Religions > Atheism > We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life.
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"V" |
| Date: |
27 Nov 2006 05:33:22 PM |
| Object: |
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer, is the question of what IS enough so we may be happy
right now in the present. A life of Voluntary Simplicity focuses our
attention on the fact that "everything we own take a little piece ~
peace of us." And in doing so, we can let go of peace and life
destroying rituals and possessions and replace them with a contented,
satisfied and complete life in the present moment instead of a life
that revolves around the next thing to be acquired in hopes of
satisfying our insatiable appetites.
Greed is never satisfied by attainment - it is only satisfied by
contentment. This orientation of conscious thought to simplify ones
life in whatever activity the individual is engaged in is the
foundation of success when it comes to simple living...mindfulness of
our direction in life. Voluntary Simplicity is the tool I use to
counter this desire to constantly expand my life with more
complexities, stress and problems and to live within my comfortable
boundaries for a serene life. I started with 12 step programs in 1974
to work on various addictions. As such, I find a less complex life very
useful to my addictions recovery work. The 12 Step programs do actually
touch on the VS topic, although it is not specifically called VS. Here
are a couple of quotes that can be taken as their efforts at applying
VS to one's life.
.........From page 76 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous........
"The chief activator of our defects has been a self-centered
fear-primarily that we would lose something we already possessed or
would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of
unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and
frustrations. Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a
means of reducing these demands."
End of Quote
I cannot tell you that I have no unsatisfied demands in my life; but, I
will say that since joining the simple living movent my unsatisfied
demands can now be counted on one hand, whereas in my prior life, I
needed a notebook to record them all.
.........Taken from pages 122-125 of the 12 & 12 of Alcoholics
Anonymous.......
"In later life he (the addict) finds that real happiness is not to be
found in just trying to be a number one man, or even a first-rater in
the heartbreaking struggle for money, romance, or self-importance. He
learns that he can be content as long as he plays well whatever cards
life deal him. He's still ambitious, but not absurdly so, because he
can now see and accept actual reality. He is willing to stay right
size."
End of quote.
I find VS to be a very important state of mind to be in. It shows which
direction a person is pointed in with their life. The same way an
addiction has 3 roads to go down, so it goes with VS. An addict can be
expanding their addiction, freezing their addiction or reducing their
addiction. A person suffering from an overly stressed or complicated
life can be expanding the complications, freezing the complications or
reducing the complications. Thoreau says that we need food, shelter,
fuel and clothes as necessities. In modern times, I will add
transportation to the list depending on your local. Everything else is
pretty much optional. If we have these needs met and are not happy,
then their is no end to our supposed needs for that elusive state of
happiness that we seek. We all seem to have no shortage of supposed
needs or wants as complexity addicts. We only want to go in one
direction...more.
Life does not go in one direction no matter how wealthy you are, life
is always up and down. My goal in life prior to joining the VS movement
was to get rich and buy anything I wanted to. My goal now is to live
within my means, comfortably fit within my space and gratefully accept
my current position in life. VS has contributed to this recovery and
continues to do so each day. I make it a practice to wake up with VS,
eat lunch with VS and to go to bed with VS the same way I do with my 12
step program work and without this constant awareness of how daily
decisions affect my VS or 12 Step program, I'd be back on the road to
my prior sick life.
Do not confuse VS with the misnomer of 'Voluntary Poverty' VS is not
about living low, it is about making choices and balanced living. You
get out what you put in with VS. If you do not cut back enough on the
complexities that rob you of living life, then all you have is your
same complex life back that you started with. If you cut out too many
complexities and are unhappy or bored, don't worry, you can always add
them back. We suffer from no shortage of stress and complexities of
living, especially if you have a family. Life gives us plenty of
problems for free. You can even trade the complexities that offer no
reward other than more problems for new complexities that offer rich
rewards or good feelings.
