Thread: The Joys of Less

This article caught my eye, and I thought I'd share it with you. What do you think about what makes a person happy? Is it possible to live a simple life in today's economy of 'the bigger and most expensive' the better. 'In trying to keep up with the joneses', many people in the west, have bottomed out and may be looking more inward than outward. What does simplifying mean to you?

I always feel more simplified when I travel, and live in the east, even though Korea is certainly not a poor country. I don't think it matters where you live, it is easy to simplify and live with less no matter where you are. The problem with having more than what is necessary is that it is never enough for some people. I thought this article was quite insightful.

What do you think?
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JUNE 7, 2009,
The Joy of Less

By PICO IYER

“The beat of my heart has grown deeper, more active, and yet more peaceful, and it is as if I were all the time storing up inner riches…My [life] is one long sequence of inner miracles.” The young Dutchwoman Etty Hillesum wrote that in a Nazi transit camp in 1943, on her way to her death at Auschwitz two months later. Towards the end of his life, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen,” though by then he had already lost his father when he was 7, his first wife when she was 20 and his first son, aged 5. In Japan, the late 18th-century poet Issa is celebrated for his delighted, almost child-like celebrations of the natural world. Issa saw four children die in infancy, his wife die in childbirth, and his own body partially paralyzed.

In the corporate world, I always knew there was some higher position I could attain, which meant that, like Zeno’s arrow, I was guaranteed never to arrive and always to remain dissatisfied. I’m not sure I knew the details of all these lives when I was 29, but I did begin to guess that happiness lies less in our circumstances than in what we make of them, in every sense. “There is nothing either good or bad,” I had heard in high school, from Hamlet, “but thinking makes it so.” I had been lucky enough at that point to stumble into the life I might have dreamed of as a boy: a great job writing on world affairs for Time magazine, an apartment (officially at least) on Park Avenue, enough time and money to take vacations in Burma, Morocco, El Salvador. But every time I went to one of those places, I noticed that the people I met there, mired in difficulty and often warfare, seemed to have more energy and even optimism than the friends I’d grown up with in privileged, peaceful Santa Barbara, Calif., many of whom were on their fourth marriages and seeing a therapist every day. Though I knew that poverty certainly didn’t buy happiness, I wasn’t convinced that money did either.

So — as post-1960s cliché decreed — I left my comfortable job and life to live for a year in a temple on the backstreets of Kyoto. My high-minded year lasted all of a week, by which time I’d noticed that the depthless contemplation of the moon and composition of haiku I’d imagined from afar was really more a matter of cleaning, sweeping and then cleaning some more. But today, more than 21 years later, I still live in the vicinity of Kyoto, in a two-room apartment that makes my old monastic cell look almost luxurious by comparison. I have no bicycle, no car, no television I can understand, no media — and the days seem to stretch into eternities, and I can’t think of a single thing I lack.

I’m no Buddhist monk, and I can’t say I’m in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I’ve written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn’t want or need, not all I did. And it seemed quite useful to take a clear, hard look at what really led to peace of mind or absorption (the closest I’ve come to understanding happiness). Not having a car gives me volumes not to think or worry about, and makes walks around the neighborhood a daily adventure. Lacking a cell phone and high-speed Internet, I have time to play ping-pong every evening, to write long letters to old friends and to go shopping for my sweetheart (or to track down old baubles for two kids who are now out in the world).

When the phone does ring — once a week — I’m thrilled, as I never was when the phone rang in my overcrowded office in Rockefeller Center. And when I return to the United States every three months or so and pick up a newspaper, I find I haven’t missed much at all. While I’ve been rereading P.G. Wodehouse, or “Walden,” the crazily accelerating roller-coaster of the 24/7 news cycle has propelled people up and down and down and up and then left them pretty much where they started. “I call that man rich,” Henry James’s Ralph Touchett observes in “Portrait of a Lady,” “who can satisfy the requirements of his imagination.” Living in the future tense never did that for me.

Perhaps happiness, like peace or passion, comes most when it isn’t pursued.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend my life to most people — and my heart goes out to those who have recently been condemned to a simplicity they never needed or wanted. But I’m not sure how much outward details or accomplishments ever really make us happy deep down. The millionaires I know seem desperate to become multimillionaires, and spend more time with their lawyers and their bankers than with their friends (whose motivations they are no longer sure of). And I remember how, in the corporate world, I always knew there was some higher position I could attain, which meant that, like Zeno’s arrow, I was guaranteed never to arrive and always to remain dissatisfied.

