I received Duane Elgin’s book Voluntary Simplicity and have just completed Chapter 1: Voluntary Simplicity and the New Global Challenge. My initial response is a feeling of richness and concurrence with the general premise. Specifically, I appreciate that Elgin includes the fullness of spiritual pursuits and service to others in the same breath of one’s awareness of the global environmental situation and the inequities of the global economic situation. A convincing tie between the micro and the macro.

This is in line with my thought, and the thoughts of many, that each decision I make effects the whole world. Something as simple as a choice made, whether in the spirit of caring or in greed, has an energetic pattern that combines with the rest of the patterns already encompassing our human family. Thus, my life does make a difference (though put this way sounds like a self-righteous declaration, ha ha).

I remember the intro to Buddhism course I took in college. The Buddhists of the Mahayana tradition preferred to stay in the world (rather than retreat completely) because the suffering of one is the suffering of all. They knew their influence could help people choose a path of non-suffering.

I enjoyed the broad and brief stroke of the roots of Simplicity painted by Elgin in the first chapter. Showing how these concepts trace strongly through history, cultures, and religions around the world provides a convincing argument for why someone who might still doubt should continue reading with open mind. I suppose this survey could also provide fuel for someone trying to explain their choices in a broad context. He refers to Frank Lloyd Wright, Pablo Picasso, the Quakers, Plato & Socrates, Simone de Beauvoir, the Christians, the Buddhists, etc and of course, Emerson and Thoreau… quite a lovely mix of influentials!

Chapter two will get into examples of people who have chosen a life of voluntary simplicity. Elgin gave some ideas in chapter one of what these people’s lives might look like through his extensive list of common trends of these folks.

Personally, I love reading about the ideas of simplicity, and feeling the camaraderie of similar beliefs of all the people and groups mentioned above. For me, this is the truly universal part, the exploration of ideas. I love reading about other’s interpretations of these concepts and how they play out in the poetry of their words.

As Elgin points out, everyone’s interpretation of a simple life will be different based on one’s culture, climate, belief’s, personal history and so on. We all get to make our own peace and find our own balance between taking care of ourselves, helping others (known and unknown others), and our footprint on the earth and of resource use. Thus he continues to, I assume, some more nuts and bolts type of stuff.

Questions arise: What does wealth mean to me? Is my answer based in fear, history, and other’s beliefs? Or do I answer surely from my own understanding of what I need to thrive? How much time do I want to spend (and how much time am I spending) working and maintaining in order to “have”?

The answers might not be easy. but they sure are worth answering =)