I love hearing about other people’s journeys to veganism. From their first a-ha moment to details of their day-to-day experiences of better health and spiritual awakenings, living life free of animal meat and by-products.
If the media reports are right, veganism is on the rise, with new blogs, food products and clothing popping up every day. There’s definitely change in the air, and it feels good to know lives are being spared and that kindness and consciousness is taking over.
While we still have a long way to go, there are so many inspiring people out there spreading the message. David Rafter and Amanda Rootsey are two shining examples of veganism in action, having transitioned to the lifestyle about three years ago. Founders of VeganEra.com, the Australian couple are also spreading the message offline via roadside billboards and merchandise that spreads the vegan message.
“Time is starting to become very critical in terms of our environment and the world is showing us that the way we are leading our lives is definitely not in harmony. We have to do something to change,” David says.
I asked him to share their inspiring story…
When did you become vegan?
I began the loving journey about three years ago when I was around 26. For me, it was a transition, initially I went vegetarian then after a couple of months I dropped dairy and soon realised that I had become a vegan!
Why did you decide to become vegan?
Upon reflection, it was a process. When I was 25 I had lead a bit of a party lifestyle and enjoyed the night-lights. I got really sick of how bad I was feeling all the time. So I dropped everything, I remember the point in which I said to myself that I would no longer go out, I would no longer drink and that it was time to drop meat from my diet.
Honestly, at that exact moment I could feel a massive shift take place in my life. It was the conscious decision to stop killing and lean on the side of compassion that I felt a very big lift in my soul.
At this time I was living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (Australia), and I had decided to start getting healthier. I was running and surfing, really enjoying being with nature. I had just finished a run through the national park, where I leant on a tree and I could feel the energy of the Earth coming through it. I couldn’t believe it. I was in total shock as I could feel the lungs of the Earth inhale and exhale. At that moment I knew that we were all connected. From the souls of the animals right through to the limbs of this tree. At that moment, I knew that this was my path.
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it.
Actually, coinciding with this, my father told me to go out and work on his dairy farm for the day. Believe me, I was kicking and screaming the whole way. When I did get there, my worst fears were realised. I could not believe how much pain and suffering existed. Dead calves in the middle of the paddock, their mothers standing over them, screaming in pain. If the calves were alive, they were locked in pens so small that they could barely stand. The pain and suffering in the cries of the mothers was terrifying. I couldn’t bare it any longer – I had to lock myself in the house, turn up the TV and try to block it all out. Clearly when I got back I said in no uncertain terms that I would never return to that place ever again.
Also, my brother had been vegetarian for about 10 years, and had been buggin’ me for ages to drop meat. At the time he was living in America, and I Skyped him and told him the change I had experienced. He was so excited for me. He then sent me a documentary that I watched via you tube in which it showed the whole process of how the meat gets on to your plate. At the end I was in tears, I felt so much sorrow that we could do this to our beautiful animal friends. If it wasn’t sealed in concrete before then, it was now.
How has your life changed since?
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it. The feeling is indescribable, you feel like you are floating on a cloud the whole day and you want to share that with the world.
Can you tell me about Vegan Era and why you decided to start it?
Vegan Era started in 2009 and has been going strong ever since. Along with my partner Amanda and of course our little staffy girl Trudi, we felt the need to spread this feeling to the world.
Initially we found a lot of information about how much damage the livestock industry has done to our planet. We just couldn’t believe that this information was not out there. We felt a very strong need to create a place where people could come and learn more about the choices they make and the impact their diet can have on reversing climate change.
Then in 2010, Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. In the beginning Amanda was determined not to go down the conventional path as we had done lots of research into the harsh impact chemo has on our bodies. So we did a lot of research on how diets can help heal the body. Again, we couldn’t believe how much information was hidden from us. We came across a great book called The China Study, and from that moment on we wanted to share the health benefits of a Vegan diet.
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I recently launched a new website EcoBeautyEditor.com — a resource of natural, organic beauty and health information, research, interviews, reviews, vegan recipes, expert recommendations and holistic treatments.
