I want to introduce you to a friend of mine named Richard Rohr (pronounced Roar). Well, ok, he’s not a personal friend but someone who touches my life.

I’ve never met him, or heard him speak in person, but I do get a daily email from him that in two or three paragraphs makes me think about how I live as a person of faith.  He is both radical and compassionate.  He is also a Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. Mary introduced him to me awhile ago.

He is the author of Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go, The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, and a couple of dozen more.

Of course, he is a human being like the rest of us and I am sure he has his struggles with life as well.  He is not a “guru” that I want to follow mindlessly.  But he is someone who helps me along the path to live mindfully.

Here is an example of a response he gave to the question:  If you had the attention of the world for one minute, what would you tell them?

It helps to have friends on the journey.

Who has influenced your life to live more fully?  Who has challenged you to live more simply?  How so?

I’d like to know.  Would you share?

The tall, thin man walked into our office suite at the hospital today looking lost.  “May I help you?” I said.  He looked me over and asked if one of our chaplains was available.  “Sure, what can I do for you? I asked.

“Are you a chaplain?” he asked.

“Yep, I am, my name is Malcolm, tell me yours.”  I shook hands with Tom as we walked into the chapel next door and sat down.

He said he needed my prayers because he was struggling with drinking too much, had lost his job, and he didn’t have anyone in his life that cared for him.  He did not try to cover the naked truth about his life.  His honesty was refreshing.

He was well versed in the 12 Steps of Alcoholic Anonymous.  He knew he needed to get involved in AA meetings again, and possibly look at another recovery program.

He said he knew God could help, but he had promised God that he would do better so many times in the last few years, he wondered if God was sick of his empty promises.  He knew all the right answers, and he described what he needed to do, but he still couldn’t quite do it.

I nodded my head. I knew what he meant.

We have all made unkept promises whether it was to God, or to our partner, or to our family, or to ourselves.

If we are honest, we are sick of our own promises.  And we have lost our way.

So what do we do with the promises that are still waiting to bud from the winter times of life?

This time of the year reminds us that spring is coming.  And with it comes the hope of new life and new beginnings.  Like Tom, we all need that hope that this time will be different.

And this hope is just in time for Tom, and for us.

My stepmom is 81 years old and in a hospital as I write this post with pneumonia, but she is still teaching me how to be present with another.

When a nurse walked in the room today, my Mom asked her, “How are you today?”  The nurse responded in a perfunctory way only to hear my Mom offer an honest compliment, “I love the way you fix your hair.”

A smile came across the nurse’s face, and a follow up question was asked, “Do you do it yourself?”  “Oh yes,” the nurse responded, “I do.”  “Remind me of your name,” my Mom says almost as quickly as the young woman can answer.  “My name is Sandra,” she says.  “That’s right, Sandra.”

I was there for less than an hour and the phlebotomist, nursing assistant, and dietary aide who came into the room were all greeted with unique questions and authentic affirmations.

My Mom told me about each one of them out loud as they went about their work, “This lady is in nursing school at the junior college near our home, I’m so proud of her,” she adds.  Or “This fine man has a wife and three kids, all of them under five years old, can you believe that?”

She knows where they go to church (this is the deep South), how long they have worked in the hospital, and something that she loves about each one of them.  Without exception.

Did I say she is 81, has pneumonia, and is in the hospital? She has been my “second Mom” for forty-two years and I am grateful she is still the consummate teacher in life.  She was so good at teaching kindergarten to third graders over a many decade career in different public schools, and her ability to see the child in each person is inspiring.

My Mom refuses to see persons as robots who are only in a role. Instead she sees each person as unique who comes into the room.  And she will not allow others to put her in the role of a patient only.  She shares about her life as a teacher or pastor’s wife.

I wonder how many people I see everyday in a perfunctory manner. What about you?

Do you see the cashier at the convenience store as a money exchanger only?  What about the waitress in the restaurant, the sales person in the store?  The dentist or the parking attendant?  What about people with whom you work?

I know one thing, I want to be more like my Mom who sees everyone as somebody’s son or daughter.

God bless Jimmie Ruth.

And God help me to see everyone I meet as the unique child of God that they are.

P.S.  And by the way, my Mom is improving daily, thank you.

Hello, my name is Malcolm.  I am an addict.

An addiction is a “detrimental habit–where the benefits are not worth the negative financial, physical, mental, or spiritual costs.”

