Simply living means living more simply.
Viewed from the distance of the moon, the astonishing thing about the earth . . . is that it is alive.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall teach thee. Or speak to the earth, and it shall tell thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Earlier this month, my wife, Shonnie, and I attended a two-day workshop, Simpler Living as Spiritual Practice, sponsored by Holy Ground, a feminist Christian retreat organization based here in Asheville. Shonnie and I had already taken a number of steps toward a simpler life: we’d moved into a modest condo, given away or sold everything that didn’t fit comfortably in it, gotten rid of one of our two autos, and committed to riding our bikes to work at least one day a week. The no-TV-during–the-week agreement had fallen by the wayside, but, hey, I’m only human. Nonetheless, we thought it might be time to take simplicity to the next level.
During the weekend, we heard from folks who were eliminating the unessential so they could use their time for what was most important to them. We discussed actions we could take to walk lightly on our planet—using the sun for heating, buying locally grown food, purchasing less stuff. But more importantly, we questioned some of our underlying cultural assumptions, including:
- Humans are the center of the universe. Not only is the nonhuman world subservient to the human world, its value is based solely on its value to humans.
- Humans stand separate and apart from the rest of nature.
- Our economy must continue to grow no matter the cost; nature is merely an economic resource.
As we considered these routinely unexamined beliefs, we began to understand their flaws and how they have led us to the dreadful ecological conditions we now confront. We obtained a better understanding regarding how we Americans, who make up approximately five percent of the world’s population and consume about twenty five percent of the world’s resources (Juliet Schor, The Overspent American), are doing more than our share to create the environmental devastation that threatens life on our planet. And we committed to take action to help turn things around.
A week later I was about halfway through the Asheville Citizen-Times half-marathon, soaked with sweat and drizzle, longing for the trails of the nearby mountains. I usually feel enlivened when I’m running on the trails; running on pavement this day was just hard work. I put my head down, gritted my teeth, and moved inexorably toward the finish. As I ran I considered how much of my time is spent moving from human-built structure to human-built structure rather than in the outdoors in the natural world—in tune with the cycles of day and night, the seasons of the year, birth and death. When I live like this it’s no wonder that I believe I am separate from the natural world; it’s no wonder that I lose touch with who I really am; it’s no wonder that I don’t fully consider the impact of my actions on my planet.
Often it’s easy to believe that the ecological problems confronting us, perhaps even threatening our existence as a species (certainly threatening the existence of other species) are too huge and complex for me to deal with. I can recycle; I can turn down the water heater thermostat; I can replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones. But there is a greater reality to grasp here. I am not merely one who understands the necessity of reversing the ecological degradation. I am also part of the web of life that is being degraded. I come to discern, as John Seed has put it, that I am not only protecting the forest; I am part of the forest protecting myself.
When I find a way to quiet my egocentric, know-it-all mind and examine the validity of my unverified assumptions, my path becomes clear. I intuitively know that I am connected to everything in the universe, that when I care for the spider that has crawled onto my leg, I am caring for myself. I grasp that my time here is limited. And I possess a sense of urgency regarding what must be done. I recognize that, ultimately, the universe supports us and shows us the way. All we have to do is pay attention, and our actions will flow out of love—for ourselves and our planet—with a passion that cannot be denied.
Monday, September 2nd, 2002No Comments »
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