The Complications of Living Simply

I long to have a simple life.  One with few possessions and even fewer complications.  "Is this possible?", I ask myself.  And, self usually responds, "Yes, but at a price."

I imagine writing myself into my favorite novel, it's one where there is a large sparsely furnished Victorian set in the middle of a small quaint town in the north of Scotland.  There is no television, no family drama and just enough money for the necessities of life and a good bottle of wine.  To me, the plot is irrelevant, I love this book for the setting.  It pulls at my inner desire to live in a world where quiet companionship with loved ones and nature are valued.  I speak of a novel, not a non-fiction piece because, although what is written is not completely unattainable, it is something that comes with a price many of us don't want to pay.

To live simply, is to live opposite of the mainstream.  The best analogy I can think of is the Salmon that swim up the Columbia river each year against the current, in order to lay their eggs.  They do this with a blind determination that, in the end, brings success along with a battered worn out body and then finally death.  It is a death brought on by exhaustion.  Fighting the current continuously takes everything they have.  If the Salmon relents even for a moment, it is pushed back in the direction of the river's flow.  The same can be said of the world we live in. 

I can make the decision to buy only what I need, what is practical, but unfortunately all around me is marketing at its best.  It comes in the form of the television, computer, phone, consumer tracking, and even friends and acquaintances.  I can resist this marketing, but at a cost.  It takes continuous strength of mind and character.  If I slip up even for a moment, I am pushed back into the 'must have' frenzy that is all around me.

I can choose to find my happiness in quiet companionship.  But, as I am still learning most relationships come with a nice dose of human nature.  Everyone, including myself strives for their own way.  We can be amicable only for so long, before self rises up and demands its due.  Companionship is attainable, but the quiet can only come when both parties are continuously denying themselves.  Or, put another way choosing to push against their true natures .  We are human and will fail from time to time.  Failure often brings its friend, drama, and quiet makes a soundless exit.

Often, I seek to find pleasure in nature. There is nothing more healing than a basic walk through the woods or thrilling than a view that only mother nature could provide.  However, even nature has its follies. More times than not, the spectacular views have been purchased and sold to an elite few. Woods have been reduced to clumps of trees surrounding freshly built suburbia, hardly suitable for peaceful strolls.  Thankfully, nature can manifest itself in many ways.  I can still choose to enjoy things like a warm sunny day or a cozy rainy afternoon.  Unfortunately, my moods are rarely in tune with the weather.  I usually want rainy when its sunny and vice versa. 

"So, it is possible to live simply.", I tell myself, but it is also exhausting.  Is that a price I am willing or more importantly able to pay?  I don't have an answer, honestly I am afraid of coming up with one.  I don't want to stop hoping or believing that I will one day be the Salmon that not only lays her eggs, but lives to tell her story.