My drug of choice is technology.  There, I said it.  It is my first step.

I have a Blackberry that delivers my email immediately.  I text my family members.  If someone asks me a question that I don’t know, I pull out my smartphone without thinking and look up the answer on the internet in seconds.  Interesting choice of words, “without thinking.”

I love my Macbook Pro with its 8 hour battery life and seamless connectivity to the internet.  I check Facebook and Twitter regularly.

Some people also find it strange that a chaplain also has a moonlighting job as a “Smartphone Specialist” (Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, Windows Mobile, Android) for a telecommunications group.  Of course it makes perfect sense to me because both jobs are all about communication.  I work at the hospital by day and cell phones by night.  My addiction says “it’s not that bad.”

It is time to have an intervention with myself. Constantly checking my email on my phone or computer is an area that distracts me from being more present to people and God.

In my pursuit to live more simply, and discover meaning and purpose in my life:

1. I will fast from using my “Smartphone” and the internet for 24 hours on Sundays.  I take a deep breath as I write this.
2. I will check email twice a day, Monday-Saturday, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon.  I will not check it after I leave work in the evenings.  Will you hold my hand as I walk this journey?

Some of you will laugh and say, that doesn’t sound so hard.  But believe me, for an technology addict, this is a BIG step.

I’ll let you know how it’s going in a week so that I have some accountability here.

And now what about you?

What steals the valuable time in your life that keeps you from living more simply?  What do you need to fast from in order for your life to be more the way you want it?  What is your addiction that gets in the way of quality time with relationships?

It may be time for an intervention.

P.S.  It helps to know that I am not alone.  Peace.

The 12 Steps to Overcoming Addiction

• Step 1 – We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable
• Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
• Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
• Step 4 – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
• Step 5 – Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
• Step 6 – Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
• Step 7 – Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
• Step 8 – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
• Step 9 – Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
• Step 10 – Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
• Step 11 – Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out
• Step 12 – Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

If we live long enough, we will have the opportunity to help a friend or a family member during times of grief.

So how can you help?  How can you make a difference in someone’s life during difficult times?

There is one simple principle to remember:

“Help a person feel what they are feeling when they feel it.”

1. If your friend is crying, encourage the tears and become comfortable with them.
2. If your family member is mad, ask them to tell you more and then be quiet.
3. If he retreats and is quiet with his grief, reassure him that everyone grieves in their own way.
4. If she is afraid she will never get over this, encourage her to talk about it more and don’t try to fix it.

Just show up, even when it’s uncomfortable for you.  Your presence is more healing than you know.

Grief is our teacher (for the one going through it and the one helping) in life about what is most important if we are open to it.

Keep showing up when everyone else has returned to their routine.

And if you do this one simple principle my friend, you will make a difference in this world.

We sat in the hospital room uninterrupted in the wee hours of the morning talking about the journey of a love between two persons.

This woman was beginning a new journey into widowhood in the past thirty minutes and was younger than I.  She remembered aloud a collage of stories on how they met, when they married, and the birth of their children.  She talked about how they were made for one another, how their personalities complimented the other, and how their faith matured over the years.  A few regrets were shared, hard times were briefly mentioned.

She pulled out a letter that she had handwritten to her husband a few days earlier.  We sat by her beloved’s  bedside, and though he could no longer hear her, she needed to read it to him line by line, pausing only to set her emotions free.  It was a gratitude-filled letter about the journey.

Simpler living is about how we choose today, step by step.  This experience reminded me so.

It is not about mastering the art of simplicity but rather asking, “Is this necessary?”  “Will this set me free?”  “How will this help others?” And more.

The more we live with less, we are more likely to discover our journey’s meaning.

Step by step, decision by decision–today, not someday.

Let’s walk this simpler journey together.

Sometimes we need to have fun and think outside the box when it comes to how we live.

There is a movement in the United States, and throughout the world, called “Tiny Houses.”  These eco-friendly houses can be for one or two people or more.

As I learn about tiny houses, I am reminded that I can live with a lot less than I have assumed is necessary. It has sent me back to my closet to de-clutter once again.

On CBS News, Jay Shafer of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company gives us a tour  of his 96-square-foot home.

Additional resources and ideas about tiny houses can be found at:

1. How to Start Living in a Tiny House
2. Small House Society
3. Tiny House Living Weekly Newsletter
4. Tiny House Blog
5. Design Boom Contemporary Tiny Houses

YouTube’s videos on Tiny Houses can entertain you for hours if you are interested.

