CHAPTER 5: Living the Simple Life

THE SIMPLIFICATION OF LIFE is one of the steps to inner peace.Apersistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-beingthat places harmony in one’s life. For me this began with a discoveryof the meaninglessness of possessions beyond my actual and immediateneeds. As soon as I had brought myself down to need level, Ibegan to feel a wonderful harmony in my life between inner andouter well-being, between spiritual and material well-being.
Some people seem to think that my life dedicated to simplicityand service is austere and joyless, but they do not know the freedomof simplicity. I am thankful to God every moment of my life for thegreat riches that have been showered upon me. My life is full andgood but never overcrowded. If life is overcrowded then you aredoing more than is required for you to do.
My life had been bogged down; I felt greedy before I took myvow of simplicity: I shall not accept more than I need while others in theworld have less than they need.
You also may have come out of a life where you had too manythings.When you have simplified your life, I’m sure you will feel asfree as I feel. If your motive is one of giving then you will be givenwhatever you need.
In my life, what I want and what I need are exactly the same.
Anything in excess of needs is burdensome to me.You couldn’t giveme anything I don’t need. I am penniless, but have difficulty remainingso. Several of my well meaning, well-to-do friends have offeredme large sums of money, which I of course refused.
I talked to one person who thought I was being deprived of someof the “pleasures” of life. But none of the things I do not use or do notdo were taken away from me. I just did not include them when I waschoosing a harmonious life. I just had no interest whatsoever inthem.
I am not a slave to comfort and convenience. I wouldn’t be a pilgrimif I were.We can allow false beliefs to govern our lives and beenslaved by them. Most people do not wish to be free. They wouldprefer to moan and chafe about how impossible it is to give up theirvarious enslavements to possessions, food, drink, smoking, and soforth. It is not that they can’t give them up—they don’t really wantto give them up.
Our physical needs depend somewhat on the climate in whichwe live, the state of our health, etc. In general we need a shelter toprotect us from the elements; a fire, a blanket, some clothing forwarmth; pure air and water and sufficient food for sustenance.Thereare, of course, needs beyond the physical. These often involve littleor no expenditure of money, but this is not always so. For instance,there are some people whose lives are not complete unless they canlisten to good music or play some musical instrument.While suggestionsmay be made as to simple living, simplifying our lives is an individualproblem for every one of us.
I learned about forty years ago that money and things wouldn’tmake people happy. And this has been confirmed many times. I havemet many millionaires. They had one thing in common. None ofthem were happy. Look at Howard Hughes with his 2.5 billion dollars.
They say he was the most miserable, fear-ridden creature onecould imagine! And I knew a woman who inherited 4.5 million dollars.
It ruined her life. Because she was one who had always been agiving person, she wanted to use the money meaningfully. But shediscovered it was such a burden to her. She would be better off if shedid not have it.
I realize that if you don’t have enough you won’t be happy.
Neither are you happy if you have too much. It is those who haveenough but not too much who are the happiest.
I remember a dear lady, who was up in years. She was workingso hard and always complaining. I finally said to her, “Why in theworld do you need to work so hard when you have only yourself tosupport?”And she said, “Oh, I have to pay rent on a five room house.”
“A five room house!” I replied. “But you’re alone in the world.
Couldn’t you live happily in one room?” “Oh yes,” she said sadly, “butI have furniture for a five room house.” She was actually working herfingers to the bone to provide a proper home for that furniture! Andthat happens all the time. All I can say is, don’t let it happen to you.
Because of our preoccupation with materialism we often missthe best things in life, which are free.
Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens.
If you have them, you have to take care of them.
I’ll tell you about one more woman. She was liberated, althoughnot in the best possible way. I saw her only occasionally, but I happenedto see her about a month after her huge house, in which sheand her husband had been living alone since the children weregrown, had burned down while they’d been out. They lost everythingexcept the clothes they were wearing. Remembering howattached she had been to that huge house, in spite of the fact that itwas such a burden for her to take care of, I started to say a fewwords of sympathy. But she said, “Don’t sympathize with me! Now,you could have the morning after, but not now. Just think, I willnever have to clean out that attic. I will never have to clean out thoseclothes closets. I will never have to clean that basement! Why, I’venever felt so free. I just feel I’m starting life all over again!”
