Henry David Thoreau, one of my all time favorite writers, once declared, "My greatest skill has been to want little." I've always been struck powerfully by this quote and have tried my hardest to live a life of simplicity. Now, in our current times I believe that simplicity has become even more vital.
When you have a look at our nation, devastated with debt, you can see how the concept of simplicity and living within your means has become a completely forgotten idea. On a countrywide level, the idea of simplicity has gotten replaced by large amounts of bureaucracy and spending way past our means. On a smaller level, it's hard to find even one person in 100 that is not 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 weight of debt and overextension, a basic change in idealogy needs to happen. People need to begin considering simplicity as a personal and national way of life. Almost all of the things we have we don't actually need. And the present 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 believe we deserve. Only then can the base of the issue actually ever be handled.
When you have a look at our nation, devastated with debt, you can see how the concept of simplicity and living within your means has become a completely forgotten idea. On a countrywide level, the idea of simplicity has gotten replaced by large amounts of bureaucracy and spending way past our means. On a smaller level, it's hard to find even one person in 100 that is not 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 weight of debt and overextension, a basic change in idealogy needs to happen. People need to begin considering simplicity as a personal and national way of life. Almost all of the things we have we don't actually need. And the present 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 believe we deserve. Only then can the base of the issue actually ever be 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.