For the site’s launch, I interviewed Mimi Kirk, the inspiring 72-year-old woman who just a couple of years ago was named PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50. Mimi is about to launch her new book Live Raw: The Natural Way to Good Health and Timeless Beauty, so to celebrate, I wanted to share an excerpt from my interview with Mimi, in which she shares not only an insight into her life, but some great tips on how to embrace life, no matter your age. To read the complete article and see more photos, please click here.
Mimi is offering a special gift for those who buy an autographed copy directly from her site. Visit youngonrawfood.com/live-raw to find out more information and to order your copy.
You’re 72 and yet you look like you’re in your 40s. What’s your secret?
I would place what I eat at the top of my list, a raw vegan diet. Second I think exercise is important. I know that now more than ever before, so I’ve included strength training to my walking, yoga and qigong routine. I think moderate exercise is enough. I would also include to my list of “secrets” a positive attitude, compassion and passion, and of course having a boyfriend 19 years my junior doesn’t hurt.
Do you know any other 72-year-olds who share your youthful vibrancy?
Yes, I think there are many youthful seniors today. The face of aging is changing and those of us who eat healthy can attest to that, but still, I think there is a common agreement amongst advertisers and drug companies pandering to the senior set, that we have to look our chronological age and take a fist full of drugs to combat aging and diseases.
It’s obvious you’ve not had any plastic surgery. What do you tell people who question you about that?
I’m not much concerned with the lines on my face. I’m more concerned with how I feel. I think plastic surgery is a mistake. I’ve seen some really bad surgery, loss of character on the face and even tragedy associated with plastic surgery. I think people can tell I’ve not had surgery when they meet me in person. I have laugh lines and look natural, well my blonde hair is not natural, but I find it fun at my age.
What gets you up in the morning? What are your greatest passions?
I love life, I’m a happy person and certainly passionate about my family. I have a book coming out in May, and I’m thrilled about it. To pass along what I’ve learned about being healthy over the years certainly keeps me passionate. I accept a few coaching clients each month and I’m passionate about seeing their results.
Vegan life is a compassionate one, for the animals, the planet and our own wellbeing. There was a spiritual awakening when I realized I did not have to take part in killing to eat. I love looking at my plate and seeing live food and not a deceased animal.
Did you always know you’d become a vegan? How did your life path lead to it?
I became a vegetarian over 40 years ago. I had an epiphany while eating a slice of roast beef. I realized I was eating flesh. That was it for me. I soon learned of the inhumane treatment of farm animals and although I would occasionally go off course, I would immediately get back on just thinking about where meat comes from. Vegan life is a compassionate one, for the animals, the planet and our own wellbeing. There was a spiritual awakening when I realized I did not have to take part in killing to eat. I love looking at my plate and seeing live food and not a deceased animal. Sorry to be so graphic, but I really do believe this is the humane way to live.
What is it about being vegan that has changed your life?
All the above and more! My health is fantastic. I look at things differently in many ways. Buying organic produce at farmers markets and from farm stands makes me feel I’m eating clean food, and helping farmer who are making a difference by keeping chemicals out of our food chain. One day I realize that wearing leather felt disturbing to me. People say “well, the animal is dead anyway, so why not use the hide.” Well, that is not always true. Some animals are killed for their hides. It took time to realize the connection but now I couldn’t buy leather or even wear any of my old leather goods. I personally prefer finding faux leather, shoes and bags. I think it amusing when I’m stopped so many times with people asking where I bought my leather boots or bag. Of course they are surprised when I tell them they are not leather, and maybe sometimes I can’t help myself and I give them a little education on why I wear faux leather. I try not to be preachy, as I believe people are ready when they’re ready to make a change and not a moment before. I know this from my own experience.
You’re an author, can you tell me about your book and why you wrote it?
