Simple living

I think simplicity can be one of the most frustrating and fulfilling parts of the JVC. Before I go any further, let me say this:

I am ready for a real paycheck. I am not a martyr. The day I see a paycheck with more than $80 on it, I will be thrilled. 

Simple living scared me more than the other values before I became a JV. How would I make it on $80? (including our community stipend, I really live on about $430 a month, plus I get health insurance.) In reality, the stipend is one of the smaller parts of living simply.

For one, there is simplicity of time. I make a conscious effort not to over commit myself. Which can be hard to do coming straight out of college. But I value my quiet time. I walk to work most days because it takes longer than biking. And thus I have more time to be silent, pray, call friends and family. 

There is simplicity for the environment's sake. Sure I like bananas. Do I need to buy bananas? Well, they are shipped across countries, where as apples I can pick from my neighbor's trees. 

There is simplicity in my spiritual life. I don't need to join a bible study and a young adults group and read this book and that, even though those are all good things. I can also sit and be still.  Which is something I rarely did before JVC, and since has brought me much peace. Its taken a long time for me to warm up to this. In college I always had something else to be doing. Now, I'm not as overwhelmed, and enjoying silence is must easier.

I'm beginning to appreciate the little things in life much more. Where my food comes from. How long it takes to make a pair of mittens. How much more I see of a city when I'm walking. How easy and delicious canning really is. 

I'm beginning to enjoy this simple life. When I go slower, I see more and therefore appreciate more. I always thought if I slowed down I'd lose focus. But now, its hard to see how I'd concentrate otherwise.