Simplicity and Consumption
Photo by Miguel Salmeron/Getty Images
Almost done reading Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin, and I wanted to record the following passages, regarding simplicity and consumption, for posterity, inspiration, and future reference because it’s THAT GOOD:
To bring the quality of simplicity into our levels and patterns of consumption, we must learn to live between the extremes of poverty and excess. Simplicity is a double-edged sword in this regard: living with either too little or too much will diminish our capacity to realize our potentials. Bringing simplicity into our lives requires that we discover the ways in which our consumption either supports or entangles our existence.
Balance occurs when there is sufficiency—when there is neither material excess nor deficit. to find this balance in our everyday lives requires that we understand the difference between our personal “needs” and our “wants.” Needs are those things that are essential to our survival and growth. Wants are those things that are extra—that gratify our psychological desires. For example, we need shelter in order to survive. We may want a huge house with many extra rooms that are seldom used. We need basic medical care. We may want cosmetic plastic surgery to disguise the fact that we are getting older. We need functional clothing. We may want frequent changes in clothing style to reflect the latest fashion. We need a nutritious and well-balanced diet. We may want to eat at expensive restaurants. We need transportation. We may want a new Mercedes.
Only when we are clear about what we need and what we want can we begin to pare away the excess and find a middle ground between extremes. No one else can find this balance for us. This is a task that we each must do for ourselves.
The hallmark of a balanced simplicity is that our lives become clearer, more direct, less pretentious, and less complicated. We are then empowered by our material circumstances rather than enfeebled or distracted. Excess in either direction—too much or too little—is complicating. If we are totally absorbed in the struggle for subsistence or, conversely, if we are totally absorbed in the struggle to accumulate, then our capacity to participate wholeheartedly and enthusiastically in life is diminished.
Four consumption criteria, developed by a group in San Francisco while exploring a life of conscious simplicity, go to the very heart of the issue of balanced consumption:
- Does what I own or buy promote activity, self-reliance, and involvement, or does it induce passivity and independence?
- Are my consumption patterns basically satisfying, or do I buy much that serves no real need?
- How tied are my present job and lifestyle to installment payments, maintenance and repair costs, and the expectations of others?
- Do I consider the impact of my consumption patterns on other people and on earth?
The compassionate approach to consumption stands in stark contrast to the industrial-era view, which assumes that if we increase our consumption, we will increase our happiness. However, when we equate our identity with what we consume—when we engage in “identity consumption”—we become possessed by our possessions. We are consumed by that which we consume. Our identity becomes not a free-standing, authentic expression in the moment, but a material mask that we have constructed so as to present a more appealing image for others to see. The vastness of who we are is then compressed into an ill-fitting shell that obscures our uniqueness and natural beauty. When we believe the advertiser’s fiction that “you are what you consume,” we begin a misdirected search for a satisfying experience of identity. We look beyond ourselves for the next thing that will make us happy: a new car, a new wardrobe, a new job, a new hairstyle, a new house, and so on. Instead of lasting satisfaction, we can only find temporary gratification. After the initial gratification subsides, we must begin again—looking for the next thing that, this time, we hope will bring some measure of enduring satisfaction.
(Emphasis is mine.)
Related articles:
1. What is “Voluntary Simplicity”?
2. The Golden Rule
mim said,
August 13, 2006 at 3:46 pm
what a wonderful post, thank you for helping me get out of my funk (see my blogentry today) by framing/making the issue more clear.
Amy said,
August 13, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Thanks for the transciption. It sounds like a great book and sounds like it has had a big effect on you. Mims turned me on to your blog. I shall return.
Suse said,
August 14, 2006 at 2:01 am
This is exactly what I have just been thinking about and trying to put into words. Thank you.
I also like the photo. Are you aware of Andy Goldsworthy’s work? He does amazing towers of stones, walls and cairns and all sorts of beautiful transient things with coloured leaves.
jill danyelle said,
August 16, 2006 at 10:44 pm
Coincidentally, I have been thinking a lot about this. Years earlier I have read books on simple living and frugal living and while budget is a four letter word to a Gemini like me, I have found my way… I weave on and off this road. But mostly accept I still want some things, while I am capable of giving up many others. While I do fall in love with “things” mostly it is because of the design not as much the status it will give me. I think I also tend to need a lot of change, but am learning I am much happier ripping something apart and resewing it than I am constantly bringing home new stuff. Also, the things that i do then bring home, tend to be fewer and more special. This also has been part of what prohibits me from fully pursuing designing a collection. Because I feel… do we really need more stuff? I just watched a great show on Einstein where he states that each possession is like a weight around his neck and am now also inspired to write about simplicity. I understand. For as much as I like some of my things, just storing and caring for them can be a pain. For a long time I lived here without a sofa and a t.v. And would spend summer nights sailing in the harbor. Now I come home and write about style and sustainability. I hope it has some positive impact, because in many ways it has complicated my life so much more… I wonder how you feel about your time spent blogging…
Have you read about Judith Levine?
http://www.judithlevine.com/
She wrote a book on her year without shopping. I read an excerpt in The Gaurdian. There is also this thread of people doing it over at SuperNaturale…
http://www.supernaturale.com/glitter/viewtopic.php?t=20958&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=adf0ca49bd7782e46043366a40582f2b
I tried to participate for awhile, but I could easily spend my life online, so in order to “simplify” stopped contributing.
all the best!
melanie said,
August 20, 2006 at 12:03 pm
I read both Elgin’s book and Cecile Andrew’s Circle of Simplicity earlier this year and found both of them to be very inspiring. I found your blog through Amy and will definitely keep reading.
The Worsted Witch » said,
October 4, 2006 at 11:26 am
[...] I will be the first to admit that I truly love Anthropologie’s sense of Old World sophistication—from its bright hand-embroidered napkins and burnished vintage-inspired drawer pulls to its wispy, lace-edged blouses and billowy skirts. Not that I could ever afford anything there or find anything worth affording, even before I fell into the steady gait of a life lived in voluntary simplicity. My husband could regale you with tales, however, of a time when he used to have to hoist my limp, quietly sobbing form from the store and drag me down West Broadway, sighing as I occasionally punctuated the air with sudden gasps of “so pretty…” [...]
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