Back to Basics

I always thought that I was a bit old school, even before I really committed to Catholicism. I felt uncomfortable in immodest clothing; I enjoyed cooking for people and liked family dinners; I preferred to read a book instead of watching tv; I thought Amish people were interesting; even swearing felt forced...the list goes on.

I like simpler things. I assumed I was just weird.

But today I learned about a movement called voluntary simplicity! The blogger at A Woman's Place... noted that she is reading a book called Back to Basics, I clicked on the Amazon link, and was immediately intrigued. Apparently the general concept of voluntary simplicity has lots of levels (I'm not the kind of person who's going to start using an outhouse! Let's be serious.), and people choose to pursue simple living for many reasons - a cursory Google search leads me to believe that most of these simplicity seekers are anti-consumerist or those trying to reduce their carbon footprints. I really don't fall into either of those categories. But for those of us (like the blogger at A Woman's Place) who strive to live an authentically Catholic life, reducing our dependency on material goods and earthly affirmations of our worth could only be a positive thing. This makes me think of the number of Catholic speakers I've listened to (Peter Kreeft, Matthew Kelly) who talk about people being slaves to technology - tv, cell phones, ipods, Facebook. These things are created to make our lives easier, simpler, more efficient - but they end up consuming chunks of our day, until there is no time for prayer or talk or authentic relationships with those around us.

Zach, I would be interested to see if/how the simpler life fits in with Pieper's Leisure.

This post, interestingly enough, coincides with the week that my husband and I have decided to cancel our cable services - Comcast has increased our prices and, while saving for our home, it just seems ludicrous to waste money on a luxury like HDTV. Thus begins our journey into the depths of voluntary simplicity...