But seriously, let us think together. What if we didn’t spend most of our income on our houses and cars, how much more of a difference could we make in the world?  I know it’s a crazy way of thinking.

So tell me, what do tiny houses get you thinking about in your life?

When I started this series on living more simply, I did not have a master plan. All I knew was I wanted something to shift within me so that I could be more free to help others, to live with less stress and debt, and to connect more with God or that which is sacred in my life.

But I want to warn you, once you start on a journey of reflecting on living more simply, it can take you on some interesting trips.  When we begin to question what we need rather than what we want, and how we can take what we have and share with others, look out.

So today I want to share something that seems like an impossible dream for me.  And maybe for you too.

I dream of the day when I can live car-lessly.

There, I said it.  Go ahead and laugh.  Even I am grinning as I type these words.  It is hilarious, ridiculous, and a crazy dream.  Oh let me count the reasons why living without a car is crazy for me:

1. We presently live in a beautiful home on the lake in the country one hour from my work.
2. The grocery store, our church, and many of our friends are 35-60 minutes away.
3. We put 50,000 miles on our new car the first year we had it.
4. The city I work in does not have a public transportation (well, ok, a few buses).
5. And the 25 additional reasons I could give you of why it is crazy for me not to own a car.

But think of the money and time and energy we could save if we could live without owning a car? Or at least fewer cars.  This will not happen quickly for me.  It may take five or ten years.  Maybe not.

No car insurance, car payments, gasoline, taxes, etc.  Save maybe $6,000-$8,000 per year?  Think of the people we could help, and the places we could go, if we had that money back.  Riding a bicycle, walking, and other creative transportation solutions to owning a car sounds freeing to me.  It will require us to think differently, for sure.

All I’m saying is I want to be the one to take my own car away from me, before someone else has to do it for me in 20-30 years.

And maybe if we cannot become car-less, we could become car-lite, meaning we rent a car when needed.

I have been inspired by Tammy Strobel’s new e-book called Simply Car-Free and her blog called Rowdy Kittens; minimalist Everett Bogue’s blog — Far Beyond the Stars; and a family of four’s blog called Becoming a Minimalist.  I am finding kindred spirits among many minimalists on the web.

This minister is not ready to be a minimalist, or to live without my car, yet.

But I am ready to start thinking outside the box and living more simply.  How about you?

In my journey to live more simply and meaningfully, I’m trying to learn about practical ways to make a difference in relation to people who have less than I do in the world.

What if you knew an entrepreneur who needed fifty dollars for a business to feed her family for a year?  You loaned her fifty dollars, and she paid it back with interest over time. That same fifty dollars and interest were then loaned to another business person, and then another.  And what if ten of us did this together, a hundred, or a thousand of us did it around the world?  Together.  What if you could follow and see how your entrepreneur was doing in her business?  Well, this is already happening and we can be a part of it.

I am considering being involved in OptINnow, which is a part of a non-profit called Opportunity International?  Have you heard about it?

How does it work?

They pool the generosity of people like us to provide entrepreneurs in the poorest parts of the world with small loans. The loans help these hardworking but impoverished individuals build retail, manufacturing, farming, or other businesses. If you’ve heard of microfinance, that’s what this is: small loans that can have a very big (and lasting) impact in the life of entrepreneurs, their family, and their community.

Do you know anyone who has participated in Opportunity International? I’d love to hear about this or other programs you know about that is making a difference.

You can read more about its history in Wikipedia here.  Several videos on YouTube can be viewed here.

Their Mission and Vision

Our vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to provide for their families and build a fulfilling life.

Our belief is that small-scale entrepreneurs can be big change agents in overcoming global poverty.

Our mission is to empower people to work their way out of chronic poverty, transforming their lives, their children’s futures and their communities.

Our method is to provide microfinance services, including lending, savings, insurance and transformational training, to people in need. To do this, we build and work through sustainable, local microfinance institutions.

Our motivation is to respond to Jesus Christ’s call to love and serve the poor.

This is just one of the ways you and I can make a difference in being generous to the world.  Our faith calls us to respond to persons in need, regardless what faith tradition we have in our hearts.

What are you doing to be radically generous to those less fortunate? Share with us below.  I want to learn from you and your experience.

Peace along the journey.

In my journey to live more simply is a desire to be radically generous to the poor or to those in need.

I do not believe we can live a simplified life of faith without this foundation.  But man do I struggle with this.

