Lots of interesting things to read and browse through.
I found the review of the book "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin presented a different point of view on the virtues of what some call "simplicity", compared to what you might see on say this PBS review. The reviewer goes so far as to say, "These are rote formulas for tightwads and eccentrics, not advice for someone who has left all this behind and is seeking deeper roots to simplicity."
This comment is written from the point of view of someone who sees virtue in a life based on a Christian or Buddhist tradition of non-attachment.
Devoting a major portion of our time and energy to managing, thinking, and maybe obsessing over money and other material possessions - hoping that we will have the right amount at some point, is a never ending quest and anything but simple. It can distract us from the simple things that truly give our lives meaning - love for ourselves and one another.
We cultivate our feelings of compassion, faith in the abundance of all things, and a quietness of spirit by letting go, not by grasping on to the latest way to get more, do more or be more. At some point we realize what we have, what we do and who we are, is enough and in fact is perfect.
Just for today - stop and smell the roses - it's all right in front of us, we just have to look.
Wishing you a great Monday and a happy 4th of July.
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"I love people. I love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up."
Pearl S. Buck_________________________________"It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say."
Thomas Merton
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