Simplicity

How do you "un-know" something once you 'know' it? Well, I suppose there's the whole defense mechanism of denial, but otherwise...impossible. So what does one do with the new awareness once it has become a part of your knowledge? Live the new 'truth' to the best of your ability, as best as you realistically can in light of knowing your strengths, weaknesses and ability for "resilience." In short: making even the slightest modifications in various areas of your life can instill an overall significant positive change.

Perhaps I need to back up a bit and explain myself.....

The past few weeks I have been contemplating a more simplistic, eco-friendly way of living as I voraciously read books on this very topic. My friend Sara had mentioned having read the book "Skinny Bitch" months ago and for some reason, it came to my mind recently....and I asked her if I could borrow it. So when we met up to see a movie together last week, we did a book swap. She gave me "Skinny Bitch" and "Into the Wild" to read, while I gave her "I'm Not the New Me."

At first glance, "Skinny Bitch" seemed to be just another weight loss/health and diet kind of book. But the further I read on, my stomach growled in dismay and nauseousness at the purely disgusting and eye opening honest knowledge I was getting about the USDA and FDA's horrid food ingredient practices. It made me realize how little we, as consumers, know about what is in the food we chew and ignorantly, trustingly swallow. Food isn't the only thing we have been swallowing folks. The government's food industry practices are borderline unethical. By the time I finished this book, I was just about speechless. I found myself becoming paranoid to the point of obsession, checking the ingredient labels the last two days on everything from toothpaste to the cheese sitting on the shelf in my refrigerator. I almost grieved a loss for my blissful ignorance of food I most enjoyed, enjoying something in hindsight I didn't really know I was eating after all....besides the fact that it tasted good. But what if all the crap (processed/artificially modified foods, alcohol, cigarettes, ad infinitum) we are putting into our bodies is contributing to all the deadly diseases (like cancer) and other various ways in which our bodies feel shitty on an almost daily basis? Something that is preventable (for the most part) by watching what we ingest.

Now I'm not on a soapbox. If anything, I'm right there with ya looking up at said soapbox. I kept thinking to myself: "What do I do with this new information and still enjoy what life has to offer?" After reading "Into the Wild," I got to thinking more about a less complicated solution for myself: live more simple. Interestingly, both of these books seemed to emphasize extreme forms of simple living. "Skinny Bitch" has a somewhat pro-vegan agenda, something I cannot possibly fathom as a realistic lifestyle change for myself. And "Into the Wild," while a phenomenal story and admirable person....I cannot see myself surviving for two years without much to sustain me besides thumbing rides and wild potato plants for sustenance. What I CAN do (and you dear reader too!!) is think about what I CAN adjust and/or do without....and in the process, appreciate what I DO have and am as a person MORE!

You would be amazed how much more time and energy you have when you're not watching tv as much. Since I got my cable yanked away (damn Comcast, but maybe they've blessed me, so the verdict's still out) in early summertime, my thirst for reading is almost unquenchable! I've been reading more, connecting on the phone with people more (something I had stopped doing for awhile, relying almost solely on email/internet), exercising, taking pictures, and spending time with friends....or just with my own company.

You would also be amazed how much more "light," healthy, and energetic you feel when you're not overloading your body with junk food, caffeine, alcohol, too many dairy products and carbs,etc. I am usually a hardcore coffee drinker, every day. The last three days I have been weening myself off of daily doses (can't say I'm strong enough to cut coffee out completely) in favor of green tea after I rise and shine in the morning. I've also been eating a salad either for lunch or dinner. Call it psychological, but I DO feel better and less lethargic. Yesterday afternoon I was amazed to find myself wide awake, reading another new book at a Starbuck's (yes, I had a small mocha frappucino, but I enjoyed it and drank it very slowly) for awhile before venturing out for a 45 minute walk along the lakefront all the way to downtown.

This brings me to the next interesting book I just started: "Not Buying It." My friend Melissa recommended this book to me when I talked with her a week or so ago. The author, Judith Levine (along with her significant other, Paul), decides to take a challenging 12 month journey into a non-consumer driven kind of existence. Quite fascinating to read and even ponder for myself.

Daily American living depends, no LIVES off of the reliability of others consuming....well, anything! They are curious to see if they can forgo the 'luxuries' of consumerism ("wants" and desires), only purchasing the necessities ("needs," such as toilet paper, conventional food,etc). No tickets to the movies. No going out to eat at restaurants. No shopping for ostentatious items. Think you could do this, dear reader? Maybe. But for a year? Hmmm, I wonder. I'm only 75 pages in, but I'm hooked.

Think about it. Consumerism has a psychological basis for its sometimes unhealthy and perpetuating cycle...not so much a desire FOR the 'thing,' but for how pursuing and accumulating it makes us feel about ourselves....either in comparison or contrast to others...or just individually. Turns out, no matter how old we get, it all goes back to those formative years of having that new hip article of clothing, or the hottest new vehicle. How silly is that though? And can we find a more enduring sense of purpose and happiness free from materialistic means?

It got me to thinking about one summer, back in 2001, when I didn't have much money to my name. I wasn't working, didn't have a place of my own, and even took "showers" (in my bathing suit) right outside of the RV I was living in at the time with my mom and stepdad in rural Kentucky. Like I said, it was a penniless summer. It's not something most people know about me (until now). Surprisingly, however, I wasn't all that unhappy. I went swimming every day in the nearby motel pool, read ALOT of books, wrote in my journal, and had time to figure out what the hell I wanted to do with my life in its next anticipatory chapter (which ended up being my moving to Chicago). The point is, simple CAN be more refreshing. One doesn't have to be penniless to experience simplicity; that's not what I'm saying....but it doesn't have to include monetary factors either.

Needless to say, I'm currently in search of living more simply. Consume less and use my mind (and/or body) more. Less clutter and junk in my apartment. Less financial debt. Less alcohol, less caffeine, less dairy products and most difficult of all: less carbs. As time progresses, I know it will make a big difference, no matter how hard at first. More fruits, vegetables, and water. More reading, more walking/jogging/possibly even yoga, more sleep and more quiet. More appreciation of natural beauty.

Less complex. More...simple.