This is one of my favorite sayings from "Walden: Life in the Woods" which was first published in 1854.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), a transcendentalist writer, philosopher, and naturalist, entered the forest to live a simple life in a spirit of self-reliance for about two years by a lake called Walden Pond, and the book titled "Walden" is a fruitful product of his experiences in nature.
H. D. Thoreau tried to simplify his lifestyle to the fullest, for example, by patching his clothes rather than buying new ones. He tried to minimize his consumer activities.
He expressed his sincere intention to head into the forest through the following words: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."
In the second chapter of "Walden" ("Where I lived, and what I lived for"), he says that we still "live meanly, like ants… Our life is frittered away by detail…. Simplify, simplify, simplify!"
More than ever, especially in this critical era of climate change due to global warming, a simple life is an urgent and desperate appeal to save the earth and humanity. How to recover nature is of great concern for all of us.
One of the countermeasures would be living a simple life, especially by being free from consumerism and waste.
Jang Wook-jin (1917-1990) used to say "I'm simple", and his simplicity is well illustrated in his childlike works of art. Many other sculptors, like Choi Jong-tae, are still pursuing simplicity. In their creative works of art, all the unnecessary parts are cut away and carved so that only the essentials remain.
Being a religious sister, I am happy to have a simple uniform. I try not to have extra things.
Having less without attaching or wasting much leads to simplicity. Living a simple and frugal life, it is a lot easier for us to move around. Living in a religious congregation with a common goal and mission, one of the good things is that I don't have to worry about what to buy or what to eat.
Steve Jobs mentioned "death" in his inspirational Stanford University commencement address in 2005. In his life, he always asked himself every morning: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
Perhaps those who would like to buy unnecessary or extra things shall have to ask themselves: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to buy what I am about to buy today?" This self-examination will surely lead to a simple life. "Simplify, simplify, simplify!"
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (Figlie di San Paolo) living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication. Learn more about the congregation at fsp.pauline.or.kr.