Tribe.net. Local Connections Blue http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#fa0cf934-55e2-4fcb-b72b-9bdc0599e1bc 2009-07-19T04:17:45Z 2009-07-19T04:17:45Z

I think a lot of people equate simplicity with being deprived of "good things". Our lives can be rich beyond measure whether or not our bankbook agrees. What does a person need? Food, shelter, clothing sufficient to protect from the elements, companionship, health care, the rest is all wants and conveniences. I too have been at both ends of the spectrum, though not quite as wealthy as you describe. The only thing money ever provided me was the ability to have more choices. In and of itself money didn't make me happy.

Blue 2009-07-19T04:17:45Z Mark http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#6ace2322-554b-4a93-bcea-333a591a1a9b 2009-07-15T08:09:39Z 2009-07-15T08:09:39Z

well said for sure.!!

Mark 2009-07-15T08:09:39Z B-b http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#504c3bcc-b6c2-4e2a-b181-44b097ea0f19 2009-07-13T23:45:45Z 2009-07-13T23:45:45Z

I like underground houses, and I really want to build one. Seems that depending on the type of ground (density of rock, whatever), you could just be making additions all the time (digging). And if you bore in in a location no one goes, and make it impossible to see from the surface, you don't even need to buy the land (provided you can generally assume that no one will develop the land in the next decade or so). And since the economy is going to crap in a handbag, and will be like that for years to come (and more so the more of us that opt out!), now is the time to "get back to (under!) the land... Happy digging!

B-b 2009-07-13T23:45:45Z $item.owner.firstName http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#6a9ac884-b009-4bf1-ab58-810f0b66f849 2009-07-13T21:30:08Z 2009-07-13T21:30:08Z

in my own experience living on less caries with it or rather generates a prejudice from the state and from individuals. The state needs the economy to be growing and in order to grow it needs us to consume... if some people opt out, chose not to consume they are in the eyes of the state 'anti-rsocial, or un-patrioitic... by not consumming they are not contributing..... individuals can tend to express envy, its cadged in calling you lazy or selfish...your choice not to have a mortgage, a tv, an expensive car and a wardrobe like a department store means you don't have to work the hurs they do to pay for it... As for pros.... you're not contributing to the rape of this planet...whilst there are more it is (IMHO) the only pro of significance regards GM23

$item.owner.firstName 2009-07-13T21:30:08Z Adam http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#f8aab034-007a-48b3-9d7b-8b9c89601496 2009-07-13T21:06:28Z 2009-07-13T21:06:28Z

I've done a lot of traveling through the developing world, and I've watched some of it change. The first time that I went to Thailand was in 1997. The tourist slogan on the brochures was "The land of smiles", and back then it really was. People across in the country had huge smiles. As I kept going back to Thailand, I noticed that things changed. The country prospered, but the smiles faded away. I crossed back and forth by land between Cambodia and Thailand a large number of times. The first couple of times that I made the trip into Cambodia, the first impression was the dirt and poverty. But, then as I kept making the trip, I noticed that the moment you crossed into impoverished Cambodia, smiles magically appeared. Ethiopia was another experience for me. It just puzzled me how people who had so little could have such big smiles. The answer that I came to was that it's a matter of "want". In the west, we have so much but are (in general) pretty far from content, because we always want more. In a place that's starting to develop, like Thailand was, people become unhappy as they start seeing what they could have, and craving it. But in places like rural Ethiopia and Cambodia, so long as they're getting enough food, the people are pretty damn happy. A picture tells a thousand words? Here's 4000 words. http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekeasy/2698989813/in/set-72157606296388146/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekeasy/2699805344/in/set-72157606296388146/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekeasy/2699369419/in/set-72157606323329569/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekeasy/2700007268/in/set-72157606323329569/

Adam 2009-07-13T21:06:28Z Mark http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#706f939d-a74e-4826-bdca-d1c2cf8bbe6e 2009-06-10T18:31:35Z 2009-06-10T18:31:35Z

Living simple can be difficult in many ways as well. I chose 10 years ago to purchase a small...... old trailer.... and basically get out of debt and live small. Zoning and other issues throw problems at you right away. Ended up living 20 miles from any sizeable town with services etc. Fuel prices and traveling to town have cost a bunch and complicated things. The world is set up for upward mobile .....and those who want to downsize on a budget can wind up with red tape and alienation.