So how do we exercise radical generosity with our resources, money, and everything we own materially?

One barrier that gets in the way for me is I think when I make a little more money, or when I get this month’s bills paid off, then I can be more generous to the poor.

Living with radical generosity seems difficult or impossible because we think of giving out of our abundance.  But this abundance never seems to be there.

Since I was a little boy, my father and mother taught me to tithe, that is, to give ten percent of everything I made away to others in need. This is a practice found in the Hebrew scriptures of the Bible.  I have tried to do this almost all of my life.  Usually, this has been a check written to support whatever church I attended.

I’m starting to doubt the value of “tithe thinking.” Mainly because it doesn’t go far enough. And besides, the tithe was never embraced by Jesus much to the surprise of many Christians.

Richard Foster points out that Jesus and all the writers of the New Testament radically criticized wealth because everything we have is a gift from God, and “everything we have is available to others when it is right and good.  This reality frames the heart of Christian simplicity,” says Foster (Freedom of Simplicity, page 58).

One example of this was when Jesus watched the voluntary offerings by the people as they entered the temple.  He was moved the most by the sacrificial gift of the widow.  He said, “For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put everything she had, her whole living,” (Mark 12:44).

This radical generosity is based on trust that God will take care of our basic needs. This, of course, is foolishness to us and to almost everyone we know.  We will be the laughing stock of our friends.

But it is worth thinking about, meditating on, and taking steps towards this radical trust in God.

Oh my goodness, I have a long way to go in this area.  God help me to be more generous with all of the gifts you have given me.

How do you live in a radically generous way? Tell me your story below.

Who do you know who has has been radically generous to you? To others?  What have they done?  Please share in the comments section.

How can you and I be radically generous today? It begins with trust.  We cannot afford to wait.

We have been taught all of our lives to tell the truth.

Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, not always, sometimes it is the hardest thing to do.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were aware of specific information about someone, and that same  person you were talking to did not know that you knew?  And how did that make you feel?

One time a patient died unexpectedly at the hospital and I was asked as the chaplain to come and be with the family.  But when I got there, I learned they had gone home earlier in the evening, and were called to come back to the hospital because their loved one “had taken a turn for the worse.”

So I waited for them outside the unit, introduced myself, ushered them into the family conference room, and alerted the nurse to page the physician to come to deliver the bad news.  And we waited.

They began to ask reasonable questions, “What is going on?”  “How was their loved one doing?”  “Has anything bad happened?”  “Why couldn’t they go into the room?”

And I found myself dancing around their questions as I stalled for time.  Was I lying by not telling the truth?  I knew what had happened.  I knew the answer to their questions.  But someone else was supposed to deliver the news.

We find ourselves in the “truth dilemma” every day don’t we?

We shade the black-and-white truth with a little gray here and there.  And before we know it, we’ve changed the entire color of the conversation.  We go from living simply to living with complexity.

French philosopher Blaise Paschal said, “We know the truth, not only by the reason, but by the heart.”

If we want to live more simply, we are drawn to the truth, however difficult that may be.

Telling the truth to others, and listening to the truth about ourselves.  Both are steps in the journey to living more simply.

__________

Further Study — What is Truth?  See Wikipedia on Truth.

We are busy people rushing through life. And yet recently, a few people chose a simpler, different pace.

There was a woman in her thirties who was walking early one cold, wintry morning.  You could see her breath in the air as she stopped at the corner a couple of blocks from her work waiting for the light to change.  Cars rushed by in the busy downtown city.

She waited until the light was red and the crosswalk signal was white, and then something happened. No one was sure if she stepped awkwardly off  the curb, or if she became dizzy and just fell.

Regardless, the result was hard to watch. She hit the pavement face first and lay motionless for a moment.  Cars hit their brakes.  A nurse was walking out of a nearby parking deck and saw the woman fall and came running to her aid.  ”Are you ok, ma’am, are you ok?” she yelled.

The injured woman was disoriented, dazed, and struggled to get up. The nurse encouraged her to remain still while she leaned over her.  Another woman came running to the scene with her cell phone in hand and called 911.  The injured woman’s face and mouth were bleeding badly.  Paper napkins from a nearby restaurant were brought by another stranger to help stop the bleeding.  Several cars stopped asking if they could help.

