Voluntary Simplicity

Personally, I had chosen a life of voluntary simplicity years before I knew there was a name for such a lifestyle or that authors like Duane Elgin were leading the way, helping others discover a balanced, mindful, deliberate way of life. And although Elgin is surely one of the most recognized names in modern Voluntary Simplicity, it was only last month that I sat down to enjoy his almost 30 year old work, Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich.

Voluntary Simplicity (the book), I felt, could be divided into two parts:

1. The personal transformation in living a life of voluntary simplicity
2. The broader, environmental and economical impacts of our world should we choose or not choose simplicity

The first two-thirds of the book (what I call Part 1) begins by explaining what voluntary simplicity is and is not. It's not about living in abject poverty, but about living lightly, reducing our ecological impact on the earth, and sharing the world's resources with the whole world (not just the industrialized portions of it). It's not about denying ourselves the things we treasure most, but about de-cluttering our minds and lives so that we can concentrate on what's most important to us. It's not about withdrawing from life, but being empowered to transform the world around us by becoming intimately involved.

Particularly moving are the testimonials presented that illustrate a life of voluntary simplicity to be a slow, but amazing evolution wherein decisions of an individual, when made with mindfulness, have power to change the world:

The character of a whole society is the cumulative result of the countless small actions, day in and day out, of millions of persons. Small changes that may seem unimportant in isolation are of transformative significance when adopted by an entire society.

and

...our individual well-being is inseparable from the well-being of other members of the human family... [it] is the example of each person's life, much more than his or her words, that speaks with power. Even the smallest action done with a loving appreciation of life can touch other human beings in profound ways.

Unfortunately (for me, anyway), the book progressed into the final third (my "Part 2") which felt more like reading an economic text on what happens to the world if we do or do not choose voluntary simplicity. Personally, I preferred the discussion on how lives are transformed when we begin making deliberate and mindful choices, and how to go about making those choices.

Well, we can't win them all. I was glad to have finally sat down to read this book and it reinforced a lot of what I think about a life of voluntary simplicity. I'm looking forward to checking out some other books that might go further into how we, as individuals, can make informed, mindful, deliberate choices giving each and every one of us the power to change the world.

Recommended: To those interested in exploring the idea of voluntary simplicity

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Monday Roundup

Welcome July! While we're broiling here in the Texas heat, I'm "escaping" through my old photo albums (that's a photo from my house-sitting adventure in southern France) and a few new books.

What do you do to escape the summer heat? Any good books keeping you company?

The Ten Trusts

Acclaimed author, primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist Jane Goodall presents us with a book rich in guidance for conservation and environmental efforts in The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love. I found it extremely interesting that not only are the Ten Trusts geared to help only animals, they recognize and appreciate our role in the humanity of our world and the care we must give our environment.

The Ten Trusts are:

Rejoice That We Are Part of the Animal Kingdom
Respect All Life
Open Our Minds, In Humility, to Animals and Learn from Them
Teach our Children to Respect and Love Nature
Be Wise Stewards of Life on Earth
Value and Help Preserve the Sounds of Nature
Refrain from Harming Life in Order to Learn About It
Have the Courage of Our Convictions
Praise and Help Those Who Work for Animals and the Natural World
Act Knowing We Are Not Alone and Live with Hope

Coda: After all is said and done, silence is betrayal.

In each chapter there is information as well as moving stories that seek to personalize animals – without turning them into creatures that must mimic or entertain us in order to garner our protection. Stories of animals on land and sea, in flight and in our hearts will move you to consider the deeper meaning of our role in each trust.

What one must consider for each of these trusts is that we are also part of the environment, and each trust spoke to me in a way of how we should treat other humans as well as our natural world.

The Sixth Trust, Value and Help Preserve the Sounds of Nature “concerns the immense damage we have already inflicted on the complex web of life on Earth.” Goodall explores the poisons we have deposited on Earth including oil, chemicals, water pollution and more. Her brief comments on captive breeding programs resonated with me – as a former volunteer of the Carnivore Preservation Trust (feeding crew – whoo hoo!) I’ve looked into the eyes of some of the last of these beautiful creatures and seen how important breeding programs can be to restore even the possibility of some of our endangered species. Nowadays I have only to walk around a subdivision to realize the dim call of natural wildlife as even general wildlife habitat diminishes.

