Excerpts from

Voluntary Simplicity

by Duane Elgin

• Tend to invest the time and energy freed up by simpler living in activities with their partner, children and friends (walking, making music together, sharing a meal, camping, etc.), or volunteering. to help others, or getting involved in civic affairs to improve the life of the community.
• Tend to work on developing the full spectrum their potentials: physical (running, biking, hiking, etc.), emotional (learning the skills of intimacy and sharing feelings in important relationships), mental (engaging in lifelong learning by reading, taking classes, etc.), and spiritual (learning to move through life with a quiet mind and compassionate heart).
• Tend to feel an intimate connection with the earth and a reverential concern for nature. In knowing that the ecology of the earth is a part of our extended ``body,'' people tend to act in ways that express great care for its well-being.
• Tend to feel a compassionate concern for the world's poor; a simpler life fosters a sense of kinship with people around the world and thus a concern for social justice and equity in the use of the world's resources.
• Tend to lower their overall level of personal consumption---buy less clothing (with more attention to what is functional, durable, aesthetic, and less concern with passing fads, fashions, and seasonal styles), buy less jewelry and other forms of personal ornamentation, buy fewer cosmetic products and observe holidays in a less commercialized manner.
• Tend to alter their patterns of consumption in favor of products that are durable, easy to repair, nonpolluting in their manufacture and use, energy-efficient, functional, and aesthetic.
• Tend to shift their diet away from highly processed foods; meat, and sugar toward foods that are more natural, healthy, simple, and appropriate for sustaining the inhabitants of a small planet.
• Tend to reduce undue clutter and complexity in their personal lives by giving away or selling possessions that are seldom used and could be used productively by others clothing books, furniture, appliances, tools, etc.).
• Tend to use their consumption politically by boycotting goods and services of companies whose actions or policies they consider unethical.
• Tend to recycle metal, glass, and paper and to cut back on consumption of items that are wasteful of nonrenewable resources.
• Tend to pursue a livelihood that directly contributes to the well-being of the world and enables a person to use more fully his or her creative capacities in ways that are fulfilling.
• Tend to develop personal skills that contribute to greater self-reliance and reduce dependence upon experts to handle life's ordinary demands (for example, basic carpentry, plumbing, appliance repair, gardening, crafts, etc.).
• Tend to prefer smaller-scale, more human-sized living and working environments that foster a sense of community, face-to-face contact, and mutual caring.
• Tend to alter male-female roles in favor of nonsexist patterns of relationship.
• Tend to appreciate the simplicity of nonverbal forms of communication---the eloquence of silence, hugging and touching, the language of the eyes.
• Tend to participate in holistic health-care practices that emphasize preventive medicine and the healing powers of the body when assisted by the mind.
• Tend to involve themselves with compassionate causes, such as protecting rain forests and saving animals from extinction, and tend to use nonviolent means in their efforts.
• Tend to change transportation modes in favor of public transit, car pooling, smaller and more fuel efficient autos, living closer to work, riding a bike and walking.