My book contains my thoughts and experiences on health and wellbeing. Over 120 raw food recipes will help those who think that going raw means carrots and celery sticks. When people begin a raw food diet, they are in need of delicious gourmet food. I am a foodie at heart, I love to grow food, shop for food, prepare it, serve it, and needless to say, I love to eat it. I’ve traveled around the world and love international foods; I’ve included some of my favorite dishes in my book LIVE RAW. I have so many recipes I’ve experimented with over the last three years; there was not enough room to include them all. My boyfriend Mike’s beautiful photographs grace the book and everything really looks mouth watering. I wrote the book at the requests of so many of my Facebook friends. I always post recipes on my pages, and then people started saying “why don’t you write a book”. I was inspired to share my recipes, so hence a book was a good idea. I feel lucky to get published, as it’s not easy these days. I feel if my book helps one person create a healthier life, I’m happy.
Visit Mimi’s website at YoungonRawFood.com.
Making the decision to go vegan is a different path for everyone. The reasons behind the choice may range from healthy living to animal rights. Whatever they are, making the decision to be vegan is one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself, animals and the planet.
I was chatting with Be Genki‘s Sam Sample last week and she mentioned she’d recently made the transition to veganism, after years of flirting with it. I asked if she would be happy to share her journey in the hope of inspiring others who are thinking about becoming cruelty-free. Here is her story…
There’s a high chance that you may be toying with the idea of choosing to be vegan. The reason for writing this particular article is that you may find that it touches a part of you, just as living it has touched all parts of me, and that it may help inspire you to take the final step. ~ Sam Sample
Last month I finally chose to walk the vegan road. I use the word ‘finally’ because I feel it has been a slow and gradual progression over the last 15 years.
In 1995 I read the book Fit for Life
Over the next five years my taste for meat declined. Correction, not so much the taste of it, but more so the flesh component. Have you ever bitten in to a piece of meat and visualized biting in to the arm, leg or torso of an animal, and that the chewy bits of meat is too closely associated with chewing your way through the flesh of that animal? Those type of visualizations also grossed me out and ended my meat eating days, with exception to mince meat in lasagna, spaghetti bolognese and carpaccio (the paper thin raw beef), as these styles of meat required no tough chewing and melted in my mouth.
My fascination for food, health and wellbeing led me to study a 3 year Diploma of Nutrition and it was during those classes that I was exposed to the horrifying documentaries about chickens in battery farms, their ghastly diet, abnormally unhealthy living conditions and outrageous cruelty and suffering. Add to that, the accounts of negative health effects that the consumption of these chickens and eggs were having on the human population. I was so appalled by this information that I have never eaten a piece of chicken since, but somehow I remained an egg eater, as long as they were the biodynamic organic free-range variety.
As time went by and my love of food and good nutrition grew, so did my love and respect for mother earth. Each day I was inspired to learn a little more about the “truth” of the type of world we live in, how my choices can have an effect on the future of the world based on the simple fact that every time I buy a product I am saying to that company, ‘keep on doing what you are doing.’ I am supporting everything that company does: every source of raw material, every packaging solution, every environmental standard that they are undertaking, every form of employee relations and every marketing choice.
When creating Be Genki, the range of bath, body and home care products, I was adamant that the brand had to be certifiably “animal cruelty free”, not containing any animal derived ingredients and certainly not allowing any of the products or ingredients to be tested on animals. Yet, I still was consuming eggs, cheese and a portion of meat once every few months. Hmmm… I wasn’t wanting to use animal products in my skincare products but was happy to eat them. Interesting inconsistency don’t you think?!
Being an advocate for holistic health and wellbeing, and possessing the inclination to think about what consequence my choices are having on my life, my loved ones’ lives, the community, the planet, and future beliefs, standards and ideals, choosing vegan seemed like the natural thing to do that would honor everything that I believe in, (that is, to help improve my awareness, consciousness and communion with mother earth.)
The tipping point for making the choice, however, was watching the short clip VEGAN For the People. For the Planet. For the Animals. (see below). Quite simply, the short film clip makes sense. Choosing to be vegan not only nurtures myself, but my loved ones, future generations and the world in which we share. Oh… and I look and feel so much healthier since making the change. Love those extra perks!
Photo courtesy JelleS
You just have to browse the web or your nearest book store to see the world is obsessed with dieting. Yet if statistics are accurate, we’re not just tipping the scales, we’re on our way to breaking them. It has taken many of us years of restrictions and meal replacements to figure it out: diets don’t work.
