the Simplicity movement advocates more than just personal downshifting in order to experience the satisfactions that come from reducing our outward wealth so that we have greater inner wealth. We also are committed to policies that create greater national well being — in particular, an economy that reduces the gap between the rich and the poor. Why? Because a large wealth gap creates a cutthroat economy with people scrambling for more, worried they’ll be left out in the cold. This mad scramble creates a society of “me first” that undermines the common good. The only way we can be free of this obsession with more is when that gap is reduced and we are equal and we realize that we’re all in this together.

As Obama puts it, we must “promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.... and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

Obama also focuses on some of the specifics of the Simplicity movement. One of our central concerns is that our egregious consumerism, which is based on oil, destroys the earth and sends us into wars: As Obama puts it, “each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” He continues: that we must “roll back the specter of a warming planet.”

Obama echoes one of the Simplicity movement long standing protests: that the US has only 5% of the Earth’s population, but uses more than 25% of the world’s energy: “And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.”

Finally, those of us in the Simplicity movement have long advocated regulation of the economy — Obama says that “this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.”

Further, those of us who have been spokespersons for the Simplicity movement have always been challenged with the taunt: “What if everyone cut back on their spending? What would that do to the economy?” Well, it wasn’t us who undermined the economy! It was the reckless spenders, both large and small! We in the Simplicity movement continue to answer that question with : “What’s an economy for? So that s few can become egregiously rich? Or is it for the greater good for the greater number?” To bring about that change we need regulation.

Obama’s expression of the values of the Simplicity movement is very inspiring. But there’s one little item that I suspect few people really appreciated: He spoke of “the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job.” The Simplicity movement has long advocated a reduction of work hours as a way to improve people’s well being. And in these times, it’s interesting to note that this was a strategy used during the Depression: The Kellog Company reduced the work week to thirty hours so that they could spread the jobs around and reduce unemployment. No only did this help with the economy, but the Kellog workers came to understand one of the central tenants of the Simplicity movement: We must have more time for the things that are important. We can’t spend all of our hours in the workplace. Our health, our relationships — and even our democracy — all suffer.

When we talk about living simply, it’s not just about saving the planet or the economy, it’s about having the time for friends, family, and citizen involvement — relationships. The happiness research tells us that, after a certain point, more money does not increase happiness. The core of happiness is relationships, and our time starved, frenetic lifesyles, in their pursuit of “the pleasures of riches and fame,” have robbed us of that happiness.

It’s clear that Obama understands the Simplicity movement, and those of us in the movement who worked hard for his election can feel particularly gratified.

Simplicity Quotation: plentitude

2009-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

"plentitude—the sufficiency that liberates from need and greed."
Theodore Roszak, The Making of a Counter Culture and The Making of an Elder Culture.

This is a nice way to think about Simplicity. If it doesn't feel liberating, you're not doing it right. I like this because it calls for reflection on our part. There's no rule that tells you that you can't own a car or watch television.... it suggests that you must decide about the point at which you rise above need and greed, that you have enough. This is plentitude.

Social Support guards against a bad economy

2009-01-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

What would Reagan say? When Russia switched from a communist economy to a capitalist free market economy, life expectancy for men dropped from 67 to 60. A similar drop occurred in most of the former Soviet countries, a new study says.
There were a few exceptions where this didn't happen Poland and the Czech Republic. What was the difference? Social support.
:
"The authors suggest that the existence of trade unions, churches, sports, political organizations and other social organizations played a significant role in cushioning adults’ stress during the transitions.

“In countries in which more than 45 percent of the population was a member of a social organization, mass privatization had no significant adverse association with mortality rates,” the report said."

As we face the traumas of our economy, we need to make sure there is this kind of support. We need to create community to help people weather the storm.

Less is More Democracy

2009-01-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

At the heart of both Simplicity and Democracy is deliberation. Thoreau said,
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately..." This means making conscious choices in terms of the well being of people and the planet. This is at the hear of living simply, and certainly of Democracy. Find ways to create more deliberation in your own life as well as coming together with others to deliberate. To do this, we need to slow down and find time to pursue the things that matter.

Hello Everyone!

2008-12-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to be starting a new blog around the themes of voluntary simplicity and "less is more." With the economy circling the drain, the concepts of simplifying, slowing down and reducing our footprint on the earth have sparked huge interest. It's too bad it took a loser of a President and an economic meltdown to achieve it, but any wakeup call in our dire circumstances is worth it.

Anyway, I wanted to say hello and happy holidays, and watch this space!