VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY

[jcjm]

To some a computer may be a form of simplicity, but you can't argue with the fact that a virus can really complicate your life if you don't have anything backed up. Is having 2 copies of everything really making things easier. As far as online banking, it can simplify your life if you read all the fine print before you do anything, but once again is reading all that fine print and adhearing to it really making things easier. I don't think so. I know people who bounce checks all the time because their cash flow is off because of the terms of online banking. They take your money out right away, but you have to wait on some deposits. Amazingly, the bank makes $32 for every check that bounces, when they wouldn't have bounced if the checks were sent in the mail. Technology is great, but computers are still in the stone age compared to things like the radio and TV. Until they work like a radio, (with no crashes, viruses, etc.) their upkeep kind of negates their time savings. Also, until the power companies have underground cables everywhere as opposed to the wire on a pole system that has existed for 100 years, technology can be rendered useless, causing chaos. We just went though the third storm in 6 months where over 1/2 a million people were without power. Amazingly it was the same people most of the time. The pole people. Its hard to rely on a computer that relies on a power source that uses technology the is over 100 years old. Technology is great when it works, but if you have to supply batteries, generators, virus protection, etc. you may be putting in more time to work the equipment than you would have put in to do the job manually. Its amazing that so many people think its fine to use something that you have to turn off and restart and that can just stop working because you opened your email. That is why I see computers more as entertainment than a way of doing business.

[Scenario Thinker]

I'm not going to clutter Songpoet's VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY thread, so I thought I'd start another thread to DEBATE simplicity ... or not. Here it is: http://www.barbarasher.com/boards/viewt ... 106#180106

[audreyh1]

To some a computer may be a form of simplicity, but you can't argue with the fact that a virus can really complicate your life if you don't have anything backed up. Is having 2 copies of everything really making things easier. Technology is great, but computers are still in the stone age compared to things like the radio and TV. Until they work like a radio, (with no crashes, viruses, etc.) their upkeep kind of negates their time savings.

LOL! I have avoided most of the above for years by using a Mac! OK - I do still back things up now and then. But I did the same for important papers (i.e. made copies) before I relied on computers so heavily. Haven't needed to use my backups yet (knock on wood). OK, Scenario Thinker - I'll continue on other thread, although I think the argument here is not voluntary complexity (as was admittedly my first rant), but whether computers complicate or simplify our lives. Audrey

[songpoet]

This \"ME FIRST\" philosophy that's taken over our society simply can't be sustained. Not only does it leave most of the world's population \"OUT OF THE RUNNING\", but it destroys almost everything it touches as well. As I mentioned earlier, the planet is suffering from our consumptive ways as we destroy every corner of the globe searching for energy and resources to keep the party going. It can't go on forever, someday we're bound to run out of fossil fuels, open space, and the clean environment that's our birthright. ROGER WENDELL http://www.scn.org/earth/lightly/index.html As we strive to find our passion in life (the goal of this website) & believe that it's reachable,,,,,,,,,,,remember to temper it with the \"IMPACT\" that such success would have. In that regard shame on the FORTUNE 500 Mentality that has infected this Country. If one has no conscience, or self-respect or regard for your fellow-man & our EARTH home, then that brand of \"SUCCESS\" should come easy! Something to give serious consideration as we head into 2007.

[songpoet]

I think this beautiful \"STORY\" says it as well as anything i've ever read. In today's world of seemingly \"OVERNITE\" Successes & Fortunes (and STRESS) here's a \"SIMPLE\" Path to Happiness. And as Les Brown says; \"And if you can't be happy, what else is there?\" (also a pretty good formula for success!) http://www.boomercafe.com/najar-daffodil.htm

[songpoet]

We don't realize how \"BRAINWASHED\" we've become in terms of following the \"path of least resistance\" as directed by TV commercials. YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY,,,,,,,,,,,doesn't have to mean going to McDonalds. (By the way on Kevin Trudeau's newest commercial one person lost 75 lbs. by NOT EATING THERE anymore). A relative of mine knew a Rich guy that refused to buy a flimsy-made \"cordless phone\" for his wife, opting instead to keep his old reliable 1940's phone & rewire it with 100 feet of cord. That same relative keeps their 20 year old \"FLOOR-MODEL TELEVISION\" even though guests snicker & suggest an upgrade to a zippy new Hi-Def TV. And YES he can afford to buy one (for each room in the house if so desired). BETTER Choices in solving life's problems could FREE up the \"dollars\" you might be lookin for to pursue that DREAM! http://www.kiiig.com/livewithoutasalary.php

[An8el]

