Simpler Living

Post separation and then post retirement, one of the things I promised myself was to live more simply. That is a statement easy to make but hard to explain. This morning I was asked what I actually meant. So I spent some time thinking about it.

The context was having just returned from a fabulous two week holiday in Mexico, partly spent at a singing workshop. Is that very simple? Then I thought about having affairs in multiple countries, with all the tax and other ramifications. Simple?

Some parts of life are simpler than others. Yet my life does feel simpler overall, and not just because I no longer spend half my waking week in an office. Why is this? What are essential components of a simpler life? Here are some ideas.

Consciously partaking of the free or easy things on offer and really savouring them is a big part of it. Birdsong, spring flowers, seasons, sunshine, seaside. Sleeping, bathing. The smiles, looks, sentiments of people, sharing a joke or a compliment. Reading, writing, listening to words or music, singing. Tasting the first food of the day. Deep companionship of loved ones. Seeking company of older and younger people. Reflection. None of these things cost very much and many are readily available to most of us. Yet we sometimes take them all for granted, and in the end they become so much background music, unless we consciously stop that from happening. Rediscovery of those simple pleasures is an important component of finding a simple life.

Then there is what is excluded from a simple life. Losing sight of contentment in a rush of ambition. Coveting what we miss rather than appreciating what we have. Joining a competition or a queue or a perceived game of status just because it is there and others choose to play. Taking on so many things than none of them ever has any quality or pleasure. Spending so much effort on planning that little is left for actually doing or enjoying. Judging others and complaining rather than accepting with tolerance. Rushing to fill every moment, rather than being flexible and open to spontaneous adventures.

Mostly simpler life as I see it is an attitude. Taking life as it comes, living for the here and now, being aware of our human and other natural surroundings, respectful of them and feeling blessed from them.

I looked up others’ ideas on the web. While there are many good ideas residing under the umbrella of a simple life, many of these are not part of my idea of simplicity.

Simplicity does not have to be puritan or laced with self denial. Nor does it have to be saintly, still less chaste. Yes, monks live simple lives. But simple lives do not have to be like those of monks.

Simple also does not have to mean sedentary or dull. We can be active and simple. Just not so active that we lose all perspective. Running is great. Compulsive running is fine too if it gives pleasure and helps reflection. But a painful pursuit of ever more fitness? I am not so sure.

Simple can also mean fewer possessions, but I am not sure if that is essential. Renting rather than buying in pursuit of simplicity can make sense. Doing without modern technology feels more like self denial to me, and I don’t really see the point. Hoarding items rather than buying something relatively cheap when it is needed even seems contrary to simple principles, as the items need to be stored and indexed. A healthy and practical view on chucking things out feels simpler to me, even if that entails some waste and might not always help the planet as much.

Some seem to equate simplicity with self sufficiency, like Tom and Barbara in The Good Life all those years ago. Even though that was fiction, I fear that the complexity of the lives they ended up with might indeed be where this quest would often end. By all means take on an allotment, but self sufficiency? In today’s developed world, that hardly feels like a recipe for simplicity.

Simple doesn’t mean frugal or poor either, though it is hard to reconcile simplicity with taking on lots of debt, or virulent acquisition of money or assets for its own sake.

What about service? Should a simple life always include giving? Giving is good, and service is fulfilling for its own sake, so many simpler lives will entail an element of service, though I don’t see it as essential.

So I think I’ll keep my own notion of simplicity limited to the few concepts I listed above. I have to be careful that simplicity does not come to mean much the same as privilege, a result of relative wealth in money and time. It will be much harder to pursue simplicity in Libya, or North-East Japan or even in Liverpool. It will also be tricky for new parents or people setting out on careers. How we define and act out simplicity will differ through our life phases, yet I believe most of us have the opportunity to make our lives simpler than they are today. By doing so we will get more out of our lives as a result, and I don’t think we would do any harm to GDP or competitiveness either, since our productivity would rise.

How does my current life measure up? Rather well I think. A holiday in Mexico with some singing included is a pleasure, and not contrary to simple principles if not repeated too often. As for the three tax jurisdictions, that is not so ideal, so there is something I need to work on.

So, thanks for the question, and the chance to think about this. I wonder how my feelings about this will change over time. I recommend everyone to define a simple life for themselves, and to audit it against reality. If there is a gap – and for most of us there is likely to be a big gap – then take some decisive action to redress the balance.