I found the Ten Trust to be a simple and inspiring read, one that prompted introspection of many pressing issues that affect not only animals, our ourselves the animal and the environment that we life in. Rated 4 out of 5 stars for Green Readers.

Monday Roundup

Do you have any fantastic new books tucked away in your bag for the holiday? Planning on a three day weekend as you vacation, or even stay-cation? Let us know what is on your bookshelf or traveling along with you as we have other readers that may be interested.

Please post a comment to recommend a title, or let us know if you have reviewed a title that you would like to share. I hope everybody has a nice weekend planned!

Environmentally friendly book publishing

Ten years ago, my dad decided to take his best photographs, add some text and publish a nice hard-bound book. He found a local printhouse that could do the job. This was before everything was in digital, so it wasn't cheap. For the sake of cost and also because he didn't want to waste resources, he decided to only print 400 copies of his book.

The book turned into a family project and my primary job was to help with logistics, including the press check. I spent one whole evening up until about 2 o'clock in the morning visiting the print shop and looking at the pages as they came off the press. The pages all looked fine, but I was horrified at the waste. For every page printed in color, the shop ran a stack of oversized paper through the press about three feet high, just to make sure the ink was coming out correctly. That's not a misprint -- for 400 copies, they wasted approximately three feet of stacked paper per page. I was stunned.

Fast forward ten years and like father, like daughter, I decided to self-publish a book. I wanted it in color, but besides the fact that the cost would have been prohibitive, no way was I going to generate that kind of waste. Luckily for me, a new type of printing now exists called print-on-demand (POD). I honestly don't know if they waste feet of paper at the start of the day when they turn on the presses, but with the printing method you can print any number of copies, starting at one. It's slightly more expensive per copy than the traditional method, but here's no inventory to store in your garage or to buy back from a distributer when they don't sell.

If I looked into it further, I'd probably find POD companies that use recycled paper or soy ink or something even friendlier. I didn't go that far -- I was just excited that I could print my book without all that waste and without needing to guess how many copies I'd someday need.

If you've ever thought of publishing your own book, you should check this out. There is a range of services that various companies offer. Beware of those that charge too much or don't leave you with full rights to your work. I decided to go really simple, so I landed at CreateSpace. I had to provide everything in pdf form including the cover. I keep all rights to my work; they print, sell through Amazon and send me royalties. I can order books wholesale as needed and resell them. I've received several shipments of my book already and I couldn't be happier with the quality.

I know on a site like our Bookworm there's a bunch of readers who wish you could publish your own book. You should look into this! Rating: 5 out of 5.

Book Review: Seedfolks

I first heard about Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman from a post or comment right here on the Bookworm. Anybody want to take credit so I don't have to search the archives? Anyway, I am so glad I was able to find a copy in my local library.

Seedfolks is a short work of fiction about a community garden in Cleveland. The writing is amazing in that the story is told by 13 individuals, each with their own chapter and each in the first person. Fleischman strings these 13 stories together into a whole in such a way as to explain how he once won a Newberry award. The literary technique is amazing.

More than that, though, I found the book to be both pleasant and entertaining. Fleischman explores different cultures and how different people find healing through their work in a garden. In reading the story, I only wished that it had actually happened. But maybe Fleischman's work will inspire people somewhere out there to be seedfolks themselves. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars for gardeners and those who enjoy a light read.

Monday Roundup

Good Monday evening, everyone! School's out and summer has officially started here in Oregon. In the spirit of lazy days, my review later this week will be pure fluff! I've just finished a nice little read that's perfect for an hour in a lawnchair (if your kids will let you get away with that!). Also, a little more seriously, I'll share an environmentally friendly way to publish a book.

What about you? Read any fluff lately? Or something more challenging? Leave a comment and let us know! Also, if you would like to be included on the list of bookworms and are not already there, please leave your request in a comment and we'll add you in.