Voluntary Simplicity

Imagine my surprise when I discovered an article (Chasing Utopia, Family Imagines No Possessions) in the New York Times online, that featured a young family who have decided to give away all of their material possessions to seek a self-sustaining life on the land. Their hope is to move to a cabin in the woods and become organic homesteaders in Vermont.

Though it may not be the stuff of the typical American dream, the voluntary simplicity movement, which traces its inception to 1980s Seattle, is drawing a great deal of renewed interest, some experts say. “If you think about some of the shifts we’re having economically — shifts in oil and energy — it may be the right time,” said Mary E. Grigsby, associate professor of rural sociology at the University of Missouri and the author of “Buying Time and Getting By: The Voluntary Simplicity Movement.

My surprise - and delight – was with the coincidental timing of the article and the second anniversary of our own move to a simpler lifestyle here in northern British Columbia. We wish the young Harris family all the best in their new life. You can follow their story on a blog cagefreefamily.com. Spread the word. Voluntary simplicity is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation - it is about Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich… Duane Elgin.


There is that old philosophical riddle - If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I was thinking about that yesterday while watching Bob whack up a tree that had fallen during last week’s windstorm. I don’t know if it made a sound when it fell, but I do know it will make good firewood. And that is living simply.

... P. L. Morningstar