She and her husband were living in a sensible size apartment and,indeed, I’m sure they did experience a wonderful sense of freedom.
But wouldn’t it have been better if they had learned to give and hadextended their surplus towards those who needed it? Then they wouldhave been blessed by the giving, and others would have been blessedby the getting. In any case, it was a situation which liberated them.
If you are free, I recommend a hiking trip on a wilderness footpath.
How inspiring it is to walk all day in the sunshine and sleep allnight under the stars. What a wonderful experience in simple, naturalliving. Since you carry your food, sleeping equipment, etc., onyour back, you learn quickly that unnecessary possessions areunnecessary burdens. You soon realize what the essentials of lifeare—such as warmth when you are cold, a dry spot on a rainy day,the simplest food when you are hungry, pure cool water when youare thirsty.You soon put material things in their proper place, realizingthat they are there for use, but relinquishing them when they arenot useful. You soon experience and learn to appreciate the greatfreedom of simplicity.
From May to October of 1952, before the pilgrimage, I walkedthe 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine,with 500 additional miles for side-trips to points of special beauty.
I lived out-of-doors completely, supplied with only one pair ofslacks and shorts, one blouse and sweater, a lightweight blanket, andtwo double plastic sheets, into which I sometimes stuffed leaves. Iwas not always completely dry and warm, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
My menu, morning and evening, was two cups of uncookedoatmeal soaked in water and flavored with brown sugar; at noon twocups of double strength dried milk, plus any berries, nuts or greensfound in the woods.
I had been thoroughly prepared for my pilgrimage by this tougheningprocess.A walk along the highway seemed easy by comparison.
How good it is to eat fruit tasty and ripe from the tree and vegetablesfresh and crisp from the field. And how good it would be for thefarming of the future to concentrate on the non-use of poisonous substances,such as sprays, so food would be fit to go from farm to table.
One morning for breakfast I had blueberries covered with dew,picking them from the bushes as I journeyed through the New Englandmountains. I thought of my fellow human beings eating variouskinds of processed and flavored foods, and I realized that if I couldchoose my breakfast from all the foods in the world I could not makea better choice than blueberries covered with dew.
In the spring and summer when the days are long, how good itis to get up with the sun and go to bed with the sun. In the fall andwinter when the days are shorter you can enjoy some of the night. Iam inclined to agree that there is a substance in the air, left there bythe sun, which diminishes after the sun goes down and can beabsorbed only while you sleep. Sleeping from nine to five is aboutright for me.
How good it is to work in the invigorating fresh air under thelife-giving sun amid the inspiring beauty of nature. There are manywho recognize this, like the young man I met whose life had beeninterrupted by the peacetime draft. While he was away his father,who was in poor health, was not able to keep up the farm and so itwas sold. The young man then undertook to do years of distastefulwork in order to be able to buy another farm. How good it is to earnyour livelihood helping plants to grow to provide people with food.
In other words, how good it is to earn your livelihood by contributingconstructively to the society in which you live—everyoneshould, of course, and in a healthy society everyone would.
My clothes are most comfortable as well as most practical. Iwear navy blue slacks and a long sleeved shirt topped with my letteredtunic. Along the edge of my tunic, both front and rear, are partitionedcompartments which are hemmed up to serve as pockets.
These hold all my possessions which consist of a comb, a foldingtoothbrush, a ballpoint pen, a map, some copies of my message andmy mail.
So you can see why I answer my mail faster than most—it keepsmy pockets from bulging. My slogan is: Every ounce counts! Beneathmy outer garments I wear a pair of running shorts and a short sleevedshirt—so I’m always prepared for an invigorating swim if I pass ariver or lake.
As I put on my simple clothing one day after a swim in a clearmountain lake I thought of those who have closets full of clothes totake care of, and who carry heavy luggage with them when theytravel. I wondered how people would want to so burden themselves,and I felt wonderfully free. This is me and all my possessions. Thinkof how free I am! If I want to travel, I just stand up and walk away.
