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Thread: What does "Simple Living" mean in the forum's title?

  1. #11
    Member miteigenenhaenden's Avatar
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    Thank you for this explanation. She is very interesting.
    You have to be willing to do the things others will never do in order to have the things others will never have.
    -unknown-

    www.miteigenenhaenden.de

  2. #12
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    Thank you everyone for your responses and some of the details behind the longer history of the forum. It has an interesting backstory.

    It also makes sense that the forum means something a little bit different for everyone, but the common theme seems to be "live well."

    I've definitely struggled with the concept that things can bring meaning and purpose. Some of them can, but when the act of acquisition becomes overwhelming I start to feel miserable. Starting collections of various things has done that to me a few times throughout my life. It never made me happier in the long run, despite the "thrill of the chase." As each collection piled up, I felt like it more controlled me than consoled me. The dopamine highs wear off fast. As one of the ancient Cynics said: "He doesn't own a fortune, his fortune owns him."

    The book "Goodbye, Things," by Fumio Sasaki, started my latest venture down this simpler path. It includes tips for ways to reframe the meaning of objects. Despite the help it offered, I still buy too many books. More than I can read, which then overwhelms me. I'm getting there, but every once in a while I suddenly buy about 10 books all at once. Some of them I read and some I discover on my shelf 10 years later. I suppose much worse addictions exist.

    Thank you again for all of your input!

  3. #13
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ewomack View Post
    Thank you everyone for your responses and some of the details behind the longer history of the forum. It has an interesting backstory.

    It also makes sense that the forum means something a little bit different for everyone, but the common theme seems to be "live well."

    I've definitely struggled with the concept that things can bring meaning and purpose. Some of them can, but when the act of acquisition becomes overwhelming I start to feel miserable. Starting collections of various things has done that to me a few times throughout my life. It never made me happier in the long run, despite the "thrill of the chase." As each collection piled up, I felt like it more controlled me than consoled me. The dopamine highs wear off fast. As one of the ancient Cynics said: "He doesn't own a fortune, his fortune owns him."

    The book "Goodbye, Things," by Fumio Sasaki, started my latest venture down this simpler path. It includes tips for ways to reframe the meaning of objects. Despite the help it offered, I still buy too many books. More than I can read, which then overwhelms me. I'm getting there, but every once in a while I suddenly buy about 10 books all at once. Some of them I read and some I discover on my shelf 10 years later. I suppose much worse addictions exist.

    Thank you again for all of your input!

    I don't know that much worse addictions exist! I always say books are the Final Frontier of decluttering. Haha, but true.

    I decluttered my book collection in 2020. Thanks, Covid! I had downtime to sort, sell, donate 800 books.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I have books on my kindle app now so only own about 10 physical books.

  5. #15
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    I have books on my kindle app now so only own about 10 physical books.
    I have more than 10 physical books, but far less than I used to because of Kindle. The only problem with Kindle is that I feel books are "out of sight, out of mind." So, I'll hear about a really interesting book, go on Amazon to check it out, and I see a banner at the top of the page that says "You purchased this book on July 18, 2019." Whoops. I also have a harder time remembering the name of the books I buy on Kindle, even as I'm reading them. There's something about having an actual tactile experience with a book that makes it superior to reading on Kindle, but Kindle certainly has its place.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  6. #16
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    Catherine gave a good historical summary. I first showed up here around 1998ish.
    Thought I'd drop in today. Out in the woods today and became bored, these forums came to mind.
    Hello everyone.

  7. #17
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cx3 View Post
    Catherine gave a good historical summary. I first showed up here around 1998ish.
    Thought I'd drop in today. Out in the woods today and became bored, these forums came to mind.
    Hello everyone.
    So cool!! So great to hear from you cx3! Please stick around--let us know what you've been up to!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  8. #18
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    Ty Catherine.
    I just added this site to my home screen, so I'll remember to come back more often.

  9. #19
    Senior Member littlebittybobby's Avatar
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    Okay---To me, it means not being so Consumeristic. It doesn't mean "pitch everything to be neat & tidy". That's sometimes called "decluttering". But yeah-- Torsten Veblen was a college professor at various institutions 100 years ago, who identified consumerism in the emerging "middle class" in America, and made his theories known. He was not very popular, though. Because even pursuing "higher education" was a new form of consumption for many people, in his view. In the old days, you could become a teacher or a lawyer without a big College Degree! Yup. Now, people attend college to study Feminism, for example, and rack up large debt to do so. Ha. Hope that helps you some.

  10. #20
    Senior Member littlebittybobby's Avatar
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    Okay----there was a terrible wreck, a couple miles from me, on the super slab on T-Day evening. A hetero couple was headed somewhere, and the guy swerved to miss a slower moving vehicle he encountered, but clipped it and spun across the median and hit one going the opposite direction. But yeah---the couple was killed, and the hetero couple in the car they hit was killed, and only a small child in the back seat survived. There was a fairly short, matter-of-fact article on most local news outlets, and the police said they were still figuring out the precise cause of the crash. No photos of the crash scene were published. Other than that, not much else about the wreck has been deemed newsworthy. After all, I 'spose it was 'cause it involved only 4-5 people(2 hetero couples & a small child), and car crashes happen all the time. Why belabor the issue? Yup. Traffic is murder. But, ya gotta have it, to drive-n-eat. Well, don't ya? Hope that helps you some. Edited to add: Oh, shoot! This very important subject was supposed to go on my thread about VERY important subjects. Oh, well. Too bad. I think we'll be okay. Yup.2022-11-26 (6).jpg
    Last edited by littlebittybobby; 11-26-22 at 11:14pm.

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