Voluntary Simplicity for Activists

Voluntary Simplicity for Activists: A Survival Kit for Change is now available!
Learn:

• Why idealism and making a living are not mutually exclusive.
• How clarifying your values can help you live the life you want.
• How to have the time and money to support causes and change the world.
• Why individual efforts do matter in the bigger picture.
• Ways to get started.

Our simple living and activist friend, Jody Haug, discovered through her recent work in the peace movement and Green Party, that many people she met didn’t have a clue about Voluntary Simplicity. Jody enlisted Jacque’s help and they’ve created the Survival Kit for Change, a small pamphlet with ideas, information and resources as a grass roots way of alerting people of the potential of Voluntary Simplicity.

Now, more than ever, we need folks to get involved in whatever good cause speaks to them – everything from running for office to tutoring kids in the neighborhood. Our culture offers many reasons why this is not “practical” – most of them falling under the category of the “need” for more money and more stuff. Voluntary Simplicity, on the other hand is liberating, allowing people to free up time and energy and contribute to a greater world.

For the complete text check out: Survival Kit for Change. As a truly grass roots effort, we’re counting on your help to get the word out, so feel free to copy and distribute the pamphlet widely. To receive a hard copy send a business size SASE to Jacque Blix, 1745 NW 59th St., Seattle, WA 98107

The Meaning of Life by David Heitmiller

On the 20th anniversary of the death of my first wife Carole, I’m reminded once again how we all leave our mark. On May 14, 1983, Carole died suddenly of unexplained heart failure at age 36. Alive and well one minute, gone the next. Yet she lives on, not only as a memory of those who knew her, but genetically in our daughter Kimberly and now in our grandson Erik. She lives on in the successful lives of those students she taught to read and to understand math at a critical point in their lives. She lives on in the subtle ways she positively influenced friends, relatives and coworkers with her determination, good deeds and concern for those in need.

She lives on in me. I’m a better person today because of her influence over our 15 years together. Her untimely death made me re-evaluate what is really important in life and indirectly led me to follow a less materialistic and simpler way of life.

Carole lives on, as we all will someday, by the example of how she lived her short time here on earth. She was a wife, mother and school teacher who enjoyed crafts, music, water skiing and reading. She was an “average” American in most ways, yet her impact continues to ripple out into the world in unknown ways like the ripples from the pebble dropped in a pond.

For me, the meaning of life is my belief that we all have free will and my awareness that we all leave our mark on the world. Large or small, good or bad, recognized or not, we will all leave a legacy behind. The meaning of our lives is determined each day by the choices we make, the example we set and the deeds we do. Carole’s legacy is not written in any history book or marked by any fame she achieved or fortune she accumulated during her lifetime, yet its there all the same. We never know when our time will come, but it will come nevertheless. The clock is ticking.

Remembering Fern

And speaking of leaving our mark, consider the life of Fern Halgren. While writing the above story, we were notified that our dear friend had passed away at age 91. We first met Fern in 1991 when we joined a Voluntary Simplicity group in north Seattle. Fern, then 79, had already lived a lifetime of service and good deeds but was still active in a variety of progressive causes. Voluntary simplicity was just one interest on a long list. Fern became one of our voluntary simplicity “elders,” a positive living example of how simpler living can create time and space to pursue social activism, relationships and live a more fulfilling life. She was also a wonderful example of how to grow older gracefully. She was a good listener with a cheerful smile and an interest and concern for everyone she met. She was one of those rare people who radiated love to all around her.

Fern leaves a large mark that will ripple out into the world for many years and generations to come. We feel privileged to have known her. For more on Fern’s life and accomplishments click here to read the Fern Halgren Obituary from the Seattle Times.

Yurt Living Recap

In the last edition of the news we were temporarily living in a yurt in Jamul, CA near San Diego for the winter (for details see Feb 2003). So how was living in a yurt for three months? Jacque describes it as “luxurious camping.” Perhaps because of his bicycle adventures living in a tent for weeks at a time, David is more generous and describes it as “down-right luxurious.” And despite the lack of a few of the conveniences of modern life, we recognized that in comparison to the vast majority of people on the planet, we still had it great.