There is nothing to tie me down.
One outfit of clothing is enough.That’s all I’ve owned since mypilgrimage started in 1953. And I take good care of my things. I canalways find a wash basin in a public restroom or a nearby stream towash my clothes, and drying them is even easier: I just put them onand let the energy from the sun evaporate any dampness.
I wash my skin only with water; soap removes the natural oils. Sodo the cosmetics and creams most women use.
The only footwear I need is an inexpensive pair of blue sneakers.
They have soft fabric tops and soft rubber-like soles. I get them onesize too large so I can wiggle my toes. I feel as free as though I werebarefoot! And I can usually get 1,500 miles to a pair. I wear a pair ofnavy blue socks.There’s a reason why I chose navy blue for my wearingapparel—it’s a very practical color, doesn’t show dirt, and thecolor blue does represent peace and spirituality.
I don’t discard any article of wear until it becomes worn to theextent of being unusable. Once when I was about to leave town ahostess said, “Peace, I noticed your shoes were in need of repair, andI would have offered to repair them, but I know so much aboutsewing that I knew they couldn’t be repaired.” I said to her, “It’s agood thing I know so little about sewing that I didn’t know theycouldn’t be repaired—so I just finished repairing them.”
The first few years I used a blue scarf and a blue sweater duringchilly weather, but I eventually discarded them as not really essential.
I am now so adjustable to changes in temperature that I wear thesame clothes summer and winter, indoors and out.
Like the birds, I migrate north in the summer and south in thewinter. If you wish to talk to people out-of-doors, you must bewhere the weather is pleasant or people will not be out.
When the temperature gets high and the sun gets hot there isnothing so welcome as shade. There is a special coolness about theshade of a tree, but unless it is a big tree some shifting is required tostay in the shade. Clouds provide shade as they drift across the sun.
A rock provides what I call deep shade; so does a bank early in themorning or late in the afternoon. Sometimes even the shade of abush is appreciated, or that of a haystack. Man-made things provideshade too. Buildings, of course, and even signs which disfigure thelandscape do provide shade. So do bridges, providing shelter fromthe rain as well. Of course, one can wear a hat or carry an umbrella.
I do neither. Once when a reporter asked if by chance I had a foldingumbrella in my pockets I replied, “I won’t melt. My skin is waterproof.
I don’t worry about little discomforts.” But I’ve sometimesused a piece of cardboard for a sun shade.
Water is something you think of in hot weather, but I have discoveredthat if I eat nothing but fruit until my day’s walk is over I donot get thirsty. Our physical needs are so simple.
After a wonderful sojourn in the wilderness, I remember walkingalong the streets of a city which had been my home for awhile. Itwas 1 p.m. Hundreds of neatly dressed human beings with pale orpainted faces hurried in rather orderly lines to and from their placesof employment. I, in my faded shirt and well-worn slacks, walkedamong them.The rubber soles of my soft canvas shoes moved noiselesslyalong beside the clatter of trim, tight shoes with stilt-like heels.
In the poorer section I was tolerated. In the wealthier section someglances seemed a bit startled and some were disdainful.
On both sides of us as we walked were displayed the things we canbuy if we are willing to stay in the orderly lines day after day, year afteryear. Some of the things are more or less useful, many are utter trash.
Some have a claim to beauty, many are garishly ugly. Thousands ofthings are displayed—and yet,my friends, the most valuable are missing.
Freedom is not displayed, nor health, nor happiness, nor peace ofmind.To obtain these things,my friends, you too may need to escapefrom the orderly lines and risk being looked upon disdainfully.
To the world I may seem very poor, walking penniless and wearingor carrying in my pockets my only material possessions, but I amreally very rich in blessings which no amount of money could buy—health and happiness and inner peace.
The simplified life is a sanctified life,Much more calm, much less strife.Oh, what wondroustruths are unveiled—Projects succeed which had previously failed.
Oh, how beautiful life can be,Beautiful simplicity.