Voluntary Simplicity

Singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, avoidance of external clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life.

That is one of the most concise definitions I have seen in a long time. It really set the mood for this article. It is kind of a shame that I will miss class today because I would have liked to hear what the other classmates thought about this paper.

Oh, and by the way, NOOOOO! While reading this article about voluntary simplicity, the first thoughts that came to my head were of Henry David Thoreau, whose want for simplicity pushed him to live life in the woods as it told in his book Walden Pond. I guess the author had him in mind as well while writing this piece.

Another great quote I read, "Poverty is involuntary and debilitating while simplicity is voluntary and enabling." I like how he says things. But he's right, poverty is so nasty and sad; as residents of Montreal we see that on a daily basis.

Other observations in this article: the gap between rich and poor, and how that gap is widening so significantly every single day.

How lucky was I to be brought into a great home and upbringing. I mean I'm not a big gambling buff but if theres 6 billion people on earth and 1.2 billion live in absolute poverty, I dodge a bullet when I was born. Others aren't so lucky. The picture below represents the slums in a town, while the rich flourishing skyscrapers of wealth and capitalism provide a good backdrop for the people living in the shanties.