Simple Living America (taken from site’s home page) “is a nonprofit membership organization for individuals, families and communities that fosters balance and fulfillment in a complex world. It achieves this through the Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska television series, airing on PBS stations around the country.” Members can host house parties, get the newsletter, post to the blog as well.

I’m a fairly dedicated non-TV watcher, nor does my TV get any channels so I haven’t seen Wanda’s series. I’d be interested to hear from those who have… anyone?

One of the activities the organization has been conducting is a survey of Simple Living. The definition of simple living they use is summed up as, “a self-endorsed pattern of activities, possessions and values that is substantially free of detractions from fulfillment and sufficiency, fostered by conducive social policies.”

I like this definition up until the last phrase, “fostered by conducive social policies.” While I feel that simple living should be fostered and endorsed by social policies, I’m not going to wait around for that to happen. And I’m certainly not going to give up my quest for simple living waiting for social policies to catch up. The day is done that we wait for the slow moving, behemouth institutions to take the reins in creating core change.

“We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For”
—The Elders Oraibi Arizona Hopi Nation

Please read the full calling of this statement at the Spirit of Ma’at website. What a poetic and moving call to check in with ourselves and be our own leaders. This is where change happens. Inside ourselves and then with each other. Our every action and every relationship speaks loudly and clearly: have we taken on the responsibility to create the change we want to see, or not?

That said, I do appreciate the efforts of an organization, such as Simple Living America, making strides towards spreading simplicity. Takes all types and approaches to effect change in such core values of a materialistic society.

So I took the survey. Here are my results:

Why don’t you take the survey and report back your score in the comments section below?