Mark 2009-06-10T18:31:35Z Alchemy http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#32ffdc0b-94b7-4266-a2eb-02040c17f620 2009-06-10T15:38:33Z 2009-06-10T15:38:33Z

one thing we've found is that "work" can be a huge detractor from your quality of life- where you define work as something you would *only* do if you are paid to do it. We've learned the hard way that for each dollar you spend you have to earn something like two - there's taxes and the cost of commuting and clothes for work etc etc, and when I work full time, I often feel like I need to spend money to feel better about working - and it becomes a vicious cycle, you need to earn more money to be able to afford to play enough to feel OK about working so hard to make all that money. And then lots of stuff needs maintenance - when you own stuff you have to keep it clean, it needs a place to be, some things get taken out for a season of use then put away. The guy who came up with our community came up with a concept about having small rooms - its not a rule - but it is often done - when you don't have a lot of space or a lot of storage space, you start to see how much you really have, because you don't have space - so if you get new stuff (buy, find, swap, gift) you wind up getting rid of other stuff to make space for it. So it turns out there is a steady stream of surplus 'stuff' flowing out of people's rooms - which we share. We have a barrel on the front porch called "the red barrel" where you put stuff you don't want, and everybody in the community "shops" at the red barrel, and friends from outside the group bring stuff to us to put in the red barrel. So we get lots of 'new (to me)' things. Living communally we are more often able to share stuff (not always) we certainly share a kitchen, a washer, a dryer, a back yard, and when we can afford them we buy really well made commercial appliances (vacuum cleaner, kitchen mixer) that can be shared, which we repair and which last and last. We've also found that a lot of the things we used to spend money on for entertainment just aren't as interesting as the drama - both good and bad - of the people that we live with.

Alchemy 2009-06-10T15:38:33Z Timberwolf (aka Walter) http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#3c6fa2b1-b820-4a4d-9818-ff6489c50cb0 2009-06-10T14:23:41Z 2009-06-10T14:23:41Z

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timberwolf (aka Walter) 2009-06-10T14:23:41Z The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#9ee62a9e-d2c6-4b66-b0cf-34cd0add764d 2009-06-10T13:55:40Z 2009-06-10T13:55:40Z

Simple living—by choice is a whole lot different than simple living out of necessity. But, I for one have been happiest when I am living the simple life...by choice, of course. It means less work each day with more time of my own—to do with as I please.

The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon 2009-06-10T13:55:40Z Timberwolf (aka Walter) http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#1ddbeeb6-89fd-4c04-98f7-43b7b6718206 2009-06-10T12:19:17Z 2009-06-10T12:19:17Z

ARG - sorry for the mis-spelled words. Should have done my 'spell check' on it before I hit the submit button.

Timberwolf (aka Walter) 2009-06-10T12:19:17Z Timberwolf (aka Walter) http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#c963f357-eded-426d-bd11-e623a47a1b21 2009-06-10T12:18:23Z 2009-06-10T12:18:23Z

I can say I have been at the top - nice house, nice cars, good job, money to do pretty much anything I wanted - was I happy? At the time I thought I was. Now I am at the other end of the spectrum - no job, a workable truck, a roof over my head (for now), living from monthly check to monthly check, eatting balogna sandwiches. Am I happy - to a point yes. When you learn to survive with little it will be easier to survive the upcoming chaos. Those who know only the way of going to a store to get what they "want", have someone do things for them, enjoy the over priced house, living high on the hog, driving expensive cars/trucks/SUVs will have no clue what so ever how to survive. They probably never grew a garden, went to the woods and hunted for meat, had a fishing pole in their hands, even knew how to sew up the hole in their pants. You can get the picture. Simplicity - plain and simple - simplicity. or for the computer geeks out three - KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.

Timberwolf (aka Walter) 2009-06-10T12:18:23Z Go Ask Alice http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#ebbdcb66-9d51-4935-96cd-7423da62e5b1 2009-06-09T17:37:40Z 2009-06-09T17:37:40Z

They seemed to get a good balance - the envious ,the people already living it, the people living it by intense necessity AND the folks with no interest. I find it especially helpful to follow my father's simple advice: "It is easy to make enough to live on when you can live on what you make."

Go Ask Alice 2009-06-09T17:37:40Z The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon http://intentionalcommunity.tribe.net/thread/9b0293d8-2288-465e-a172-08c3d20b908a#b725b9bf-8eec-4f9f-9b6c-3dc283f0eb7c 2009-06-09T14:55:04Z 2009-06-09T14:55:04Z

What's YOUR take on these comments? http://happydays.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/simplicity-at-a-price/

The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon 2009-06-09T14:55:04Z