Duane Elgin wrote a book in 1981 called Voluntary Simplicity. It became the basic vision for the Voluntary Simplicity Movement. I found a really interesting essay by Elgin, in which he differentiates the "Many, diverse expressions of simplicity of living [that] are flowering."
The one that got my attention was Soulful Simplicity. Elgin says "Soulful Simplicity means to approach life as a meditation and to cultivate our experience of intimate connection with all that exists. A spiritual presence infuses the world and, by living simply, we can more directly awaken to the living universe that surrounds and sustains us, moment by moment. Soulful simplicity is more concerned with consciously tasting life in its unadorned richness than with a particular standard or manner of material living. In cultivating a soulful connection with life, we tend to look beyond surface appearances and bring our interior aliveness into relationships of all kinds."
Each life will be some combination of the 10 expressions of simple living. Do you see any favorites?
Swing dance at our Reception
Dancing to Come on Come on: by Mary-Chapin Carpenter:
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