From calorie counting to cutting out carbs, a Pandora’s Box awaits those who still dare to follow the latest diet craze. Yet achieving and maintaining your ideal figure is actually more simple than what we’ve been lead to believe—and it comes with a bonus: vibrant health.
There is one major requirement that’s needed on this path to ultimate wellness and the body we’ve all dreamed of: taking full responsibility. Taking charge and becoming our own nutritionist and not relying on big business to deliver a magic bullet that is nothing more than body-disruptive chemicals dressed in drag.
Perhaps it’s an assumption to say most of us were taught the same stuff in school, none of which covered off real nutrition and how to actually apply it. Yet, the lesson of nutrition is one of the most important life lessons we can ever learn. We also weren’t taught that nourishing ourselves is actually fun and can lead us to a full, love-fuelled life. A nourished, healthy body results in clear thinking, more energy and, for many, a channel to the divine. No pill could ever compete with that.
Enter Lars Gustafsson: author, speaker, life and nutrition guide. Born in India to Canadian parents, he grew up living an authentic mix of tribal and western life. “This upbringing,” he says “created a balance between the scientific passion of the west and the ancient wisdom of the Far East.”
For 23 years, Lars has explored nutrition, fitness and healthy lifestyles. As founder of the BodyMind Institute—a global enlightened school of learning—he teaches that nutrition is so much more than just the food we eat. It’s the total way we nourish our mind and body.
In 2003, Lars introduced The BodyMind Nutrition Certification online programs to meet an emerging demand for true to life systems, formulas and programs, creating the opportunity for people everywhere to discover and pass on a nutrition and lifestyle process that creates a personal discovery of balance in body, mind and spirit.
“I believe in the scientific method, that there are natural laws that govern our physical universe … yet in these 23 years I have often found the ‘unexplainable’ happening all around me,” Lars says. “These have created questions which led me to find hard scientific data that hasn’t found it’s way into the mass media or awareness of the masses.”
“Over these years I found that I needed to personally experience something in order to accept it as fact. In the end I have found that it is only through personal experience in the application of any information can you make your own informed decisions. Your own level of personal truth will grow according to your willingness to experience more.”
Most recently, Lars has teamed up with raw food nutritionist and expert David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe to deliver a program in raw food nutrition—a course that shares more than 15 years of David’s sought-after knowledge. With this course and other programs including 90 Day BodyMind Renewal and Sports Nutrition, the BodyMind Institute is changing the way we look at real nutrition, forever.
As a student of the BodyMind Raw Nutrition, the 90 Day BodyMind Renewal and the Nutrition I certifications, I wanted to reach out to Lars, to hear first hand how these online courses are bringing real nutrition to people at their own pace, in their own time. What I discovered is a man with a passion that goes beyond simply developing courses. Lars Gustafsson is making a difference, one person at a time through life-enhancing education that literally changes lives.
So passionate is he about reaching those who share his dream to make a difference, that with David Wolfe, Lars is offering free entry to the BodyMind Institute Level I BodyMind Nutrition Certification for those who sign up for David’s Raw Nutrition Certification. It’s a $1,500 gift, he explains, to reach those who also want to make a difference—to their own health, the health of others and the health of the planet.
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One of my favourite sites is The Vegan Decision. It’s full of inspirational stories that explain why people from all walks of life decided to stop eating animals—personal journeys from those who are giving back every day by being vegan (or vegetarian).
The following is a guest post from Kelley Derr, courtesy of The Vegan Decision. If you want to share your own story to help inspire others on their journey, click here.
Always being a supportive yet concerned parent, my mother made an appointment with my pediatrician when I suddenly declared myself a vegetarian at age 11 in 1984. I felt victorious when I heard my doctor respond, “Well, she’ll be healthier than the rest of your family.” On the way home, my mother stopped by the local bookstore and purchased Diet for a Small Planet
Admittedly, my self-imposed dietary restrictions meant I would subsist on Morningstar Farm’s “Grillers” (the original veggie burger) and cheddar cheese—lots and lots of cheddar cheese—which wasn’t the best way to eat. But I was swearing off meat because I couldn’t stand the thought of eating anyone, not because it was a healthier diet.
