The simple life

With the world in the state of disarray and impending chaos that it is in, and which you and I don't seem to be able to make our voices heard over the ka-ching of cash registers in the back office of big business, a return to the simple life seems more and more attractive.

We are constantly bombarded with adverts exhorting us to aspire to greater and greater degrees of material possession, but with that comes the albatross of increased subservience to the financial system, which owns everything you think you own, and can take it away from you in the blink of an eye if you fail to make two payments. More people than you think are two paydays away from the street. So next time you see a homeless person sleeping under a bridge or a scruffy individual with a cardboard sign at a traffic light, imagine yourself in that position and you may realise how tenuous your link to the good life is.

Now for the good news. It is possible to rid yourself of the 'trap'pings of commercialism without actually physically suffering. Your mental attitude is your own problem, but that too can be fixed by you. Take the time to sit under a tree and look at the sky through the leaves - no thoughts are required and you may not even know that you have benefited in any way, but whether you like it or not, your soul has been restored and your body rejuvenated. It matters not what you believe in, but communing with nature, and this doesn't mean talking to it, is a natural restorative that costs nothing but your time. Only you can know how valuable that is.

Working barefoot in the garden is another great way to release stress, as long as you don't stress over dirty toenails! Although a manicured (funny how that came up) lawn is the socially accepted norm, and a neglected garden is seen as uncared for, if you look closely, you may notice that even weeds have beautiful flowers and something down among their leaves is finding it useful in some way. Imagine a meadow of wild flowers in place of a lawn that needs to be cut and fed and watered continually. The financial implications of maintaining a showpiece garden are not inconsiderable either. Who needs the stress? Indigenous is the way to go, failing which, whatever seems happy with the least possible attention is fine by me.

You may think that this train of thought is inspired by experience, and you may well be right there, but life only turns up events designed to allow you to learn from them - you can choose how you react to such events.

I choose the simple life!