For instance, I gave up some of my computer compulsion time and put
that time into yoga class and meditation. I started with VS in 1996 by
canceling some subscriptions to 5 business newspapers and magazines and
pulled out about 50-60 rosebushes that we could not care for. After
that, I saw the beneficial results and kept at it, questioning
everything and experimenting with which complexities could be removed
and which needed to stay in order to live a balanced life. We make what
we want of VS, there are no rules other than if you do not do enough
you do not get any results. There are no VS police to boss you around
and tell you what is right or wrong. We have to decide this for
ourselves as individuals. As I have said before, the program is the
final judge of your success, not you, not me, not anyone else.
A lady wrote in asking if she could be into VS and still have a gold
chain? Yes, we can have a gold chain, we can even have 10 gold chains
if we please. Can a person have 100 gold chains and still be into VS?
No, I could not say with a straight face I was into VS and own 100 gold
chains. But, the person that has scaled back from owning 1000 gold
chains could definitely say they have applied VS to their lifestyle by
cutting back from 1000 to 100 gold chains. It is all relative and all
up to us and what we wish to derive from our efforts at simplicity.
Another fellow posted how he wanted a canoe, but his wife said he could
not have one and be a VS devotee.
It is not up to others to tell us what we can have - our recovery or VS
program will tell us. If the canoe would comfortably fit within a
financial budget, and a person has the comfortable space required to
store it and the object does not cause a person any undue harm or
problems such as maintenance that they cannot upkeep, legal problems or
rob them of time they cannot afford to give, I see no problem in having
it. A person wrote me and asked, "Is writing your long 5 page post
really simple living? " My response was, "Yes, writing 5 pages or even
5000 pages is vastly superior to living the old, sick life that I used
to live." Critics are all around us and work to tear down programs
instead of building them up. Either our efforts at simplicity or
recovery will promote our peace or destroy our peace - so put peace
first. Always listen to your recovery program instead of the critics -
it has the final say.
Below are some definitions of VS from the book The Circle of Simplicity
~ Andrews.
"For me, voluntary simplicity is living consciously, trying to
eliminate the unnecessary, the superficial clutter. It is trying to
live morally and ethically in the global economy by using less."
"I think that voluntary simplicity as living on purpose, making sure I
have the time to do the things I want to do, not wishing my time away."
"I think voluntary simplicity is being true to yourself, true to the
environment. It's finding that place for every facet of my life and
defining how much is enough. For me it is spiritual."
"It's choosing to enhance one's life by surrounding yourself with what
really brings you fulfillment. It is defining my own standard of
success and prosperity, community and fun."
"Voluntary simplicity is balancing the realities of my life (limited
economics, time and energy) with my values and implementing them into a
lifestyle that is comfortable and rewarding. I think voluntary
simplicity is an "art of living." I believe it is an art to live, to be
true to yourself and to be open to innovation."
An in-depth discussion and clarification of the term "Voluntary
Simplicity" by Philip Slater
All personal solutions to wealth addiction involve one form or another
of what has come to be called Voluntary Simplicity. This doesn't not
necessarily mean going "back to nature" and does not mean living in
poverty and discomfort, although some people may elect forms of
simplicity that would be highly uncomfortable for the rest of us. Above
all, it does not mean forcing yourself to give up something you really
enjoy, out of some pious conviction that it's the "right thing to do."
Voluntary Simplicity merely means trying to rid one's life as much as
possible of material clutter so as to concentrate on more important
things: creativity, human survival and development, community
well-being, play.
The key word in Voluntary Simplicity is "voluntary," which means that
the giving up of the material clutter is not coerced either from the
outside or from the inside. As Andre Vanden Broeck observers, only
those who have experienced affluence are in a position to have a
"choice divorced from need." The poor aren't in a position to make such
a choice-they are stuck with a scarcity that is neither simple nor
voluntary.
