Five questions with Michael Robinson
1. What does living simply mean to you?
Living simply for me means focusing on the things that matter most: God, family, friendship, music and striving to live a thankful and joyful life. Things that provide me with a lot of joy are animals, music and nature. My wife Julie and I often say that life is more fun with animals. With two dogs, three cats, and three gerbils around the house life is always interesting and different.
As for music, my wife and I sing in our church choir and also play hand bells in our church hand bell choir. Julie is an accomplished flute player. I have been learning to play the guitar and I enjoy playing songs and composing them as well. Music is both a blessing and a mystery to me and it draws me closer to God.
In addition to music, nature and enjoying the outdoors play an important role in my life in terms of living simply. Years ago, I remember how a park ranger at Guadalupe National Park talked about “the beauty and power of nature working together” during one of his evening programs. That concept stuck with me and is good way of describing the magnificence of God’s creation both big and small.
For me, the beauty and power of nature is most apparent in a starry night sky. I have always had a fascination with the stars and space and realized in my early 20′s that I wanted to be one of those people who could identify the constellations in the night sky. Astronomy is a passion of mine I like to share with others. My wife and I host public star parties regularly at Fort Inge Historic Park just south of Uvalde. In this effort, I hope share some of my awe and amazement of the mysteries of space with others. Contemplating space for me is where science and faith come together.
Another way I connect with nature is by feeding the birds in our back yard, I feed the birds daily and make sure the bird bath is full of fresh water. I enjoy watching what birds find their way to our feeder. I often think about the scripture where Jesus talks about how God watches over the sparrows. In a small way, I get satisfaction that I might be assisting God in God’s work by providing food for the sparrows.
During the spring, the gardening bug hits me. I don’t have a big garden, but it is rewarding to plant seeds, water them and get my hands dirty. Gardening is spiritual activity too. In the Bible, the book of Genesis begins with the story about the Garden of Eden.
2. Why is it important to you? (budget, politics, faith, etc)
It would probably take a book to fully answer such a question! In the context of living simply, faith encompasses every other aspect of my life, including budget and politics. I tend to view life in holistically and connected as opposed to the view that aspects of a person’s life can be compartmentalized. Faith for me points me to God and provides me with meaning to live.
We don’t miss church unless we are sick. When I do miss church, I can tell that something important is missing.
We also do things other families do to live simply. We sort and recycle. We compost. I personally don’t do these things to be “green”. My motivation is not because of politics either. Conservation and living simply are just the right things to do.
3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?
We watch less television. In the early years of our marriage, we had television programs we watched regularly. At some point, I wondered why I never had any time for reading, hobbies etc. Watching less TV has made a positive difference for us.
I am also a big fan of unstructured time where I can choose to do something like read, play the guitar, take a nap, walk the dogs or do nothing. I make it an effort to not get overscheduled or committed.
4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?
Getting rid of clutter has been an ongoing challenge for us. After almost 20 years of marriage my wife and I have accumulated a lot of books and other stuff. Paper clutter is especially problematic. We have made some progress but we still have a way to go.
5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?
I am not sure how qualified I am to give advice on living simply.
I would just say that there is beauty in God’s creation both is big things and small things. Take to the time to appreciate something in nature every day. Live in the moment. Be thankful for being alive. As the old saying goes, “Take time to smell the roses.”
Michael Robinson works for a bi-weekly newspaper in the south Texas town of Uvalde and lives on the edge of an even smaller farm town close near the middle of nowhere. When he is not working at the newspaper, he enjoys spending time with his wife Julie and playing the guitar, making telescopes, gardening, viewing the stars or taking care of the pets.
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