Five questions with Jason Fowler
1. What does living simply mean to you?
Simple living, for my wife and I, is born out of our Christian faith. The materialism and consumerism that dominates American culture is in sharp contrast to a life that is devoted to following JESUS. For us simple living is a repentance from a self-consumed way of living and the means to free up our time and resources to embody the love and purposes of GOD. Practically, it means we cook most of our meals from scratch, keep a large garden, eliminate the TV and drastically reduce our online media consumption, homeschool our kids and other habits of life that allow us to manage our time and resources wisely instead of our time and resources managing us. This has been a long journey for us and we pretty much are just learning as we go.
2. Why is it important to you? (budget, politics, faith, etc)
Living simply is a declaration of freedom from the economic traps of the American Dream that so often keep us from authentically living out our faith. The alternative to living simply is living a life driven by greed, lust, or just thoughtless and excessive consumption. It’s all about acknowledging our complicity in a system that operates without limits or respect for people, the earth and a sustainable economy. I also think that living simply is born out of a shift in our worldview. For us, we went from just living a typical suburban life- to asking deep questions about consumerism, materialism and the cultural values that were shaping many of our lifestyle choices.
3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?
Over the course of ten years we went from living on the outskirts of Northern Virginia, commuting long distances for church and work to living in a cooperative rural setting in Central Virginia where I work from home and we help take care of the property here that is owned by an older Christian couple. We also recently sold one of our vehicles because we just didn’t use it that much. We hope to clean house soon too and get rid of clothes and other things that we don’t use very much (if at all) that might be a blessing to other people. We also love using using resources like FreeCycle to give things away or ask for things we are looking to own.
4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?
The hardest aspect of the journey towards simple living is finding contentment in the things that really matter. Shifting focus from a mental and emotional culture of want and inflamed desire for the next new thing to a focus on the more permanent and fulfilling elements of life that GOD has given us – like each other, friendships, family, marriage, enjoying the natural world, cultivating the land, playing music, talking, reading, relearning a rhythm of life, taking sabbath, being creative, becoming service-oriented ‘producers’ instead of just sovereign consumers that can never be content with what we have. Peace and wholeness comes from the Prince of peace, enjoying the good things that He has given us and sharing them with others. I’ve always been taught that I need a Big Mac or a fast car or an indestructible watch or the exclusive collectors edition DVD of the movie everyone is raving about. Sometimes trying to find peace in a simple mode of living means you feel as if you’re missing out on the carnival of consumerism that is so deceptively satisfying for a short time.
5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?
My first advice is to followers of JESUS, Christians who may not recognize that at times our faith is often driven more by the spirits of the world than by the Holy Spirit. We are constantly unsettled by our perceived need for the next spiritual novelty- the latest Bible for teens or patriots or moms, the greatest conference or concert, the latest book (I’m so guilty of this one), the most awesome new worship music, the JESUS fish T-shirt, or better yet the Christian credit card to buy your Christian stuff. All these things are fine in of themselves usually, but for myself I often find that I think I need to be constantly consuming these to walk authentically with GOD. At that point our religion becomes consumerism.
My second advice is to folks interested in simple living as the perfected life. We can still pursue simple living, reject materialism and be totally miserable. Simple living can never be an end unto itself. JESUS calls us to follow Him- He offers us a new way of life – we must not merely draw up a new law of lifestyle ethics and cling to a sustainable life as if it is some form of salvation. Sustainable and simple living can free us up to live a life centered on our Creator and a love of those around us but in of itself simple living can be just as self-centered as any other form of life. Growing your own garden and buying eco-friendly lightbulbs might be a brilliant way to live but it cannot redeem our restless hearts.
The last thing I would suggest to everyone is start small where you are and start asking hard questions. Do I really need three cars, or a huge house, or a job that takes two hours to get to every morning, or a garage full of things you never use, or a closet full of unworn clothes, or five TVs that dictate every waking hour? How can we practically reorder our possessions and resources (time and money,etc) to seek justice for those in need, to pursue GOD’s purposes, to love our neighbors, to care for the marginalized? Take a day or two retreat somewhere and take inventory of your time, possessions and money and ask GOD to show you a new way of life. And know that it is a journey that we can’t rush. We’re all just stumbling along, learning as we go.
Jason Fowler is the owner of WISELY WOVEN {Creative Media} and the co-founder of Sustainable Traditions. He lives with his wife and five kids near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at: @wiselywoven and @sustainabletrad
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