Creative Simplicity

My own definition and living out of creative simplicity is a work in progress, adapting as I read more widely and think more deeply about the issues it raises. It is influenced by my reading of various books, including the Bible, Voluntary Simplicity, Downshifting (Polly Ghazi and Judy Jones), Downshifting (John D Drake), The Tightwad Gazette, The Shakertown Pledge, and numerous websites.

The best definition I have found so far is this, by Gerald Iversen (founder of Alternatives):

‘I pledge to follow the model of Jesus

• To live a life of integrity between my beliefs and actions
• To strive to use only my fair share of the Earth’s resources
• To treat others fairly here and abroad
• To care for creation by what I do and what I refuse to do
• To support others to do the same

I pledge to follow the five life standards of Living More With Less:

• To do justice
• To learn from the world community
• To nurture people, not things
• To cherish the natural order-care for creation
• To non-conform freely.’

Things that I am passionate about include Christian stewardship, particularly of our financial and environmental resources. I believe we can (and should) show others we are serious about the message of Jesus by living a life of integrity and care for the poor and the planet.

In my life, the practical forms this takes include:

• working from home (no transport required)
• growing vegetables (we’ve turned our back garden over to vegetable-growing, and have just acquired an allotment)
• saving water wherever possible (we have a water butt, a shower which uses very little water, and a lot of water-saving devices in our toilet cistern!)
• recycling as much as possible
• buying fairtrade and/or local products
• sponsoring children through World Vision

I don’t consider myself to have it all sorted, but am working on making my life reflect my values more closely.