Being self-employed will always make for a precarious life; these days, it is more uncertain than ever, especially since my tools of choice, written words, are coming to seem like accessories to images. Like almost everyone I know, I’ve lost much of my savings in the past few months. I even went through a dress-rehearsal for our enforced austerity when my family home in Santa Barbara burned to the ground some years ago, leaving me with nothing but the toothbrush I bought from an all-night supermarket that night. And yet my two-room apartment in nowhere Japan seems more abundant than the big house that burned down. I have time to read the new John le Carre, while nibbling at sweet tangerines in the sun. When a Sigur Ros album comes out, it fills my days and nights, resplendent. And then it seems that happiness, like peace or passion, comes most freely when it isn’t pursued.

If you’re the kind of person who prefers freedom to security, who feels more comfortable in a small room than a large one and who finds that happiness comes from matching your wants to your needs, then running to stand still isn’t where your joy lies. In New York, a part of me was always somewhere else, thinking of what a simple life in Japan might be like. Now I’m there, I find that I almost never think of Rockefeller Center or Park Avenue at all.

The Joy of Less - Happy Days Blog - NYTimes.com

Good post!

I have been fortunate and to land on my feet after years of living a poor existance but I always remember this song and it certainly means a lot to me.

Thanks PH good thread . Done similar to " Pico Iver " .Never owed a penny to anyone in Six decades ! Simple is best and " Who are the Jones Mob ? "

I can relate. I had everything the Western ads said you should have. Then I put it all in storage and lived in a beach hut. Brilliant. Spent time at a Buddhist retreat, and learned more about simplicity. Came back to Canada and had a container full of stuff to deal with. I hate it. Simple is best.

Yes, well put Jet. It's just that we usually don't start with that knowledge.

Simply, mindless consumption and unnecessary accumulation is not very logical.

it's all materialistic crap we collect for what? can you take it with you to the after life?

just the essentials to make life's journey enjoyable!

he who dies with the most ... wins???

^Great point! I notice how competitive the rat race is here in Seoul. People are striving to look the best (girls having plastic surgery who are so thin to begin with), men working all hours of the night, and missing the opportunity to spend time with their children. Parents who send their kids to school all day and all evening to make sure they all know English, for whenever they may need it. The list is endless.

Originally Posted by Milkman

Originally Posted by phuketbound

This article caught my eye, and I thought I'd share it with you. What do you think about what makes a person happy? Is it possible to live a simple life in today's economy of 'the bigger and most expensive' the better. 'In trying to keep up with the joneses', many people in the west, have bottomed out and may be looking more inward than outward. What does simplifying mean to you?

Good topic, PB.

Simplifying is what I've done, since living overseas. I start my simplification in the Summer of 2000, nine, years ago.

Less is more, for me.

But simplicity can be more than materialism and keeping up with the Joneses. It can be lifestly, spiritual, and many different things.

Sophistication has a root in the word, "sophist."

Good for you. I agree that simplicity can mean different things to different people. Everyone is not always starting at the same place. Good point about 'sophist.' Thanks for sharing.

I always found that after I'd move about once a year, I'd always clean and give away stuff. The more I got rid of possessions, the lighter I'd feel both mentally and emotionally.

longway

I agree with alot of the sentiments expressed in the OP, but I feel there is a certain amount of fakeness with the way he lives.

I dont think he is a fake, but the only way to live that kind of life in a fairly wealthy society. That is unless you can accept some very tough realities.

I mean would he ever really go hungry? There will always be some kind of aid available to him if he had some bad luck.

You make a great point. The author is starting out from a wealthy standpoint, and even in Japan, he still has the opportunity to fly back to NYC every three months. His simplicity is totally different from someone who is poor, and has no choice to lead a very simple life. I think the main metaphor of simplicity can be viewed in different ways depending on the reader and his/her life circumstances.

cali kid [QUOTE] As the years have gone by, I have always thought of returning home or how I will get the that buys me the brand new BMW and the big house.

But I have come to appreciate more the simpler things in life that are most important, such as, comfort, peace of mind, friends and of course having someone special by your side./QUOTE]

Great that you have come to appreciate the simpler things in life, because money can't buy these things.

Muadib

George Carlin used to do a skit about the 'shite' people accumulate throughout their lives... All useless crap... He would go on that as you accumulate shit, you need a place to put your shite, so you get a bigger house for your shite... Then you need a bigger car to move your shite around... After awhile all your shite becomes an anchor around your neck... Quite funny and true...