One driver saw the women helping the lady in need and pulled his car across the lane so that she would not be hit by other cars, risking his own safety with his emergency blinkers flashing. Another man came up and took off his long, heavy coat and placed it over the woman to keep her warm.  He cradled her head and reassured her in a calming voice.

Paramedics arrived within a few minutes, evaluated the patient, and gently loaded her into the ambulance, and took her to the hospital a short distance away.

As the siren blared, the strangers who had stopped to help turned to one another and looked into each others’ eyes with concern on their faces. For a moment, they were bonded with one another.  It did not matter that they had different color skin, were different ages, or spoke with various accents.

One of them spoke up and said he would go to the emergency room and make sure she was ok.  And they all walked away into the cold morning air.

About an hour later the man was relieved to see her sitting up when he entered her room at the hospital as the nursing staff tended to her wounds.

He introduced himself and she thanked him for his assistance at the scene.  ”We just wanted to make sure you were ok,” he added with a smile.

“Yes, yes, thank you so much for coming to see me,” she said more than once.  He left his card and asked her to call if he could help further as he slipped out of the room.

Love your neighbor as yourself.  And who is my neighbor?

Live simply and slow enough so that you can see your neighbor in need, because he or she will be in front of you today.

This series is about living more simply.  But how can we make it easier for our loved ones when our days are numbered?

How can we die more simply?

It is not something we want to talk about with our children.  It is not something we want to hear from our father or mother, spouse or partner.

“Now, now, now,” we say in a dismissive way.  ”We’re not going to talk about that, you are not going to die anytime soon.”  We are afraid if we talk about it, somehow it will happen sooner rather than later.

But if you had witnessed what I did recently, all of us would talk and listen more.

I was inspired, amazed, and graced to witness such a conversation.

A daughter listened intently to the physician’s words that her mother would die soon because she could no longer breathe on her own without a respirator. It was a difficult and hard time.

The adult daughter sat up straight in her chair, leaned forward and gazed into the moist eyes of the female physician who had delivered the news, and then said with a clear voice, “My mother and I have talked about this day several times over the last few years.  If you are telling me that my mother cannot get better because of her disease and medical condition, I am here to say that she does not want to live an extended amount of time on a respirator.  She is at peace.  She has said that she is tired, and that she is ready to go and be with God.  I want to honor her wishes.”

This daughter had been granted “power of attorney” by her mother before they got to this point.  The mother had a living will that stated her wishes in writing.  And the daughter’s sisters were all in the room and nodded affirmatively for they knew the truth.

Because a mother talked to the family she loved ahead of time, it was was a sacred time.

Because a daughter listened, her mother’s life would end with dignity.  Her mother would have the kind of care that would not allow her to be in pain or discomfort, and she would be surrounded by those she loved at her bedside.  It would be a “good death.”

I invite you to talk with those you love about your wishes, now and often.  Especially when you are well and healthy.  Share your wishes with all the members of your family, and put it in writing.

I encourage you to talk.  I encourage you to listen.

So that we can live, and die, more simply.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.” (Lewis Smedes).

When we withhold forgiveness from another, we are the ones who are gravely injured.  When we live in such a self-imposed jail, we shackle our feet and bind our hands, and give ourselves what is equal to life without parole.

What kind of prison are you living in? Resentment, regrets, or getting even.

In order to live more simply, we can choose to forgive.

Sometimes it is best we tell another that s/he is forgiven. At other times it is best to demonstrate the forgiveness, and no words are needed.  Or we can simply write a letter, and then tear it up as a sign we are moving on.

We don’t have to wait for anyone else to say or do anything in order for us to forgive them.  We are free to forgive.

Go ahead forgive.

Forgiving another will simplify your life and will set you free.

I find it ironic that I am writing about simplifying my life in order to live more meaningfully during these 40 days of Lent.

In the last week I have committed to “spending more time with God daily,” “focusing on quality time with my wife,” and writing every day on my blog for forty days.

Some of you also know that I accepted a new job in the last five months that has me busier than I have been since I was in my 20’s.  And if that’s not enough, I accepted more duties within this same timetable in a “moonlighting second job” that I have had been doing for several years.  This doesn’t sound like simplifying my life!

I am over-committed, over-promised, and overwhelmed.  Have you been there?  Do you know what this feels like?

When I asked Mary if I have been like this during our whole marriage, she answered truthfully, “No, you’ve had pretty good boundaries between work and home until you started your new job, and it’s been different since then.”  And she was right.

