Experiencing A Way Forward

A neighbor unwittingly helped me figure out a problem with the 100 Thing Challenge. It’s the problem of experiential knowledge. There is much I can say (and will continue to say) about living more simply than American-style consumerism encourages us to live. Ultimately though, realizing the benefits that come from toning down consumption is a hands-on kind of knowledge.

Quite a few of our neighbors have noticed the surfboard on top of my car the last couple of weeks. In houses all up and down our street there are “Dave is surfing?” conversations going on. I struck up a chat with one neighbor about this. I explained that I don’t yet “surf,” but mostly just paddle around and get tumbled by waves. Then I asked him if he surfed.

“After about forty times trying,” he told me, “I finally caught a wave and turned down the line and rode it like the way you see the guys riding waves. I could look back and see the wave breaking behind me.” Then he made the comment that stuck with me. He said, “I finally understood. Now I got it - why they’re so hooked.”

I’ve had an experience like that before myself, not on a surfboard but nevertheless in water. It was the one time I went fly fishing. We hired a guide in Colorado for a day and spent the morning learning the ways of rivers, flies, and how to cast. It was much different than the lake fishing I was familiar with. Some time that afternoon I wandered upstream alone. I watched the river. I thought about the guide’s crash course on entomology. I noticed the quiet eddy across the way where a trout surely had to be restfully anticipating its meal. I worked the line out smoothly back and forth. All the noises of nature hushed for just a few moments, long enough for the line to spread across the surface of the river, the fly to briefly drift, the trout to swiftly move through water and leap through the air. Wouldn’t you know it, I had caught a trout fly fishing. Every sound imaginable, including the shock of the guide making his way upstream to help me land the fish, rushed back into my ears. “Now I get it,” I thought. I understood what all those fly fishermen are talking about.

Some things you just cannot wholly explain with words. That’s not a good reason to remain completely silent. It’s only an admission that life itself is more powerful than anticipation or reminiscence.

Most of American-style consumerism extracts profits before or after life happens. We pay to get ready. And we pay to remember (or else we pay in order to get more the next time). We rarely have to dish out money when we’re actually in the moment. Living a good, meaningful life usually doesn’t cost much when we are actually doing it.

I know I’ll never be able to fully explain the joy of living a non-consumerist lifestyle. And I am pessimistic, believing that the forces of American-style consumerism would never buy into a simplified life. There’s no profit in it. No big break. No headline news. So living a better life will always go a little against the grain of our dominant culture. Yet I am completely certain of this: if you stop participating in consumerism’s ruckus, in about forty tries, or maybe six months, you’ll “get it.” You will experience a different, better pleasure. Most of us will never look back.

Comments

[Retired by Choice]

What you say really strikes home to me as I reflect on my situation. For years and years I worked hard to get out of debt. Intellectually I knew being out of debt was a good thing, but it wasn't until after I reached the goal that I thought to myself, "This is even more unbelievably good than I thought -- I wish I had done this a lot sooner." My next thought was, "Everyone should feel like this -- how can I help make that happen?"

The hard thing as you point out is how to relate to people who haven't been there. You KNOW once they get there they will get it, but to get them there they have to take a leap of faith to trust in you that not many people are willing to do. If you aren't passionate enough you get ignored, too passionate and you are branded as a zealot.

I've been reading your blog for a while now and I believe the message you are trying to spread is overall a good one. Here is hoping that more and more people take that leap of faith!

Brian
Retired by Choice

[Dave Bruno]

Wow. Thanks for the kind words Brian!

[Yasmin]

Purging possessions has been on my mind lately, and I happily stumbled on your blog. Glad to know I am not alone in this feeling of being overwhelmed and bogged down by stuff – just stuff, junk, baggage, bondage. I admire the way monks live: one bowl, one spoon, one mat, etc. Also, Thoreau is a personal hero and was way ahead of his time. Imagine if he'd lived now! Although that was just an experiment and did not last - the idea is noble and I'm glad you're reviving it and following through with it and sharing your experience. Glad to see you have a book deal as well. I hate to state the obvious, but if the idea of the book is to reduce clutter and stuff in our immediate environments, won't injecting, say, a million books into the world add more clutter. Why not e-publish it, or make it available only on Kindle? It always strikes me as a little as weird and crazy how there are magazines like "Simple" that exalt a simplified, clutter-free lifestyle and meanwhile, inside its pages, it's all about buying stuff to make it happen.

[Evan]

Hi Dave,

First, thanks for maintaining this blog and for putting out your 100 Things Challenge. My interest in voluntary simplicity has been rekindled and I've begun to tackle this challenge myself.

I found this article that I thought you'd be interested in on some social science research demonstrating a correlation between low self-esteem and materialism.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/01/scientists-find.html

Best,

Evan

[Dave Bruno]

Evan, great article. I am a big fan of science and appreciate studies like this. And also there's a certain amount of common sense that also validates these conclusions. But I like this article. Thanks.