give me the simple life(!)

[anahatasound]

i have become delightfully intrigued with the concepts of simple living, slow living, and downshifting.  the older i get the more i find myself regarding the mass consumerism surrounding me distasteful.  the roads where i live are crowded with tricked out, giant SUVs that tailgate, speed, and swerve from lane to lane without regard for other drivers on the road.  everyone, it seems, is in a rush wherever they're going.  

i find myself caught up in this incessant rush-rush-rush and all it brings me is stress.  at work my customer calls are monitored for time and i am graded on how closely i stick to a script.  i am stuck in not even a cubicle, more like a station, staring out a window while i wait for my headset to ring. 

i need something more, something for my soul to grasp onto.  my relationship is strong, but the stress from outside makes me grumpy and snippy and i end up taking it out on the person i love which isn't fair at all.  i have been trying very hard to change how i deal with outside stress, and to keep a positive and calm attitude when presented with problems.  the website Zen Habits has provided me with great advice and ways to keep "zen." 

i realize that i will never be completely "stress-free," no matter what i do.  it's in my nature to be a little anxious all the time.  the key is turning that anxiety into something productive.  i have neglected practicing making hoops, which i'm terrible at, but i know that the process of making a hoop actually does wonders for reducing my stress (especially when i'm listening to meditative music).  i like working with my hands, so a goal i've been thinking of is picking up one or two hobbies that involve just that.  maybe macrame, or i might try to get back into crocheting which i'm not terrible at but it's been ages since i've picked up a needle.  my problem now i think is just making myself do it; laziness is probably my biggest vice unfortunately. 

one step at a time.

Comments

[nebulosity]

the website Zen Habits has provided me with great advice and ways to keep "zen."

What do you mean by keeping "Zen?"

The Zen Habits website isn't about Zen. The author said it himself. http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/why-zen-habits/

[anahatasound]

no, i know. and i didn't mean to imply that Zen Habits is about Zen either, so sorry for that. i feel that through simple living i'll be able to achieve greater mindfulness and insight into my daily life which can only help me grow as a person.

[nebulosity]

i feel that through simple living i'll be able to achieve greater mindfulness and insight into my daily life which can only help me grow as a person.

Absolutely. That's why I find simple living beneficial as well. I'm not living fully simple, as I'm still trying to downsize, but I'm certainly not buying a lot of "stuff" that I'm not using -- that's my rule about buying stuff -- I have to use it often for me to justify buying it. I'd love to hear more about your pursuit towards simple living. It would probably be quite motivational for me. :)

As someone who practices Zen Buddhism, I guess I would like to see the word "Zen" used to mean the practices in Zen Buddhism. There is a lot of people who use it because it's trendy, and they use "Zen" to mean "modern," "motivated," "successful," "simple," and "organized," and Zen Buddhism really isn't about ANY of that. :(

I really do like the pursuit of simple, organized and successful living though! :)

[aerialmelodies]

Finding your center and a place of focus is key. It takes some time, a few stumbles, and a lot of trial and error, but eventually you'll find exactly what you need to keep yourself grounded. Sounds like you're well on your way to discovering just what your mind needs. Best of luck to you~

Try crocheting (or beading or knitting or whatever the craft may be) with a group! It may make it much easier to create item after item when you have one other person to chat with who is doing the same thing. TV probably doesn't fall into the realm of simple living, but if you have a movie you want to watch, it'd be a productive way to spend the two hours watching it. Just a couple ideas to combat the laziness (trust me, I suffer from it sometimes as well!).

[tangledaxon]

This is wonderful. I, too, get really tired of the rampant consumerism. And it's not that a person shouldn't covet something tangible now and again, because that's not realistic for most people. For example, we needed furniture because we had none other than a bed, so we selected nice things that made our home look nice.

But stuff for the sake of stuff, for the sake of status, for the sake of vanity... these things only lend themselves to the kind of stress you're talking about. That's what I love about the simple/slow movements. Life is about so much more.

I love my simple life. Every day, I get up and write, spend time with my husband and dog, read, maybe watch a show or a movie. I walk and run, I think about stories, I cook. I talk to my friend in California just about every evening and go to bed happy. I also know I'm very blessed and I'm grateful for it, but I think manifesting simplicity goes a long way, too.

Sorry for the long-winded comment, I just really love hearing about people wanting to slow down and simplify. Most people end up much, much happier.