I am learning that living more simply is not about committing to do more, trying harder, or making more promises to “do better.”  Too many promises makes life complicated, not simpler.

Sometimes to live more simply means to forgive yourself, and to let go of promises that are impossible to keep.

And so I will get out my calendar tomorrow, take a hard look at my commitments in coming weeks, and start saying I’m sorry but I won’t be able to do this or that commitment.

Deep breath.  Maybe it’s time to offer grace to myself.  How about you?

Peace to you along the journey.

For those of us who are of the Christian faith, Matthew 6:19-43 is one of the clearest passages about Christian simplicity in the Bible.  Take a moment and read it through by clicking on it above.

The words of Jesus are radical as he instructs us to vow, “I trust that God will take care of my basic needs and I do not need to be anxious about anything.”  For me, it is an invitation to live radically different than I do.

I am trying to live more simply, and discovering it’s not about simple answers as much as it is about defining my priorities of what is most important.  I want to live more simply so that I can live my life with more purpose.

My problem is I don’t really stop long enough to know what my priorities are for living today.  Do you?  How do you do it?  What is your secret?  What are your priorities? How do you get on track to know if this action, or this purchase, or this way of thinking or living is in alignment with what is most important to you? Please share with me below.

I think it was my Dad who told me one time that you can tell a lot about a person’s priorities by looking at his or her bank statement.  No matter what we say our priorities are, it’s about how we live our lives that is the naked truth.

And this naked truth is, quite frankly, embarrassing to my faith. I have more of almost everything that I need.  I probably have more than 90% of the human families on this earth.  And maybe you do too.

So is living simply about feeling guilty, because I have walked that path before?  If I embrace guilt too tightly, it will surely lead to discouragement and giving this whole idea of simplifying up.  I don’t think the guilt alone is the answer.  We are called to act.  So where do we start?

In order to live more simply, I am going to set two priorities as a first step.

1.  I will spend time daily with God. This will mean sitting in silence and not asking God for things I want, or the way I want things to be, but rather asking how I can give away what I have to offer.  This will be priority number one or I will truly be lost on this journey.

2.  I will spend time with people I love. Relationships are important and foundational to a meaningful life.  I will say yes to time with my loved ones and no to that which takes me away.  I think this means not only saying no to other commitments requested by other people when it conflicts, but even saying no to this computer at times.

I don’t have all the answers for how to live simply today. I do know I want to take a look at my priorities and how I spend my time and resources based on what I say is important to me.  What about you?

This is a journey towards simplicity, one priority at a time.  I haven’t arrived yet, but I’ll keep moving, and I will also sit still.

What are your priorities for living a more simple life?  Can you name one, two, or three?

I hope you will teach me something along the way. I need you.

My wife is sitting down on the dock right now by the lake reading by herself. It is the most beautiful 63 degree sunny day we have had in Alabama since October.  And here I am writing at my computer.  I have to go.  I want to go sit in silence next to my wife near the water, and let the bright light of the sunshine and the gentle breeze melt my anxieties away.

Until Monday, peace (not anxiety) be with you,

Malcolm

___________

Today’s Simple Invitation: Do something today that feeds your soul and doesn’t cost a dime.

Freedom from a fast-paced life: (from Richard Foster)
Change to a less stressful job
Work fewer hours
Slow down at yellow lights and drive the speed limit
Pray or talk to others in line rather than trying to get in the shortest line at the store
Say “no” to activities that take me from my current and central commitments
Eat more slowly – savor tastes
Take time for meals or coffee breaks (not on the go)
Stop to smell the roses or watch birds
Spend a leisurely evening with family or friends not worrying about the time
Take a restful vacation time rather than harried sight seeing

Keeping it Simple:

John the Baptist said, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him (or her) do likewise.”  Luke 3:11

Be radically generous.  Give away a coat or anything else you have is a start.  Generosity is a step towards simplicity.

As I sat in the meeting with a group of fellow co-workers (not my chaplain team), I was caught off guard by the comments of one of the group members.  He critiqued a workshop that I had recently led in front of the group, and he told me how disappointed he was that I didn’t talk enough about some things he thought would have been more helpful to the audience.

I felt my face grow warm with embarrassment and I was aware of the tightness in my throat and the defensiveness in my voice.  Finally, I just sat back and listened, though I could feel the sadness in my heart and the pit in my stomach that he (and maybe others) was not impressed.  He did not approve. I was not all that he wanted me to be, I had failed to impress or to be held in high esteem by this individual.  My stress level was on high alert.