I've been there too and am currently unwinding a lifetime's accumulation of shite... I put my primary residence on the market last week and as of today have received 3 signed offers... So it begins... The rest of the toys, cars, furniture and excess crap will go quickly... When I relo to SEA, I'll be down to bare minimums and will start over...

In the age of leveraged consumerism you
buy things you don't want
to impress people you don't like
with money you don't have...

Starting over isn't always such a bad thing. Good luck on the move. It is really amazing how once you start sorting through things, you realize just how much you have. I never have accumulated too many things, because I left home after university, and moved to different countries. I'd like to find that video on George Carlin.

Rural Surin [QUOTE] Simply, mindless consumption and unnecessary accumulation is not very logical./QUOTE]

Why not? You are becoming great at one-liners Rural Surin. Expand please.

Jet Gorgon [QUOTE] I can relate. I had everything the Western ads said you should have. Then I put it all in storage and lived in a beach hut. Brilliant. Spent time at a Buddhist retreat, and learned more about simplicity. Came back to Canada and had a container full of stuff to deal with. I hate it. Simple is best./QUOTE]

A container of stuff isn't so bad. It must have been hard going back to Canada after your simple life experiences?

Thank you for the video, Loy Toy. A wonderful song too.

When I finally escaped out of a single room lodging on Sukhumvit Soi 11 (my first 2 years here) and started to earn some money I blew it all on rubbish.

When I started earning big money I brought a BMW (actually owned 2 at one stage), rolex watches and all the other crap that made me feel important and to show success.

Those were very unhappy years for me and when compared to where I am today and without all the bullshit.

I still got the Rolex in the box in the safe which will be a gift to my son when he turns 21 and I hope he will pass it onto his son.

Simplicity is the key to a happy life and the only thing I am concerned about now is having enough "throw away" money to get my shout at the bar and pay the bill.

There just may be more concentrated horseshit and self-deluding piety in this little thread than in the evangelical wing of American christianity!

About 80% of Loy Toy's posts in this forum constitute one form or another of the most mealy-mouthed pseudo-humble braggadacio about rollin' in the dough that I've ever come across. And the OP and her new camera posts and shopping for a new gym crap... Nothing personal intended here, mind.

And Pico Iyer is a typical post-yuppie flashpacking dweeb who actually has written whole books about things like his stockbroker buddies in Hong Kong and how they constitute a new internationalist elite of people who stay in each other's flashy condos when they travel around the world etc...

Simplicity? "Ol' Jesus woulda puked", as Holden Caufield put it.

I can imagine lots of folks round the world living on a buck or two a day coughing up a chuckle or two over this crap. There is a great opening scene in one of Lina Wertmuller's films with two old beggars standing outside a luxury butcher shop croaking "fami, fami, fami"; the fat fuck butcher comes out and angrily shoes them away, telling them that they are "upsetting" people. They turn and look at the cuts of meat in the window (that had to come from cattle better-fed than either old geezer), then at each other, then the fat butcher. The looks on the old guys faces as they digest this is priceless.

Originally Posted by mao say dung

About 80% of Loy Toy's posts in this forum constitute one form or another of the most mealy-mouthed pseudo-humble braggadacio about rollin' in the dough

Why thank you mate and I am glad you have taken such an interest in me. Fvck reading at least 80% of my posts as well, shit I must be successful!

Just passing on my experiences and what now you want me to lie?
Too much of that going on already!

It really amazes me sometimes about how others expect you to post and whilst I don't take much of an interest in what you put out here your response is not surprising.

Tall Poppie Syndrome I think you are suffering from or just plan jealousy!

I think MSD makes a fair point myself.

Originally Posted by mao say dung

There just may be more concentrated horseshit and self-deluding piety in this little thread than in the evangelical wing of American christianity!

About 80% of Loy Toy's posts in this forum constitute one form or another of the most mealy-mouthed pseudo-humble braggadacio about rollin' in the dough that I've ever come across. And the OP and her new camera posts and shopping for a new gym crap... Nothing personal intended here, mind.

And Pico Iyer is a typical post-yuppie flashpacking dweeb who actually has written whole books about things like his stockbroker buddies in Hong Kong and how they constitute a new internationalist elite of people who stay in each other's flashy condos when they travel around the world etc...

Simplicity? "Ol' Jesus woulda puked", as Holden Caufield put it.