Nor is Voluntary Simplicity coerced from within, for to deprive
yourself out of some ideological conviction is merely to feed the Ego
Mafia. The word "simplicity" may have overtones that arouse our
suspicions: a vaguely puritan ring, conjuring up images of drab smocks,
self-righteousness and flagellation. But if this is in the spirit in
which Voluntary Simplicity is embraced the result will most certainly
be noxious.
There is an old Zen story about two monks traveling together who
encounter a nude woman trying to cross a stream. One of them carries
her across, much to the consternation of the other. They continue in
silence for a couple of hours until the second monk can stand it no
longer. "How," he asks "could you expose yourself to such temptation?"
The first monk replies, "I put her down two hours ago. You're still
carrying her."
Addiction is internal; if you experiment sincerely with Voluntary
Simplicity and find yourself still thinking of money and possessions,
your simplicity is a fraud and you might just as well go back to
pursuing wealth until you've had your fill of it. To achieve its goal,
Voluntary simplicity must be undertaken in the spirit, not of
Puritanism or self-flagellation, but out of adventure. All adventurers
throughout history have, after all, been people who abandoned comforts,
possessions, love and security to seek new experiences in faraway
places.
Richard Gregg, who coined the term in 1936, once complained to Gandhi
that while he had no trouble giving up most things, he could not let go
of his books. Gandhi told he shouldn't try: "As long as you derive
inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it." He pointed
out that if you give things up out of a sense of duty or self-sacrifice
they continue to preoccupy you and clutter your mind. To talk of
"denying oneself" is to use the language of despotism. Simplicity is an
affirmation, not a denial of oneself.
End of quote
V writes:
It is always nice to have our own work confirmed by others that have
gone before us as well as those that follow us. Many years ago I coined
the phrase "Everything you own takes a little piece ~ peace of you." A
couple years ago I came across Richard Gregg's original work on
Voluntary Simplicity penned in 1936 and this is what he said on the
subject of peace disturbance or as he termed it "SIMPLICITY A KIND OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL HYGIENE".
Taken from the original work:
Pendle Hill Essays Number Three
THE VALUE OF VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY
RICHARD B. GREGG
Acting Director of Pendle Hill 1935-36
Chapter X. SIMPLICITY A KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HYGIENE
There is one further value to simplicity. It may be regarded as a
mode of psychological hygiene. Just as eating too much is harmful to
the body, even though the quality of all the food eaten is excellent,
so it seems that there may be a limit to the number of things or the
amount of property which a person may own and yet keep himself
psychologically healthy. The possession of many things and of great
wealth creates so many possible choices and decisions to be made every
day that it becomes a nervous strain. Often the choices have to be
narrow. The Russian physiologist, Pavlov, while doing experiments on
conditioned reflexes with dogs, presented one dog with the necessity of
making many choices involving fine discriminations, and the dog
actually had a nervous breakdown and had to be sent away for six
months' rest before he became normal again.
Subsequently, American psychologists, by similar methods, produced
neuroses in sheep by requiring many repetitions of mere inhibition and
action; and as inhibition is an element in all choices, they believe it
was that element which may have caused the neurosis in Pavlov's dog. Of
course, people are more highly organized than dogs and are easily able
to weigh more possibilities and endure more inhibitions and make more
choices and nice distinctions without strain, but nevertheless making
decisions is work and can be overdone.
I'll leave you with a snip of wisdom from Thoreau from his book Walden.
"The twelve labors of Hercules were trifling in comparison with those
which my neighbors have undertaken; for they were only twelve, and had
an end; but I could never see that these men slew or captured any
monster or finished any labor. They had no friend Iolaus to burn with a
hot iron the root of hydra's head, but as soon as one head is crushed,
two spring up."
Take Care,
V (Male)
For free access to my earlier posts on voluntary simplicity, compulsive
spending, debting, compulsive overeating and clutter write:
vfr44@aol.com. Any opinion expressed here is that of my own and is not
the opinion, recommendation or belief of any group or organization.
.
