"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

                               - Bilbo Baggins

I'm very drawn to the idea of living simply. It's one of the major reasons I have remained a vegetarian (which I promise I'll discuss in length some other time). I'm not really sure if there is one way to sum up simple living. As naturally complicated creatures, it's very easy to project our inner intricacies to our exterior lives. The world is not always simple. We learn this every time we turn on the news. How can we be simple in a world that demands us to constantly multitask?

For me, simplicity is not defined as avoiding deep thought or engagement in our local and global community. Much to the contrary, I think those things encourage me to live simply. I think it comes down to prioritizing what you consider essential in your life. In their song "Heaven Go Easy on Me," The Head and Heart says, "It is that the good life is a simple one? Sittin' in the yard watchin' the leaves go by. Reading good books and playing songs." That may be a dramatically reduced summation, but I think it reflects how I would define the simple life. We simplify our lives when we focus all of our endeavors toward achieving the goals that we have for ourselves. I ask myself, "Will X allow me to grow spiritually, intellectually, emotionally? Will doing X allow me to serve others? Would I regret not doing X?"

For Bilbo, the simple life is eating good food and enjoying the company of his friends and loved ones. Isn't that a fairly universal goal? You don't have to become a super-vegan, zero-waste, only-own-3-outfits kind of person to live a simple life. You just have to remove the clutter of the non-essentials in your life. Simplicity isn't hard when you have a core of inner peace to take shelter in when everything else is screaming for your money, attention, and energy.

How do you simplify your life?