Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorite authors, once said, "My greatest skill has been to want little." I have always taken this quote to heart and have endeavored to live a life of simplicity. Now, in recent times, I think that simplicity has become more important.
When you take a look at our country, ravaged with debt, you can quickly see how the idea of simplicity and existing within your means has turned into a totally forgotten concept. On a national level, the concept of simplicity has been substituted by massive amounts of bureaucracy and spending well beyond our means. On a personal level, it's difficult to find even one individual in a hundred that isn't in debt.
That's the reason why I've been doing my best to actively pursue the concept of simplicity. Be the change you want to see in the world, the great Ghandi said. Our existing system isn't sustainable. Till simplicity is actively pursued and practiced on a national and personal level, we'll just keep stacking up more and more debt till ultimately we reach a breaking point.
This just about happened recently. As a nation, we almost defaulted on our huge national debt. Only a fragile budget deal kept everything afloat. But the issue is only being put off for a later day. Nothing has actually gotten resolved. So we'll keep going on as we've been until the next big crisis uncovers itself.
In order to rescue ourselves from the burden of debt and overextension, a basic change in idealogy needs to first come about. People need to begin considering simplicity as a personal and nationwide way of life. Most of the things we have we don't truly need. And the existing systems governing us are ineffectual, too big, and wasteful. The general public needs to start thinking about making some major basic changes to how we think about money and what we think that we deserve. Only then can the base of the issue actually ever get handled.
When you take a look at our country, ravaged with debt, you can quickly see how the idea of simplicity and existing within your means has turned into a totally forgotten concept. On a national level, the concept of simplicity has been substituted by massive amounts of bureaucracy and spending well beyond our means. On a personal level, it's difficult to find even one individual in a hundred that isn't in debt.
That's the reason why I've been doing my best to actively pursue the concept of simplicity. Be the change you want to see in the world, the great Ghandi said. Our existing system isn't sustainable. Till simplicity is actively pursued and practiced on a national and personal level, we'll just keep stacking up more and more debt till ultimately we reach a breaking point.
This just about happened recently. As a nation, we almost defaulted on our huge national debt. Only a fragile budget deal kept everything afloat. But the issue is only being put off for a later day. Nothing has actually gotten resolved. So we'll keep going on as we've been until the next big crisis uncovers itself.
In order to rescue ourselves from the burden of debt and overextension, a basic change in idealogy needs to first come about. People need to begin considering simplicity as a personal and nationwide way of life. Most of the things we have we don't truly need. And the existing systems governing us are ineffectual, too big, and wasteful. The general public needs to start thinking about making some major basic changes to how we think about money and what we think that we deserve. Only then can the base of the issue actually ever get handled.
About the Author:
Ben Mester is an author who loves talking about the social and political atmosphere of the modern age, to see what things can be done better. If you've enjoyed this article on simplicity and social responsibility, check out his other work on Bible verses about helping the poor and Bible verses about humility.