Some initial mechanical issues such as a working phone line and functioning sink were resolved in the first couple of weeks and, for the most part, we lived comfortably in the yurt for the rest of the stay. Our bed had to be reconfigured several times to accommodate Jacque’s back and it got colder at night than we expected. Tending the woodstove, the composting toilet and dealing more directly with our garbage meant we were more tuned into our ecological footprint than we normally are at home. Wood had to be brought in, ashes emptied, garbage hauled to the main house and the composted waste from the toilet had to be “recycled.” It just didn’t disappear down the drain! Yurt living is more direct living.

We enjoyed being closer to nature. Coyotes howled. Frogs croaked. Stars and moon shone bright through our large skylight. Hiking trails were just outside our door or a short drive away and David experienced some challenging bicycling in the nearby mountains. Fresh oranges, grapefruit, lemons and avocados hung from trees just a few steps from the yurt and begged us to pick and eat them. Sophie could be off her leash most of the time and could literally follow her nose. She was in dog heaven.

Overall, the yurt experience was positive and we learned a lot, but we were also glad to get back home and into our normal routine. Because it was a temporary situation, we were never quite able to “settle” into the yurt and we now better appreciate our roots here in Seattle. We do plan on another extended visit to San Diego this winter but our living accommodations and length of stay are still to be determined.

Grandparenting

The primary purpose of our “wintering” in San Diego is so that we can be active grandparents for at least part of the year. Despite the logistical issues of commuting back and forth from the yurt, we rate this part of our Southern California adventure a complete success! We were able to play an active role in our grandson Erik’s life providing child care two days a week for Kimberly and Felipe and enjoying the holidays with a toddler. Children change so fast at that age and we experienced many of those changes over the three month we were there. Most importantly, Erik now recognizes Grandma and Grandpa (and Sophie!) as part of his extended family.

We look forward to our next visit and being involved in our grandchild’s life.

News Briefs

• David participated in the latest gathering of the International Association of Sustainable Businesses and Organizations (IASBO) in late March. The conference focused on Green Building and was held at the impressive Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center located on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. For more information go to: www.pselc.org
• SimpleRadio™, a new offering of the Simple Living Network, is now featuring streaming audio of the Getting a Life Audiobook in four parts. To listen go to: http://www.simpleliving.net/simpleradio
• Getting a Life Audio Book is once again available from the Simple Living Network. Discontinued by Penguin three years ago, we retrieved the audio rights to Getting a Life and have struck a deal with Dave Wampler to offer the cassette tape audio version of the Getting a Life through the Simple Living Network. At $9.95 it’s a great deal! To order copies go to: http://www.simpleliving.net/simpleradio
• When our agent cleaned house we ended up with a few copies of the now “out of print” original Getting a Life Audio Book. List priced at $16.95, we’ll let these babies go for $8.50 each (plus shipping) on a first come first served basis. Contact david@gettingalife.org to order.
• We want your favorite simplicity and sustainability ideas! On the simplicity and sustainability in action page of this site we’ve listed some of the things we’ve done to simplify our lives and live more lightly on the earth. Now we want to know what you’ve done. Send us two or three actions that you’ve taken to simplify your life and/or live more sustainably. We’ll list them in a future update. Send your actions to: david@gettingalife.org.

Book Recommendations

Here’s our latest recommended reads:

• The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies by Richard Heinberg, New Society Publishers, 2003 We’ve enjoyed Richard’s Museletter newsletter for several years for his well-reasoned and documented analysis of current issues. His most recent book delves into what we are facing as we enter the period of declining oil production and increasing demand.
• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle, New World Library, 1999 This profound book requires re-reading and contemplation to grasp and digest all that’s there. Leave the analytical mind and ego behind and live in the present moment and let the divine purpose of the universe unfold within you. Whew!
• Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, HarperTrophy, 1998 This wonderful little children’s book was given to David by daughter Kimberly. It’s the inspiring story of a young girl who brings a diverse community together by developing a trash-filled vacant lot into a beautiful urban garden.
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis, Delacorte Press, 1995. Another “young” persons novel given to David by Kimberly at Christmas details daily life of a Flint, MI black family in the early 1960s including a trip to Birmingham, AL at the time of the infamous church bombing. This is a very funny book!
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, 1961. Many of you may be familiar with this science fiction classic, but David had never read it and Jacque persuaded him to try it as counterpoint to his usual heavy-duty non-fiction. He has not been disappointed. An interesting look at human behavior and culture from a Martian point of view!
• Sometimes, Enough is Enough: Finding Spiritual Comfort in a Material World by Marsha Sinetar, Cliff Street Books, 2000. Sometimes the title says it all. Jacque is enjoying this one by the author of Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow.