Voluntary Simplicity

by Northwest Earth Institute

Genres: Nonfiction

Reviews

[Jim Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2005 edition.

I read this once before. I think it was around the end of 2006, possibly into the beginning of 2007.

So, a while ago.

I had moved to my current city, didn't really know anyone, was vaguely dissatisfied with certain areas of my life. I saw a flyer hanging at the local co-op advertising a Voluntary Simplicity Study Group.

Attended the 8 or 9 weeks of the group, a few hours one night per week, and the experience was absolutely wonderful. We used this book as the guide. A bunch of us gathered weekly in an old Quaker meeting house, sat in a circle, drank tea (I wasn't a big tea drinker, but I was willing to try) and talked for hours. At the end, we had a big potluck and agreed to stay in touch. A couple of weeks later, we were on to another NWEI course. Then another. And another. Must have gone through 7 or 8 different topics in the first couple of years. Eventually, I joined the board of the group for a while before moving on to help start something similar later.

Anyway, that experience puts this book in the "life changing" category for me.

I finally decided to read it again, just a little bit here and there between other books. Took me a while, but I wrapped it up this weekend and am so glad that I revisited it.

For those that aren't familiar, NWEI discussion guides are broken into chapters of "sub-topics" within the larger course topic. Each guide is intended to run for maybe 6 to 8 weeks, with a wrap up meeting at the end. The chapters have some discussion questions to keep the conversation flowing, some suggestions for "putting it into practice," lists of further reading, and then a whole bunch of excerpts of books or articles on the topic. Participants read throughout the week, then go around and share their thoughts in the group.

The selections in "Voluntary Simplicity" are fantastic. They focus on cultivating real happiness, a joyful life, a life that is full of connections and meaning and love. They focus on living life according to a new "vision." There's an emphasis on disentangling from unnecessary "things," not so much because those things are bad in themselves (though there's plenty said about the environmental impacts of our more-more-more culture), but because those things so often get in the way of our finding true satisfaction. As Lynn Twist says, "Once you realize that you have enough, the energy you used to get more of what you don't need is freed up to make a difference with what you have."

Beautiful book, beautiful memories.

Reading this again has me sorta kinda wanting to set up another discussion group, maybe on this topic, maybe on one of the other fantastic NWEI topics.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of a discussion group when I lived in Eugene, OR and loved the challenge of intentional living. I liked the approach of considering different aspects of our lives each week, discussing it together and really thinking about what is important to each of us personally.

Thinking back, I've gone through ups and downs, simplifying then adding more stuff to my life, then simplifying, etc, but I always come back to the comfort of simplicity.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this workbook as part of a church group. It contains various articles regarding voluntary simplicy (consumerism, long work hours, trend away from neighbors helping neighbors, high consumption, etc.).

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book (collection of articles) changed the lives of several of the people in my Northwest Earth Institute study group.

[Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this collection of essays very interesting and inspiring. Definitely a great resource into further readings on the subject of simplicity.

[Sarah]

I read this in college as part of a study/discussion group on voluntary simplicity.