Voluntary simplicity

From pollution to ecological action

How can we escape from this vivious circle? Several solutions are available, and may be complementary.

The system our consumption society relies on implies earning a living to be able to spend and consume endlessly; even death is a business.

Voluntary simplicity, or simple living means we get back hold or our lives instead of letting ourselves be washed away by the system. It's a real personal reflexion that can be shared with our kins to try and make out what our needs are exactly and to list our prorities.

Here are basic daily questions:

• What do I really need to live?
• What do I really need to be happy?
• What does happiness mean to me?
• Why should I always feel frustrated?

By annihilating the emotional we used to have with objects, this society has perverted our notion of the true nature of things. We must totally rethink our lives and our environment starting from our basic needs. It's the only means to realize how enslaved we have become to gizmos that litterally haunt our thoughts.

Modern man has become a conditioned victim who now sees these preoccupations as normal. Yet, psychology proves the devastating effects of this way of livuing: anxiety, psychosomatic disorders, depression, fatigue, cancers, cardiovascular pathologies... All these sufferings are largely due to our modern way of eating (fast food, surimi, chemical additives, junk food, snacking...).

Voluntary simplicity obviously means we will consume less things we don't reasonably need. We can easily do without such or such a buzz gadget.

When everyone around us thrills and makes a fuss about buying an "new trendy" item, we can simply ignore them and pause to wonder:

• Do I really need it?

What if others buy it? Do I feel frustrated and looked down upon? What do I care? I lead the life that suits me and won't be conditioned and behave like a simpleton. I'm quite happy not to let myself be fooled into emptying my pockets to fill theirs!

Degrowth/Ungrowth: consuming less, consuming better products, consuming with appropriateness

Voluntary simplicity is the first step towards degrowth: you only consume what you need. The good things is: when you consume less, you save money and you can start fancying investing on useful improvements. For example, instead of buying conventional chemical fruits and vegetables, opt for organic vegies, maybe a little dearer, but environment-friendly. Organic agriculture bans pesticides and chemicals to use natural techniques.

Instead of wasting money on fuel for your central heating, invest in environment-friendly solutions: insulation, choose alternative heating fuels: geothermy, wood, Solar power, wind power...

Careful not to be cheated: do not choose biofuel as an alternative as they're made from oil, ie from oils and fats produced intensively. They're even worse for the environment. Their production implies monoculture and using land to produce edibles that will never feed anyone.

Eat less meat and animal products as breeding is a polluting activity. Even if you're not a veg, though this is the best solution for our health as well as for the environment, a drastic decrease of consumption will make a huge difference: less pollution, less wastes and less suffering.

Boycot advertized items. Always remember that when a brand advertizes for a product, you'll bear the cost it adds. Publicity, marketing or designing are expensive, looking for new outlets, paying their shares to stockholders, intermediaries' profits all add to the cost compared to that of the product itself.

Another good environment-friendly gesture is to boycot brands, especially big ones, to help degrowth. A branded item is always more expensive than a similar one with no brand. It's not necessarily true that an expensive item is of better quality than a similar but cheaper one, only if the difference is significant can there be a sign of liability. As for the common items we use daily, don't believe dishonest mottos that say a soap or a toothpaste will wash your shirt or your teeth whiter than white.

Most of the time, the products are made in the same factories but sold under different brand names. Let's opt for green biodegradable artisanal ones whenever possible!

One keyword: do it yourself!

Opting for organic food is fine, craft and local trade are just as fine. But we can do even better: do it yourself, take hold of your life.

More often than not we buy things unaware that, with a little imagination, we could make our own tools, starting either from raw materials or from used salvage items.

Needing a chair? Just make it! People will throw away chairs everyday, maybe a foot is broken or the seat worn out, there's a probability you can make a new one from two old ones.

DIY is a way of life: man has always learnt from experience and transmitted his know how to improve his skills. The industrial revolution has abruptly brought a halt to individual inventiveness and our consumption-waste society tries to attract us, playing on our laziness: why indeed should we bother to make something when we can get it ready-made?

This is the heart of the matter; it is a way of life and a social choice. DIY is freedom, if you lack skills, you can learn, this will enrich your life and you'll feel more free and more independant.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-07