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| User: "Robibnikoff" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 10:43:32 AM |
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"V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
Which is NOT evident in this long-winded ***** you posted.
--
Robyn
Resident Witchypoo
#1557
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
03 Dec 2006 05:05:37 PM |
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On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote in alt.atheism
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer, is the question of what IS enough so we may be happy
right now in the present.
Your life is too complex. Remove that computer burden from your life
for improved happiness, oh mindless slave.
[snip *****]
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
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| User: "Michael Gray" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 01:46:01 AM |
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On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
--
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 03:21:26 AM |
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On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:16:01 +1030, Michael Gray
<mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
I want more stuff.
atheist@home#1554
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
03 Dec 2006 05:03:38 PM |
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On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:21:26 GMT, wrote in alt.atheism
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:16:01 +1030, Michael Gray
<mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
I want more stuff.
You want more Snuff? Copenhagen's or Red Man?
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
03 Dec 2006 08:27:16 PM |
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On Sun, 03 Dec 2006 15:03:38 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:21:26 GMT, wrote in alt.atheism
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:16:01 +1030, Michael Gray
<mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
I want more stuff.
You want more Snuff? Copenhagen's or Red Man?
Stuff man...Stuff :-)
The more I buy the more people get paid to produce.
And box up and transport, and put on the shelves, and sell.
And buildings have to be built and roofs put on, and wiring run, and
brick laid, and paint applied.
All of which takes workers who need money to take care of themselves
so the government doesn't have to.
Capitalism and consumerism are wonderful things :-)
atheist@home#1554
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
05 Dec 2006 10:39:24 PM |
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On Mon, 04 Dec 2006 02:27:16 GMT, wrote in alt.atheism
On Sun, 03 Dec 2006 15:03:38 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:21:26 GMT, wrote in alt.atheism
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:16:01 +1030, Michael Gray
<mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
I want more stuff.
You want more Snuff? Copenhagen's or Red Man?
Stuff man...Stuff :-)
Stuff to snuff. Skoal's then.......
The more I buy the more people get paid to produce.
And box up and transport, and put on the shelves, and sell.
And buildings have to be built and roofs put on, and wiring run, and
brick laid, and paint applied.
All of which takes workers who need money to take care of themselves
so the government doesn't have to.
Capitalism and consumerism are wonderful things :-)
Until you run out of room and Monet because you're Baroque.....
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
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| User: "Michael Gray" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 05:36:04 PM |
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On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:21:26 GMT, wrote:
- Refer: <ilvnm2lvkg4ufn4gr6ki3giii2kq2498ia@4ax.com>
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:16:01 +1030, Michael Gray
<mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, "V" <vfr44@aol.com> wrote:
- Refer: <1164670402.826236.238440@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our
supposed happiness in life. The question, that Voluntary Simplicity
helps answer,
:
It is a pity for the rest of us poor sane bods that you cannot apply
this much-vaunted principle of "voluntary simplicity" to your
obviously compulsive-obsessive posts.
I want more stuff.
Ah huh...
--
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| User: "Mark K. Bilbo" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable forour supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 06:52:10 AM |
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On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:33:22 -0800, V wrote:
voluntary simplicity
Computers are complicated, avoid them at all cost.
--
Mark K. Bilbo
------------------------------------------------------------
There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels.
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| User: "DarkAngel" |
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| Title: Re: We seldom question if more of a "good thing" is desirable for our supposed happiness in life. |
28 Nov 2006 04:17:40 PM |
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V wrote:
My goal now is to live within my means, comfortably fit within my
space and gratefully accept my current position in life.
"Nothing is too good for the working class."
- Rudolph Rocker
I always was a bit put off by Voluntary Simplicity and its adherents,
but now I understand exactly why. It's just the same kind of
reactionary tripe that spiritual leaders have tried to sell the poor
since the start of capitalism. Accept your position gratefully. Slave
mentality. There is nothing progressive or revolutionary about it.
---
No Gods. No Masters.
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