It came easily to me. I found that all I had to do was think a little bit harder about what I was putting into my mouth. I started reading food labels and navigating restaurant menus and that was that—I never looked back. However, I quickly discovered that no matter how comfortable I was with my dietary decision, others around me were not. In fact, I was regularly interrogated and challenged by anyone who discovered I was a vegetarian, despite the fact that I was a quiet one.
Most responded as if I had attacked them personally, as if my taking advantage of meat-free food options was a direct comment on their carnivorism, despite the fact that I never (ever!) broached the subject without invitation. I suspect the judgment they were feeling was from within; and if I could make even one person stop and consider the way they were eating, I was willing to have that uncomfortable conversation.
It is my belief that very few meat-eaters would actually kill their food themselves, were that a requirement.
I am still a vegetarian, but I have evolved beyond Grillers and cheddar cheese. It has been a process, a natural progression. I stopped eating animals when I was a kid because I love animals. I have recently stopped eating animal products because I could no longer talk myself into believing that nobody has to die in exchange for a glass of milk and that eggs could never become chickens because they are not fertilized. The health factor is still an added benefit for me, a freebie.
And being a vegan, which innately requires taking pause to reflect on what I am feeding my body, has affected my health in immeasurable ways: five servings of fruits and vegetables today? Check. (Actually, double check.) Diet? Huh? And getting eight hours of sleep per night has never been an issue. Perhaps because I know that in my own small way, I am not contributing to the horrors of factory farming.
It is my belief that very few meat-eaters would actually kill their food themselves, were that a requirement. And I am certain that shoppers would think twice if ham and bacon were labeled “pig parts,” and their grocery store purchases consisted of “chicken embryos” and “horse, cow, and pig collagen” instead of eggs and Jell-O. I suppose all of these more gentle terms adequately distance the eater from what is really on their plate. And I would bet that if more parents were honest with their children about where food comes from, hot dogs would not be so popular.
These days people are not as defensive when they hear I am a vegan. Most often I receive a much more gentle response such as, “I wish I could do that, but I just don’t think I could give up (insert meat or dairy product here).” Being a quiet vegan, I listen willingly, glad to know that people are paying more attention to their choices, are realising that there are infinite options, and are considering a change.
Kelley Derr, 36, Los Angeles, CA
My favorite vegan things:
The China Study
Farm Sanctuary (organisation)
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
Trader Joe’s Chicken-less Strips
Vegan Donuts at Buddha Belly (restaurant, Sarasota, FL)
Photo courtesy of bronclune
I like Jack Canfield — his books, his insights and his calm, clear approach to self growth. His book, The Success Principles
While you’re likely wondering what Jack Canfield has to do with veganism, the answer is probably not much. Yet his message is one that, I believe, speaks to the heart of those who want to do something grand with their lives, to help others, give back in a big way. I know many vegans who fall under that category. I also know many people, vegan and otherwise, who want to do much, but in their desire to help on a big scale end up doing nothing because they often don’t know where to start—or feel their impact as just one person could never be significant. Jack Canfield is a man who can set you on the path or at least give you some well-thought-out guidance to steer you in the direction of your dreams.
I caught up with the best-selling author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul
Shannon: What is your definition of emotional health and well-being?
Jack Canfield: Having a positive outlook on life despite challenges and being able to cope successfully with whatever life throws you is a good indication of emotional health and well-being. It’s being able to feel in control of your life no matter what—able to dream big and set goals, able to sense a deep connection within yourself and to the world at large, able to focus the mind on present problems and future possibilities, and able to have stable moods (mostly positive and joyful) and handle whatever stressors come into your life . Now that may seem like a tall order in today’s unstable world, but observe how many people do maintain their cool under duress and always manage to see the proverbial silver lining and light at the end of the tunnel. Where others see dead-ends and doomsday, emotionally healthy people see opportunity, and lessons to be learned that will propel their future successes.
