Simple Living In Other Words

Shaker simplicity is functional, beautiful, and a form of worship unto itself.

There are so many different ways to live simply. About as many as there are people practicing it.

Considering this, there is really not any one label that sufficiently describes what is going on in reality.

The Isms:

Minimalism

Enoughism

Essentialism

Stoicism

Epicureanism

Lessism

Asceticism

International:

Lagom - Swedish practice of "not too much, not too little", "just the right amount"

Hygge - Danish concept that means having a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through the enjoyment of simple things. 

Shibumi/Wabi-sabi - Japanese concepts of simplicity and beauty that acknowledge imperfection and the acceptance of the more natural cycle of life.

Concepts followed by "living":

Balanced

Spartan

Basic

Calm

Uncomplicated

Plain

Modest

Prudent

Frugal

Intentional

Elegant

Slow

Quiet

Contemplative 

Then there is one of my personal favourites, Notbuyinganythingism.

But it's not so important we label what we do. Most important will be our actions and what we do in practice.

Carry on, with whatever mode of simple living that you prefer, whatever you call it. 

I am convinced that in the natural order, it is the thing to do.

The Shaker-Fuller Test

I found the Spring 1969 Whole Earth Catalogue ("Access to Tools") online today. It was my go-to book back in the day, and it felt comfortable seeing it again.

In the Purpose section the publishers say, "So far, remotely done power and glory - as via government, big business, formal education, church - has succeeded to the point where gross defects obscure actual gains."

The Catalogue was meant to help redress power imbalances in society, and help people start to take care of themselves.

A little further in I was looking at references to Buckminster Fuller's books. 

When I read about what Fuller wrote about the importance of beauty in problem solving, I thought of groups like the Shakers.

Fuller said, 

"When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty... but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

The Shakers didn't need to think of of beauty when they created the things needed to solve the problems of life since arriving in late 1700s America from England. 

Their work has always been a sacred pursuit, and a job well done a form of worship. 

The result was durable, practical, and beautiful things, the designs of which endure to this day because they can not be improved upon.

Humanity needs broader solutions that are as beautiful. 

That should be the sniff test - 

1) "Is this solution as simple as it needs to be, no more and no less?", and

2) "Is it beautiful?"

I call it The Shaker-Fuller Test.

Have a proposed solution? Is it needlessly complex and not beautiful for everyone and the planet?

Then it is not viable.

Next.

Thinking beautiful thoughts is our first step. 

Then, we make those beautiful thoughts into simple, beautiful solutions.

Surely this is possible for big-brained beings that consider themselves to be the most intelligent, highly evolved life form in the known Universe.

See the Whole Earth Catalogue here. Note: it appears to be a scanned copy.