I just wrapped up the book Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. It was encouraging to see that Elgin intentionally describes "voluntary simplicity" in many different ways: Because a concern for ecological sustainability is so widely shared, there are many ways of describing more sustainable and meaningful ways of living. There is no special virtue to the phrase 'voluntary simplicity.' Because this is a leaderless revolution in living, people are inventing as they go—including inventing words … [Read more...]
Voluntary Simplicity Blog Posts
Articles about choosing voluntary simplicity tips, voluntary simplicity books, voluntary simplicity lifestyle, and more.
A Detailed Overview of “Voluntary Simplicity” by Duane Elgin (Book Summary)
This is a book about the “why” behind voluntary simplicity. It’s not necessarily a how-to guide or checklist of to-dos. I think that’s why I love it so much. So many books skip straight to the "hows," but if you aren’t aligned to the “why,” the “hows” won’t stick. Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin was first published in 1981. This book summary is based on the more recent fully revised and updated second edition that was released … [Read more...]
Humanity is a Teenager — We Will Evolve Through Simplicity
This is the second post inspired by the book Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. You can see the first post here: Top 10 Most Common Reasons for Choosing Simple Living. I truly think this may be one of the most important posts that will ever appear on this blog. Why is it so important? It's a complete mindset shift to think about simple living as progress instead of regress. It's not reverting to a simpler time in the past or necessarily a back-to-the-land movement. I believe this … [Read more...]
Top 10 Most Common Reasons for Choosing Simple Living
I just wrapped up the book Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. I think I took more notes from this book than any other book I've read this year. Due to the sheer quantity of notes, I'm going to split them up into at least three different posts on the topic of voluntary simplicity. Believe it or not, I was first introduced to voluntary simplicity when I read a random college thesis that I found online a few years ago. It was a great intro to the concept, and I wrote a summary of it … [Read more...]
What is Downshifting? How to Transition into Simple Living
I've been driving manual transmission cars since I was 16, but I had only heard the terms "downshift" and "downshifting" related to gears. A couple years ago, I was delighted to discover the same terms can apply to our lifestyles. Googling "define: downshifting" gives a #2 definition of: Change a financially rewarding but stressful career or lifestyle for a less pressured and less highly paid but more fulfilling one. Since I just quit my corporate 9-to-5 job last week, now is the perfect … [Read more...]