I have an equation I teach people that’s one of my core success principles in life, and which has everything to do with emotional health and well-being:
E + R = O
(Events + Responses = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it’s success or failure, wealth or poverty, wellness or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you have responded to an earlier event (or events) in your life. Emotionally healthy people don’t just know this instinctively; they make it a habit to respond in ways that generate the outcomes they want, even during extremely tough experiences or events seemingly beyond their control. Rather than spending their time blaming and complaining about a certain event, they focus on changing their responses to create the future outcomes that match their goals and dreams.
There are only three kinds of responses you have any control over—the thoughts you think, the visual images you create in your mind (dreaming and worrying), and the actions you take (which includes the words you speak). To keep your thoughts positive, you must read uplifting books, monitor your self talk, repeat positive affirmations, listen to uplifting music, stop watching negative news, listen to more comedy, and avoid conversations with negative people. Give up blaming and complaining and only talk about what you want and how you are going to get it.
To keep your imagery positive, watch uplifting movies and television shows, and spend at least ten minutes a day visualizing all of your goals as complete. Close your eyes and visualize your ideal life, your perfect relationship, your dream home with all the details, your ideal job, dynamic health, your dream vacation, and so on.
To keep your actions aligned with creating the success you want, study what successful people do. Success leaves lots of clues in the form of books, CDs, live seminars, on-line courses, coaches, mentors and teachers. Get involved in life-long learning. A successful life is created from a combination of the right mindset and the right skill sets. Unfortunately, most of what we need to know to live a fulfilling life was not taught in school. Keep educating yourself and applying what you learn.
SD: What are the essential steps for someone who wants to maintain—and even elevate—their emotional health during down times?
JC: In these troubled economic times, when everywhere you look there’s more and more evidence of how bad it is “out there,” we have to remember that how successful you are and how peaceful or distressed you are is a result of what you focus your attention on.
Remember that fear is self-created by focusing on something in the future that hasn’t happened yet. A student in a recent seminar had been living in fear for the last year that they would lose their house. They are still in that house. Every single minute of fear that they were experiencing was self-created by imagining being thrown out of their home.
The truth of the moment is they were safely in their home. Stop imagining the worst and focus on your own personal present reality. Even if you are unemployed, you are still alive, still living somewhere. Focus on what you do have, and be grateful for it, rather than on some future negative scenario that has not happened yet. A wonderful acronym for fear is Fantasized (future) Experiences Appearing Real. Turn off CNN (Constantly Negative News) and turn on your own inner movie of that which you want to create in your life. Live from your vision, not some externally created “reality” piped into your brain by the media. Look for the positive in your life and celebrate it.
Remember E + R = O. Even in tough economic times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes—both good and bad. Life will always be a series of choices and you are the decision maker on what will move you closer to your goals or farther away from them. External forces will always be part of the equation, but you ultimately select how to navigate through them.
Here are five more things to keep in mind that will help you keep your emotional well-being in check no matter what’s going on:
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One of my favourite blogs is Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits. It’s simple, to the point, and best of all, packed full of useful information and insights that help you to ponder and, at times, put things into action.
I wanted to share a post from Leo about living the simple life. Letting stuff go that no longer serves us. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with messages and images to entice us to want more, it’s a refreshing piece of advice that I hope you enjoy.
What is the Simple Life?
There is no single definition of simplicity. My vision of a simple life will be different than yours, or anyone else’s — and none of us is wrong. I’ve read about someone living in a log cabin in Alaska, with no electricity or running water or television or Internet. They chop wood from the forest outside to burn for heat and cooking. They use water from a nearby stream for drinking and bathing. They walk or bike to town to go to the library or to use the Internet. That’s a pretty simple life by most definitions — but when I talk about leading a simple life, I don’t mean you need to live in a log cabin in the woods — I certainly don’t.
I’ve also seen photos of pretty expensive houses, decorated in a very minimalist fashion, spartan in their simplicity, but also decorated with expensive furniture. These houses are gorgeous, and their minimalist interiors are extremely attractive … but it takes a lot of money to get to that point. This is one kind of simplicity, but it’s not for everyone.