Can you remember a time when you were criticized by a co-worker, a family member, or your spouse or partner?  Can you identify with the feeling of wanting to either flee and run away, or stand your ground and verbally justify yourself or actions?  Do you remember the pit in your stomach, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, or the crushed feeling?  Some of us flee, some of us fight, some of us just retreat.

When we buy into the idea that our worth in this world is based on whether or not someone else believes us to be worthy, or tells us how wonderful we are, we have moved away from the simplifying life and closer to the complex one.

We cannot control what others think of us, good or bad, even though our thoughts and actions are constantly planning to do just that.  The things we buy, the things we say, the way we try to live so that others will think of us well, guarantees us that simplicity in our life will be lost. Trying to control others is an energy inefficient way to live to say the least.

Finally, I am learning that my deepest lessons are learned when I look at what someone has said or done to me that was hurtful and ask the question, “How have I done this to others in my thoughts or actions?”

Now we are getting to the heart of it if we can be so brave to examine it closely.  To meditate on it.  To pray about it.  ”When or where have I done this to others in my thoughts or actions?”

Richard Foster says, “Simplicity is not merely a matter of having less stress and more leisure. It is rather an essential spiritual discipline that we must practice for the health of the soul.”

Maybe it is time to gently let go of always needing to win, to be right, or to impress others so that we can be reassured of our worth.  Richard Rohr recently said in one of his daily meditations, “What if we gave up needing to be right for Lent?”  Wow, now THAT would be a sacrifice!

Know this truth, you are enough, you are blessed, and you are loved.  The Creator, the Sacred One, Yahweh, Allah, God have said so.

And that my brothers and sisters makes all the difference.  Thanks be to God.

______________

Today’s simple invitation: Ask the question over and over again in a 5 minute prayer, “When have I looked to others for approval?”  And then thank God for the blessing of being enough.

Choose One Action Item for Freedom from Mental Clutter: (from Richard Foster)

A few months ago I wrote the following words to Mary in an email:

“When we move from the lake, my hope and prayer will be that whatever and wherever it is, it will be a step toward radical simplicity.  A step towards making time for relationships, yours and mine, as well as with others, and a lifestyle that is enriched by doing what we love, and not what we feel like we have to do.  I don’t know what all of that means, but I like to dream of it.”

And so my simplicity journey began. It was a step, a beginning, a stirring, a calling to walk a new pace.

In Richard Foster’s book, Freedom of Simplicity, he states that simplicity is rooted in the spiritual.  Simplicity is not about becoming an ascetic and hating material possessions.  It is about understanding that happiness through owning stuff is limited, and our peace, joy, and inherent value comes from God.

Last evening I worked the night shift in the hospital from 4pm-8am. The night shift has its own pace and intensity.  When I’m the only chaplain in the hospital, my beeper is a constant invitation for me to be present with persons who are going through incredible, life changing events.  As I walked the steps from room to room, person to person, I tried to listen to that still, small voice that whispers deep inside all of us.

Today is a rest day after a sixteen hour shift, a Sabbath, a reminder to get all the sleep I need, and to be quiet. I went down to our dock on the lake and read some of Foster’s book in the warm sunshine that hinted that Spring is coming. Thank God.  It is the first time I have done so in months.  I was reminded of the beauty surrounding me.  I went for a walk down our quiet country road with Daisy, our yellow lab.

I need an internal beeper to invite me home more often.

The truth is, all of us do have an internal beeper that calls us to be present where we are. It’s the beep, beep, beep of our heartbeat.  It’s the beep, beep, beep of our breath moving in and out of our lungs.  It is the beep, beep, beep of our mind dreaming dreams.  It calls us home and reminds us that life is good, and that we need to be still and quiet.

Maybe it is time for us to listen to our internal beeper more closely? Maybe it is time for us to be quiet long enough so that we will  remember that we are alive?  Maybe it is time for us to know that life is a gift from God?

Taking time to be still and quiet is a step on the journey toward simplicity.

Can you hear it?  Beep, beep, beep.

_____________

Today’s simple invitation: Spend 5 minutes (or more) being quiet.  Listen to each breath you take.  End with the words, “Thank you God.”

