The traditional virtue for July is simplicity. During the time when the summer heat is building, simplicity begins to look more and more attractive. In many hot climates, people return home from work during the hottest part of the day and rest before completing the day's labors. July brings with it the need to step back and declutter from the busyness of life.
Our present economic downturn (and if Bin-Laden has his way, our permanent economic downturn) has forced many of us to rethink our level of consumption. Some of us are finding the addictive level of purchasing and using difficult to overcome.
But this may be just the time when we are called to simplify our lives. As we age, as our children age, stuff accumulates. Gone (for now at any rate) are the days where things were saved because people needed them and knew they would use them. Now, we save things, perhaps as a left over habit from our Depression-era parents or grandparents, with no real idea that we will ever use these things again.
Too, many of the products purchased by us in the last 30 years were not even made to last beyond a few years of use. Planned obsolescence is a deliberate business strategy used to force us to continue to purchase an item that perhaps could, or at one time did, last through many decades of use.
If there is a plus to today's economy, it is one of simplicity. Many of us have things we will never again use. There are many more, though, who, because of their own economic situation, have a real need for things that they can not obtain. Part of simplification for us could be to gather together the things that we no longer need and give them away via Freecycle, The Purple Heart, or other charities.
Another aspect of simplicity is one of inner quiet. Various monastic practices of prayer, fasting and a general rule of life are something that many who do not live in monasteries are discovering. Making time for the important things in life, like connecting with God, other people, and ourselves, is one benefit of a life's rule. It disciplines us to focus on the things that matter in life--and chasing after things that don't last (beauty, pleasure, possessions) is left behind in.
This YouTube clip is the U.S. trailer for Into Great Silence--a movie that shows the daily life in The Grande Chartreuse Monastery in the French Alps first hand. There is no sound track other than the sounds of the monks; their chanting and their living.
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Simplicity is a very good virtue to focus on. Our lives our cluttered by the constant bombardment of activity (cell phones, computer, TV, video games, virtual reality, etc.). I think that is why material clutter is really beginning to bug me ... my mind is taking in all the sounds around and overloading me to the point that my vision (and my body) cannot stand to see the clutter (and be in its presence). This does bring about some good -- the desire to declutter. The say in Feng Shui that is you don't love it or use it, get rid of it. I'm working on it. It is a slow and continual process that will never be finished, but lighter and lighter as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteRegarding inner quiet and connecting with ourselves, others, and God -- the thing that bothers me most is that people constantly multitask and hardly do one thing at a time anymore. I remember once being at the zoo with my kids and I saw and father and daughter together. He was on his cell phone each time we saw them. I wonder if he even knew there were animals at the zoo? Sad. I'm all for finding stillness and quiet and focusing on one thing at a time. Great post.
I'm really trying to be aware of the moment more. I find that when I'm distracted in church, just holding a rosary gets my mind away from flying around elsewhere and keeps me where I am.
ReplyDeleteI think even if we are not multitasking on the phone or computer, we can still multitask in our heads.
I'm trying to watch that.