By Hyon O'Brien
The other day I had lunch with two of my closest friends. One of them took out the small diary he always carries around and showed us a list of four things he is trying to remember to apply every day:
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly
And leave the rest to God.
Later on I checked the source of his list on the Internet, and found that they are credited to President Ronald Reagan.
We spent the rest of our lunch time discussing what living simply means to the three of us. From that discussion I gleaned the following ways to simplicity: maintaining openness and transparency (lying makes life complicated), leading another-centered life, cultivating detachment to material things, being humble and thankful, being at peace with God and people, being joyful, eliminating the needless desires of life and mental and physical clutter, and taking delight in ordinary things ― rejoicing in the smile of a little child, admiring wild spring flowers, gazing at the cherry blossom petals dancing in the breeze, and laughing with abandon at a friend's joke.
About 15 years ago, I came upon a book that has been profoundly influencing me ever since: ``Celebration of Discipline," by Richard Foster, an American theologian in the Quaker tradition. From this book I received the call for simplicity in a powerful way. In his book, he suggested ten controlling principles to attain simplicity:
― Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
― Reject anything that produces an addiction in you.
― Develop a habit of giving things away.
― Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.
― Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
― Develop a deeper appreciation for creation. Get closer to the earth.
― Look with healthy skepticism at all ``buy now, pay later'' schemes.
― Obey Jesus' instructions about plain, honest speech.
― Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others, such as racism, sexism and nationalism.
― Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God
Are you a conspicuous consumer? Do you buy things to show you can afford them? Or to keep up with the Joneses?
Are you addicted to something? A workaholic? A gambler? An alcoholic? Even excessive exercise can be dangerous and destroys simple living. Can you do things in moderation?
Are you good at sharing? Are you uptight about money? Do you actively search for a charity to help out and donate your time, money and energy? Can you open your wallet with a cheerful giving spirit to help those in need even if they are not your relatives?
Do you often feel the urge to own things? I know someone among my acquaintances who owns so many cars and so many houses. He doesn't look that happy and maintaining all that ownership is work.
Do you stop and smell the roses? Do you notice the spring flowers? Do you ever gaze at something with delight? Or are you always in a hurry to be productive and efficient?
Are you good at saying NO to the advertisements all around you that try to convince you that you cannot be happy unless you have them? Do you easily succumb to outside influence? Why?
Can you speak plainly and honestly? Do you ever examine yourself to see whether you have prejudices and possibly have racist, sexist or ultra nationalist attitudes? Are you a male chauvinist? Do you care only about your country or your own people?
Are you always anxious about something?
Are you acutely concerned about others' opinion of you? Are you motivated by external things?
Are you content with your life now? Are there any things in life that excite and exhilarate you?
Do you feel free? Why not? What is chaining you? To what are you a slave?
What do you need to eliminate to attain simplicity in your life? What do you need to simplify?
Frederic Chopin once said, ``Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.'' Indeed, we are all artists. The crowning reward of our daily life is living simply by the grace of God with quiet contentment and the feeling that nothing is lacking.
Someone asked Michelangelo, ``How do you know to make a certain piece of sculpture?'' He answered that he would chip away those parts of the marble block that are not needed and in the process of elimination, his simple but beautiful art piece would emerge.
Let's think about simple living, a life of giving, joy and freedom, and be content each moment with being alive.
Hyon O'Brien, a former reference librarian in the United States, has returned to Korea after 32 years of living abroad. She can be reached at hyonobrien@gmail.com.