•  Book Review: The Neighborhood Forager •  Lifestyle & Wellness

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living
By Janet Luhrs
Broadway Books
Paperback 352 pp $22.95

Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World
By Linda Breen Pierce
Gallagher Press
Paperback 348 pp $16.95

While contemplating the brimming marketplace stalls of ancient Greece, Socrates is reported to have said, "What a lot of things I don't need."

One can only imagine the philsopher's chagrin were he ever forced to navigate our modern-day agora.

Today, in the spirit of Socrates, a growing number of American consumers are rejecting jam-packed shopping racks and blaring advertisements in an attempt to enrich their lives through voluntary simplicity. While living simply may spell deprivation to some, to this group of pioneers it means creating more quality time for themselves to exercise, eat well, enjoy meaningful work, and -- most important -- create a space for relationships with friends and family.

You may have wondered how to shoehorn those important elements into your own increasingly busy life. If you've tried and failed, don't give up. The authors of these books on simplicity suggest that the key is doing less, not more.

One book, The Simple Living Guide, dives in with a sort of nuts-and-bolts approach. The other, Choosing Simplicity, reports from the home front, offering stories of people who have chosen to live simply with incisive commentary about trends and choices. (Ironically, both were written by lawyers, both of whom had presumably worked in a high-powered, adrenaline-fueled profession.)

"The number-one reason why most people even think about simplifying their lives is to attain some level of inner peace and contentment," writes Janet Luhrs, the author of The Simple Living Guide. "They have tried all of the outward trappings -- new houses, cars, wardrobes, relationships, careers -- and found that while those things bring some joy and satisfaction, the positive feelings are fleeting, and they also can bring added stress and chaos. Indeed, always looking outside of ourselves for happiness gets exhausting."

The sentiment may not be original, but it's certainly welcome.

Since 1992, Luhrs has been editor and publisher of the quarterly journal Simple Living, which has attracted a small but devoted following. The job put her in a perfect position to collect and share practical ideas on everything from work and money to family, health, and exercise. The result, The Simple Living Guide, is less about ridding your life of unwanted baggage than about creating joy. Although the book is generous with specifics (meditation tips, 28 secrets to happiness, and a recipe for black bean chili just for starters), don't confuse it with other "lifestyle" books. Luhrs is a comfortable mentor, not an intimidating perfection monger. She knows how to reassure the timid:

"I am not a naturally organized person. Therefore, the only way I can even remotely manage any of my mess is to have less of it. Even then I have problems, but at least I can find the problems. Usually," she writes.

Luhrs laces her book not just with practical wisdom, but with her cheerful wit. She also understands the obstacles you'll encounter trying to get to a simpler life. Luhrs abandoned a fast-track legal career to start her personal journey, and she confesses that her initial scheme to retreat to the woods and live "simply ever after" hasn't been realized. But that doesn't stop her from shedding light on our hurried lives.

Take, for example, the time famine that seems to plague so many. Luhrs insists that the experts who tout time-management strategies are wasting our time. The real problem, she says, is prizing intimacy and learning to nurture it. It takes time -- not multitasking or organizing your Treo -- to nurture a friendship, pamper a lover, or play with a child. "Take time for yourself and you will have something to give others," she writes. Everyday enchantments will thrive in empty moments, but they are nothing more than road kill when you go on "autopilot" while rushing from one place to the next.

Linda Breen Pierce could have been a poster child for the Type-A personality before she decided to simplify her life. She describes herself as a "yuppie lawyer" who made several false starts before finding the right balance of work and environment. Her own awakening to the possibilities of a different, more satisfying life left her wondering about others who were also choosing simplicity. "I found little written about real people who had actually tried it [and] became curious," she writes.

Pierce's curiosity launched an ambitious three-year study of more than 200 people who have chosen a simpler life. Her book came out of that study, and it includes simplicity advocates from Gen-Xers to a group that Pierce calls "Long Timers," Although their stories offer a gold mine of possibilities, there are a few cautionary tales, as in the case of a couple named Kevin and Donna. Their story can be read as a parable for would-be "back to the landers" who are unprepared for life outside the city:

"They planned to build a small cabin, purchase food in bulk, and grow vegetables on their land. Much to their dismay and surprise, their experience turned into what they describe as a 'total disaster.' Because they had no electrical power, they rigged up four extension cords to their neighbor's home, but this was not a practical permanent solution. They filled pickle barrels with water from a stream and carted the barrels back to their home site in their pickup truck. The cost to drill a well was $3,000, a sum of money they did not have. Kevin started to build a 30-foot by 30-foot home, but he had neither the building skills nor the physical conditioning to meet this challenge. Kevin was devastated; he couldn't believe that they failed."

Some readers may find Pierce's commentary preachy at times, but she includes solid -- and surprising -- information not found elsewhere. For example, while it is encouraging to know that some can craft a rewarding life with an income of $10,000 or less a year, 39 percent of the people who participated in her study made between $26,000 and $50,000 -- and 11 percent of them said they made over $100,000. Not exactly a pittance back in 2000, when the book was published.

Either of these books can serve as a new roadmap for your life, but both authors are clear that they present only a glimpse of the possibilities. Even if there are missteps along the way, these false starts really are learning opportunities, Pierce notes. Even one step towards a simpler life -- riding your bike to the store instead of driving -- represents progress.

Meanwhile, if you have Cadillac tastes but live on a Volkswagen budget, consider Luhrs' advice: "If you don't like to work too much, don't spend so much money."

-- Blythe Woolston is a freelance editor and writer who lives in Billings, Montana.

Further Resources

Here are a few Web sites to explore more about simple living:

Awakening Earth
http://www.awakeningearth.org/

Alternatives for Simple Living
http://www.simpleliving.org/

Living Gently Quarterly, an electronic magazine. http://www.islandnet.com/~see/living.htm

Last updated January 29, 2009
Copyright © 2000 Consumer Health Interactive

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