“A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with—that’s poverty—but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. (148)”
― Victoria Moran, Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty
I remember a trend (or philosphy or “wave”) which appeared a few years back called Voluntary Simplicity. It’s premise was to rid yourself of stuff and live in a materially simple way. The problem I saw was that instead of people subscribing to this way of living, people labelled their way of living with it. Do you see the difference?
Basically I saw a collection of people saying they had chosen Voluntary Simplicity. But in reality they had not. They were living this way because they had no choice. They labelled their life as Voluntary Simplicity to feel better about the fact that things had not turned out as successful as they had planned. The proof was that most of them once they landed a better paying job voluntarily complicated their lives with plenty of pretty things. Now don’t get me wrong. A Libra girl girl like me loves pretty things like paintings and furniture and garments that are sculpted with beautiful fabrics. It is all art for us. Art that makes life beautiful. What I wish to point out is simplicity in life does not have to be poverty. Those people I observed had not simplified their lives for their thoughts remained cluttered and frustrated. They were not at peace. Simplicity means that any thing, any one or any activity that no longer serves a purpose in your life, you let go of. That is my take on Voluntary Simplicity and what Victoria Moran is speaking of.
So maybe we can take an inventory of what we can let go of. We may find that we enjoy what remains in our lives even more.
Namaste!
Bianca
This personal blog was written by Bianca Pittoors. You may “share” it in its entirety. I respectfully request that you respect it as the intellectual property that it is. Thank you! All photos by Bianca Pittoors unless noted otherwise.
Bianca Pittoors & Marc Langis are Bianca Basso. Creators of original music with a vintage flavor, they are distinctive in their contemporary style.
― Victoria Moran, Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty
I remember a trend (or philosphy or “wave”) which appeared a few years back called Voluntary Simplicity. It’s premise was to rid yourself of stuff and live in a materially simple way. The problem I saw was that instead of people subscribing to this way of living, people labelled their way of living with it. Do you see the difference?
Basically I saw a collection of people saying they had chosen Voluntary Simplicity. But in reality they had not. They were living this way because they had no choice. They labelled their life as Voluntary Simplicity to feel better about the fact that things had not turned out as successful as they had planned. The proof was that most of them once they landed a better paying job voluntarily complicated their lives with plenty of pretty things. Now don’t get me wrong. A Libra girl girl like me loves pretty things like paintings and furniture and garments that are sculpted with beautiful fabrics. It is all art for us. Art that makes life beautiful. What I wish to point out is simplicity in life does not have to be poverty. Those people I observed had not simplified their lives for their thoughts remained cluttered and frustrated. They were not at peace. Simplicity means that any thing, any one or any activity that no longer serves a purpose in your life, you let go of. That is my take on Voluntary Simplicity and what Victoria Moran is speaking of.
So maybe we can take an inventory of what we can let go of. We may find that we enjoy what remains in our lives even more.
Namaste!
Bianca
This personal blog was written by Bianca Pittoors. You may “share” it in its entirety. I respectfully request that you respect it as the intellectual property that it is. Thank you! All photos by Bianca Pittoors unless noted otherwise.
Bianca Pittoors & Marc Langis are Bianca Basso. Creators of original music with a vintage flavor, they are distinctive in their contemporary style.