I can imagine lots of folks round the world living on a buck or two a day coughing up a chuckle or two over this crap. There is a great opening scene in one of Lina Wertmuller's films with two old beggars standing outside a luxury butcher shop croaking "fami, fami, fami"; the fat fuck butcher comes out and angrily shoes them away, telling them that they are "upsetting" people. They turn and look at the cuts of meat in the window (that had to come from cattle better-fed than either old geezer), then at each other, then the fat butcher. The looks on the old guys faces as they digest this is priceless.

Well yes, I have a new camera, and no I haven't joined a new gym. This post is asking you what you think of the article, not judging me.

Don't be dissing Loy Toy, as I think he is a great poster..has some honest posts, unlike other some others.

I mentioned previously about the fact that the author is speaking from someone who was quite wealthy and successful, and then made some changes to his life. What is simplifying to him could be wealthy to a poor person. It is hard to compare. For people that have no choice to simplify, but are poor to begin with, then simplifying may not even be a question in their minds. I am not arguing that point.

How does the article speak to you?

Originally Posted by phuketbound

How does the article speak to you?

Hypocritical, smug, self-satisfied and totally lacking in insight.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Spent time at a Buddhist retreat, and learned more about simplicity. Came back to Canada and had a container full of stuff to deal with. I hate it. Simple is best.

So why not just dump it? When I have money I buy stuff, when I want to move on I dump the stuff. Whenever I move on somewhere I leave all the physical baggage behind. When I came to Thailand I left behind everything I owned, a couple of apartments, thousands of books, clothes, electronics, the lot. That was years ago and I've no idea where any of that stuff is now and I don't care. I do that every time I move on somewhere. If you can't carry it in a bag it's not worth having. Most people don't own stuff, stuff owns them. If you can't dump it then you're a slave.

The article in the OP is nothing more than a reeking pile of crap. Simplicity as a hobby or something you can buy, simplicity as a luxury. The reek of hypocrisy is nauseating. Reminds of that lying cnut Thoreau and his "Walden Pond" bullshit. If people want a "simple" life why don't they go live in an African village on the same income as local people? In real life simplicity means hunger, stupidity, disease, and watching your kids die one by one.

Cut the bullshit, not one of us westerners lives a simple life, we're protected by safety nets which allow us to play at simplicity but it's just that, play. Living the simple life in our million-dollar organic farm mountain retreats. Real simplicity is forced on people and the people who are forced to live a simple life would like nothing better than to be like that asshole who wrote the article in the OP and be in the position of being able to choose simplicity as a well-funded lifestyle option.

Sure, live the simple life if you can afford it but remember that it's a lifestyle you've bought, ffs if there are coffee-table books on it how "real" can it be. Reading about westerners pursuing "simplicity" reminds me of tourists pursuing "authenticity". Whenever some gap-year tosser asks me how they can experience "real" south-east asian life I tell them that they should give me all their money, burn their passports, work 18 hours a day for a bowl of rice and some mashed insects, have 90% of their families killed, and get themselves infected with HIV. Surprisingly, as yet not a single one of them has followed my advice.

Hear, hear! But, please, in the future, tell us how you really feel about this.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

choose simplicity as a well-funded lifestyle option.

I'd say that describes me near enough.

Simplicity in the bourgeois sense we are discussing it here is not the simple lifestyle imposed by necessity on most of this worlds population. That is hand to mouth existence, and of course they would just love to be able to wank like me about their recently discovered 'simple' lifestyle, and in the next sentence complain about the absurd import tariffs on wine.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

In real life simplicity means hunger, stupidity, disease, and watching your kids die one by one.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Real simplicity is forced on people

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Sure, live the simple life if you can afford it but remember that it's a lifestyle you've bought

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Whenever some gap-year tosser asks me how they can experience "real" south-east asian life I tell them that they should give me all their money, burn their passports, work 18 hours a day for a bowl of rice and some mashed insects, have 90% of their families killed, and get themselves infected with HIV. Surprisingly, as yet not a single one of them has followed my advice.

Its too bad you diluted all your good points with sarcasm..

Seems what is lacking is a real definition of what one might consider a simple lifestyle.

Does it include not working for your living?

Does it require you to be well funded?

Or does it require you to be at poverty level as MSD would imply?

Simplicity for the author is not what simplicity may mean to someone else reading the article. That's the thing with reading articles. How can it relate to you? If you have simplified your life, then you know what it means to you.

Have a look at the comments to the article online. Over 700 comments..the article hit a note with many people. Many people also criticized the author like what Dr. Bob said in his comments.