I just wanted to offer some of the ways that I took a life with very little money and a health limitation for not being able to work full time, gave it some thought and turned it into a lifestyle with enough money. I mused, gee, rent is expensive, is there a way I could live without paying rent? So I thought of living in my Rv that I'd used for trips on the street and renting a barn to work in and park my animals. Later, I moved into my RV full time and gave up the workspace entirely. Turns out the person I found to take over care of my animals traveled regularly and had me housesit them once a month. I had a community service business that required me to use the phone - so I talked another friend of mine to install a land line on the outside of her house, paid for an electrician to install a place to plug in, and put my answering machine in a plastic container, while I used the cordless phone in my RV parked on the street. Made me feel like I was cheating every time I talked on it. This gave me five parking spaces for the RV that I moved every few days where the phone worked. I learned that if I registered the RV to an address across the street, cops didn't bother me. I got a POB for my mail instead of a street address, while I made sure the street address was on my car registration. It was illegal to live in your vehicle where I lived, but cops didn't enforce if nobody complained. I made sure I never left anything outside of my RV that indicated I was living in it. I got to know all the neighbors on the street and informed them it was me in that Rv with all the curtains locked up tight so no light escaped at night. I parked in a place where my one open window faced nobody's house. I only responded to those people who knocked in a specific place on the RV so I wouldn't be opening up the door to a curious policeman. What that did for me was to save enough money to leave town every spring to avoid putting up with hayfever entirely - to a different place each year. I even went to Europe & East coast USA for six months on my savings from this lifestyle. Eventually I had enough money to buy a nicer RV. Some nice people offered to have me live in my RV on their property and plug into electricity in exchange for me watching while the house was being owner-built. Eventually I got a cellphone, even though I had to pay $800 deposit because I had no credit. This lifestyle lasted over ten years for me - and it was enviable! I still hate the idea of credit, and it's saved me from having any debt. anyway - more later for more of how I expressed my idea of "voluntary simplicity."

[Tituba]

Some interesting websites: http://www.everydaycheapskate.com http://www.livingonadime.com http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com http://www.stretcher.com

[songpoet]

An8el,,,,,,,,,,,,that is one of the koolest & most representative descriptions of VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY i've yet seen. And it really gets down to you recognizing the \"VALUE\" of your \"LIFE'S TIME\" and how you wanted to spend it! Which is at the \"CORE\" of this approach to life! THANK YOU so much for sharing that (I can't wait for your \"REST OF THE STORY\"!) FOLKS,,,,,,,,,,,it can't be laid out more clearly than An8el's approach! Think about it,,,,,,,,,do you really want to spend the rest of your life \"PAYING BILLS\" or KEEPING UP APPEARANCES ??? And that's getting harder & harder to do with rising prices & shrinking income . Do some serious \"BRAINSTORMING\",,,,,,,,,,,visualize yourself doing something out of the \"norm\". What can you realistically do to change your circumstances so that day to day \"survival\" is inexpensive, & money can be set aside for unfulfilled \"DREAMS\"! Time's a wastin!!! Start workin on your DREAM LIFE tonite! Here's another alternative lifestyle to get the creative juices flowin; http://www.blueforest.com Tituba thanks for the tightwad sites (they always come in handy.)

[KyleM]

I am coming in 16 pages late on this discussion... and I will ask the question here but I am going to start a new post: What if you want to scale down your life way beyond what your spouse wants? Is the marriage doomed?

[Tituba]

What if you want to scale down your life way beyond what your spouse wants? Is the marriage doomed?

Don't marriage work by compromise? It isn't one person's way or the highway. That isn't marriage.

[KyleM]

Sure. But when one person has a life-changing shift in perspective, or spiritual growth, or whatever... and the other doesn't; and one is willing to live much "smaller" and the other isn't... does that have to spell the end of the marriage? I imagine there are compromises and am interested in stories of people who did it... ok, my other post is almost written....

[songpoet]

Hi Kylem,,,,,,,,,,,,No it certainly shouldn't affect your Marraige. More importantly a Marraige worth the effort to \"MAKIN WORK\", is more important than Voluntary Simplicity. Remember the concept of \"VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY\" is supposed to declutter your life to add more \"FOCUS\" to the vastly more \"IMPORTANT THINGS\" (marraige in this case being #1). What's the old saying; \"Don't throw the baby out with the bath-water\". (is that the way it goes?) Also your post was too generic to feel totally comfortable with my answer. \"LIFE CHANGING SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE\" could mean a lot more than it entails, the same as \"Living Smaller\". The latter could mean he's a truck-driver who's on the road all the time makin Big Bucks, while you'd rather have him home and livin on less?? And if memory serves I vaguely remember your self-evaluation from a long ago Post and you are the \"OLDER SISTER\" right?

[KyleM]

Hey songpoet, how's it goin'? You with those punctuation marks! Good points you make. Hmmmm... post about self eval and older sister.... does not ring a bell. ??

[songpoet]

Kyle,,,,,,,,,,,,it looks (from the beautiful photographs) that your life isn't boring. Just remember a \"CONSERVER LIFESTYLE\" can translate into multitudinous approaches,,,,,,,,,,,,and it's all a \"Means to an End\". At it's core is a more fulfilling life and less \"strain\" on this planet we all must share. One of the things we have to do is ; Get out of the \"School of Hard Knocks\"(daily grind) and learn how to THINK FOR OURSELVES ALL OVER AGAIN. There \"IS\" more than one way to skin the proverbial CAT!!!