3. FastingTwice a week, our community fasts on bread and water. We have found that this is a wonderful discipline that teaches us the difference between wants and needs while allowing us to empathize with the hunger of the poor.
If done properly (and in some cases, under a doctor’s supervision), fasting can be a powerful discipline that cleanses the body of impurities, enhances the power of the mind, sensitizes us to the needs of the spirit, breaks our addictions to unhealthy eating habits and makes a significant symbolic statement about the desire to stand against the excesses of consumer culture.
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CLOTHINGMonks don’t spend hours standing in front of their closets every morning wondering about what clothes they're going to put on. For me, the choices are simple: this basic brown habit or that basic brown habit.
This is quite a contrast to mainstream America, which spends more than $60 billion a year on clothes.
Maybe you aren’t ready to adopt the monk’s simple habit, but you can move toward simple living by creating a small-but-versatile wardrobe in a few basic colors. Instead of having pants or dresses in every color of the rainbow, complete with matching accessories, start with basic blacks, browns or blues. Add variety by carefully choosing a few colorful shirts or tops that can be varied easily. If your work requires a more formal dress, have a few basic suits, not a closet full of expensive and seldom-worn clothes.
You can also cut down on shopping sprees. Decide what clothes you need before getting near a shopping mall. And try to resist being overly influenced by persuasive advertising or perceived social pressure.
SHELTEREven before the collapse of the real estate mortgage industry, it was clear that many Americans are scrambling to afford overly expensive, unnecessarily roomy houses that are a hassle to maintain. Having a home is part of the American Dream, but perhaps smaller is better. Also, some people seek to practice hospitality by having a single person share their home. And others are looking into cohousing or communal arrangements, which are growing in popularity.
PUTTING SIMPLICITY INTO PRACTICEAre you so busy working to make money to buy time-saving devices that you don’t have any time to use them? Do you spend more time taking care of cars, clothes, and your house that you have no time to enjoy life, others and God?
If so, sit down for a few minutes and reflect on the following questions:
1) Do I have some possessions that complicate my life but don’t really bring me any enjoyment?
2) What are some things that do bring me enjoyment but may not be worth the cost in time, money and concern?
3) Do I buy things that I don’t need, won’t use or can’t afford?
4) What do I really need, and what do I merely want?
5) Am I consuming more than my fair share of the world’s limited resources?
6) What am I doing to help those who are less fortunate than myself? Is there some of my surplus that could benefit others with less?
As you can see, the practice of simplicity isn't necessarily simple or easy! Like the pruning of a tree, the practice of simplicity requires that things be cut away, sometimes with pain. But in the long run, this is a practice that enables us to live life with more joy, peace, and happiness.