Choose One Action Item for Freedom from Physical Clutter: (from Richard Foster)

• Give away what I don’t use or value
• Stick to a shopping list avoiding impulse buying
• Give time or handmade gifts for Christmas and birthdays
• Give away something that I love as a gift to someone
• Have a joint garage sale with friends and donate proceeds to a nonprofit

Keeping it Simple: Matthew 22:36-40

³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

I want to invite you on a journey, a Simplicity Journey, for the next 40 days. I am going to write every day except Sundays.

I plan to focus on living more simply in my life and would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and encouragement along the way of what this means to you.

I have felt a yearning, an urging if you will, deep within myself for some time now about wanting to “live more simply.” To be honest, I don’t really know what this means for me yet.  It is time for me to go more deeply.

This isn’t just about saving money, though that certainly couldn’t hurt anything.  Instead, this is a spiritual journey that I want to apply in practical ways in my life.  My goal is to be intentional about “de-cluttering” my life so that I can live a more meaningful life, to be connected to the Sacred, to the Creator, to God.

I am reading Richard Foster’s book, Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World.”  A friend of mine, Drew Toler, reminded me about this book recently.  You do not have to read it along with me, but I just wanted you to know about it.  You can read more about Richard Foster here.

Finally, I plan to share other resources along the way. If you know of others, please share them with me in the Comments section below.  If you would like to receive a daily email reminder about this journey, you can sign up in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Here, take my hand, will you walk with me as best you can?  I’d love the company on the Simplicity Journey.

Resources:

Book — Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster

Web Article — Inward Simplicity:  The Divine Center, Part I by Richard Foster

Web List — Guidelines for Living Simply in the City by Richard Foster

As I watch the evening news tonight, I see stories about the people of Haiti and what they are going through following the devastating earthquake.

One story is about a five year old child (see above) being told that she will have to have her leg amputated in order to live.  She screams in fear at the news echoing the shrill sound of her mother’s voice at her side who grieves her daughter’s fate.

I just start sobbing, real tears, sitting on the couch, surprised by the deep emotion I feel for the parent and little girl.

Another woman is pulled out of the rubble alive (see below) after several days without food or water following the earthquake.  I feel hope.  She probably would not have been found if her husband had not been persistent with the rescuers asking them to please keep looking, “I know she is alive,” he pleaded.  And he was right. What struck me about this woman is when they pull her out of the hole on a stretcher, she breaks out into song thanking God that she is alive.

She is singing.  Thousands of others are not so fortunate.

When natural disasters happen like this, I want to help. I just don’t know how.

I feel guilty. I am the rich of the world watching on tv.  I have a beautiful home, a great job, a loving wife and children.  I can walk a few steps and get all of the water I want to drink.  I can take a long hot shower like I did last night.  I never miss a meal.  I have electricity, cars, and so much more.

We will send money over the coming weeks and months.  But it seems like so little for those who are suffering and grieving so much in Haiti.  My heart breaks.  I pray for them.

I must face this truth and take action. I own more than I need.  I give away too little.

I want to change the way I live.

Feeling guilty is not enough.

I want to live more simply.  So that I can give more.

Otherwise, my faith, my life, is without authenticity and integrity.  God help me.

God help the people of Haiti.

I want to say “yes” to people. I want to be liked.  I want to be the person others come to when he or she needs my time, my skills, or my resources.

And yet if my compass is simply to be liked by others and say “Yes” to them, I am in big trouble.

I will lose my way. I will look up one day and say, “Who am I?  What do I love to do?  Where is my passion?”

Each “Yes” I choose means that I have to say “No” to something or someone else.  I can only do a finite number of things.  Each “No” I say makes room for the possibility for a new “Yes.”

I am trying to live more simply in 2010.

I am learning that living simply requires me to make one of two choices:  “Yes” or “No,” over and over again, every day.

My prayer is that I will choose wisely.

Amen.

As I begin the new year of 2010, I’m thinking about simplifying my life.

Basically I mean owning less stuff. The time I spend in maintaining cars, fixing things around the house, and keeping up the yard makes me wonder who really owns what?  It wasn’t always like this in my life.  I used to want to “own more.”  But no more.

I’m also watching and learning from the finches and grossbeaks on our deck flutter as they enjoy our bird feeders this morning.  And I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 6,

25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,^* or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^*

34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’”

As Mary and I consider this next step of living our lives in an empty nest, all I know is that I want our nest to be smaller, simpler, less cluttered.

How about you?  Do your things own you?  Or do you own them?

I’m ready to simplify my life so that I can fly.

Want to join me?