In this country, and with our common contemporary lifestyle here, having a simple life is anything but simple. We are constantly reminded by billboards, television, the internet, and all the objects and spaces around us that (success)==(things), and things take money, and the struggle to earn and succeed and profit, at any cost, is just a necessary part of it, and that those who don’t struggle or suffer are not worthy of love, respect, and compassion.
With all due respect to those who choose to struggle in life, that’s just utter nonsense. I believe, though I do not practice yet satisfactorily, that happiness comes from simplicity, and simplicity comes from reduction. Reducing the things, wants, expectations, needs, and desires in life, in my opinion, will lead to more of my happiness, the one thing worth wanting. This is not a new idea, but an idea worth refocusing upon. It just so happens, I have some new-found clarity to use.
I recently got divorced, which is not important for this post except for the fact that it means that I continue to have monetary responsibilities for things I no longer get to enjoy, like a single home and insuring a van, for the next seven years. Out of necessity, I am now living in a studio apartment, which has its charms. The space is a revelation and provides insight in and of itself. The idea that I no longer need to mow the grass, or deeply satisfy the neighbors, or worry about the fixes that need fixing, for instance, are all great reasons to have a small rented space. But it could be simpler yet.
I have a love for environmental sustainability, clean air and space. I seldom use paper or print on paper, I used electric, rather than gasoline powered yard devices (back when I needed them), I bought offshore wind energy in trade to counter my CO2 footprint when it was an option, and I drive a fuel-efficient car, when I’m not walking or biking. I was on a committee for sustainability at my former institution, and they all used to roll my eyes when I would protest at the idea that we would give out brand new t-shirts, water bottles, and other non-recycled, un-used, non-exemplar objects at events. I try to use as little non-renewable energy as possible in my everyday life. I strive to have low impact.
But my effort is nothing compared to Jim Merkel, documented in a film on Netflix watch now called “Radically Simple”. In the film, you get to see someone who truly has not only a non-negative impact, but rather a positive impact on his environment, and he truly understands and freely shares how his choices and our choices affect the world. He bikes 30 miles a day to work, he builds his living space from the trees on his plot, and he gathers, carries, and filters water from a nearby stream, he cooks with a wood stove and a solar oven. He spends a lot of his free time lecturing in small groups on how to do what he has. I think going his route is not really doable, sustainably, for everyone. It is perhaps too radical in its completeness of selflessness. I do know that I could get closer to what he’s doing in his example, and go further down the path I’m already going towards simplicity and sustainability.
The tiny house project and movement is another inspiration. An example is this post on the Tiny House blog that shows a builder looking at selling $30,000 houses of less than 5000 square feet at http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/tennessee-tiny-homes/#more-22974. And there are other commercial solutions to this issue too, like http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
So, recently, I had a friend on Facebook announce that there was a plot of land, a few acres, for sale in the Poconos. $35,000 for the lot. At some point, hopefully within the 7 years mentioned above, we will sell the house that I am paying for but not living in, and I’ll hopefully get something like $100,000 from the sale. Other lots exist outside of the Poconos, and those would likely have easier access to Internet and other signals I like in my life.
Between these ideas is a nugget of possibility. I could live more like Jim Merkel. I could have a garden, a small non-traditional home for somewhere around $30,000, and a comfortable, paid-for living space with similar interior square footage to my apartment for another $40k, but without the living on top of each other part, as well as an amazing, wild ‘yard’. I could give to the space around me, and it could give back. Also, I want to work because I like to work, not because I have to pay debts or impress neighbors. I want to live free of debt and obligation, and be able to focus on the things that matter. I want to live more simply.
A long-lasting friend named Kaz once explained this idea to me, in surprising completeness, and I thought of it as dreamlike. He devised an interconnected set of sheds on a lot like the one we’re discussing here, each acting as rooms with plenty of space and functional ability. I could have my dedicated studio and workshop, a comfortable place to live and enjoy media, a place to cook and eat, and a beautiful space to sleep with a great view of nature. He suggested a compost toilet and that solution even shows up in the Tiny House post suggested above.
So, I haven’t worked it all out yet, and I couldn’t change things as they are anyway, but I’m thinking I ave a new thing to save for, a new thing to look forward to, and a new thing to move towards. I wonder, how would you like to have a tiny house, with a big yard, and no bills to speak of?