I’ve also read about people who live extremely frugally, rarely buying new items, making things last as long as possible, re-using plastic bags and bottles, growing food in a garden, buying things second-hand in thrift shops when necessary. This kind of frugality is one kind of simplicity, and to some extent I use many of these ideas myself. But it’s not the kind of simplicity for everyone.
So what’s my idea of a simple life? Again, this isn’t what you need to shoot for, and it’s not even what you need to agree with. We can each have our own vision. My idea is that I make room in my life for the essentials — the things I love to do and the people I love to be with. I remove the non-essentials as much as possible, and leave a life that isn’t overwhelmed with tasks and projects and errands, but has space … space for what I want to do, and space between things. So that I can live a peaceful life, move slowly, work happily, and spend time with the people I care most about.
This might mean that I live frugally (so that I can work less, or save for what’s important), or it might mean that I sometimes splurge, because life is too short not to enjoy things while you can. I find ways to enjoy myself without spending money, but at the same time I am not afraid to treat myself and my family now and then.
What’s your idea of a simple life? It’s almost certainly different than mine. And that’s good — we don’t want cookie-cutter approaches here. We want something that makes sense to each individual person, that fits their personalities and dreams and life situations.
Think about what your idea of a simple life is, so that you can find your path to get there.
The Many Paths to Simplicity
So with each person pursuing a different destination to a simpler life, how can we find the paths to those destinations? There isn’t one answer.
We must each find our own path, obviously, but we can still learn from others. I’ve learned from many people along the way, and in fact I still learn from all of you each day. I think I learn more from the comments of my posts than you learn from the posts themselves, but that’s what makes this conversation a wonderful thing.
My best overall advice is to think about where you want to go, and then figure out a path to get there. And then take the first step. Once you’ve done that, you can worry about the next step. You will probably take a different path than the one you first envisioned, and in fact you may get to a different destination than you first imagined. Just take it one step at a time, and see where you get.
That said, I’d like to offer some ideas that may help you find your path. These are not to be adopted wholesale, and in fact some of them contradict each other. That’s because they represent different paths — and again, there is no one right path. Take inspiration from them, try some out if you like, but don’t take this list as a prescription to anything.
- Take it slowly. There is no need to rush to a simpler life. Take deep breaths, and take things one step at a time. Baby steps. Enjoy the process.
- Do a major rehaul. Sometimes it can be revitalizing to do a rehaul of your entire life. Wipe the slate clean and start from scratch. Now, that might mean moving to a new house and only bringing the possessions that mean the most to you. Or it might mean getting a new job that you love and setting your own schedule around the things you love doing. Or it might mean doing a major cleansing of your house, getting rid of most of your junk. It could mean just dropping all commitments except the things you love most.
- Remember what’s important. Why are you trying to simplify? Is it to make room for the things you love? Then be sure to identify those things, and keep those things in mind during this process. Is it simply to reduce your stress and live a more peaceful life? Then remember that on your path to simplicity.
- Adopt changes gradually. As one commenter pointed out, and as I have said in the past, if you adopt one small change at a time, you can make major changes over the long-term without the changes seeming very big at all. Make one small change, and soon that becomes the norm for you. Then make another, and that becomes the norm. Each step seems small, but they can add up to really big progress over months and years.
- Try different types of simplicity. You don’t have to pick one way. You can try frugality, then minimalism, then cabin-in-the-woods simplicity, then chuck all your responsibilities and hang out on a beach all day. See what works for you.
- Join a community. There are online communities and maybe even groups within your neighborhood that are going for a common goal. That might be frugality, or decluttering, or living with a minimal impact on the environment.
- Take assessment. I’m a big fan of stepping back and taking a look at my life in general, reflecting on what I want my life to be like, on what kind of progress I’ve made, on what needs to be done. It’s good to do this at the beginning of your path to simplicity, and every now and then along the way.
What’s your path to simplicity? What have you learned along the way? Share in the comments!
By Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. Visit Leo at www.zenhabits.net
Photo courtesy of alicepopkorn
