Do you believe it possible in the current technological and financial state of most societies to live a?

Question

simple life?

Answer 1

Well it depends on what you mean by a simple life, but myself and others like me have chosen to live frugal, environmentally conscious, and simple lives. I manage well enough. So I suppose I can serve as evidence to the affirmative.

Answer 2

A simple life starts with one's self. It comes from the basic state of awareness, pure consciousness. It probably could be called by many different names. It is "who we really are".

It is the state that we are born with and that children have such easy access to. There is the familiar phrase, "the simplicity of a child". This has nothing to do with how much or how little children know of the world. It refers to the fact that children easily maintain who they really are, the basic state of awareness.

Little by little, from their interactions with the adults around them, children get pulled out of this state and into their minds. Living in the mind results in the complication of life.

Living in the mind, one can give up all worldly goods and become an ascetic, living a materially simple life, but this will not bring one back to one's real self, and thus not really be a simple life, since the person is still lost in the complication of his mind. On the other hand, one can be fully involved in the modern material world and yet live a simple life, if one is grounded in the Self. For most of us who have grown up in modern society, this would require some sort of rebirth.

Answer 3

The way you choose to live your life is not dictated by the outside world. There influences, yes. But these are factors that you must incorporate into the lifestyle that you desire.

If by 'simple', you mean an environment bereft of modern conveniences, then yes. Many people already life like that either by choice or not.
If, on the other hand, you mean a life that is relatively free of chaotic social influences, then that is a situation that I have addressed in the above paragraph. You have the choice of removing much of the social chaos but it does come with certain sacrifices that change your environment. Ultimately though, I believe that it is mostly a matter of your mental perspective.

Answer 4

It would be a goal worth looking at. I do not believe in excesses myself, but having said that, simplicity should not mean limited mobility or access to the "good " things in lifeand "necessities".

Whether or not you support the opinion that the world should trim its "over the top" and totally grandiose ways, there will be be an equal opposing movement to contradict it, saying "if you have it,flaunt it", or quote some marketing dogma that it is better to destroy excess produce or harvest instead of giving it to those who need it.