1. What does living simply mean to you?

(I wish I could boil this down to it’s essence and give it to you in a few drops…”The Essential Oil of Simplicity”.) To me, it is about making choices that don’t add to the economic disparity in the world, it’s about removing things that complicate my life, it’s about learning to be satisfied with simple things. It is about keeping things straight and simple in my relationships, too, about keeping short accounts and forgiving quickly.

2. Why is it important to you? (budget, politics, faith, etc)

Attempting to live a simple life is the clearest way I can think of to express my faith in Jesus. He didn’t come to complicate things, but to clarify them. All the law and the prophets? Simple: Love God, love your neighbour as yourself. You want to gain your life? Simple: you must lose it. Side note: I’m reminded as I write this that “simple” doesn’t necessarily mean “easy”. I try to gently encourage everyone around me to begin making choices towards simplicity.

3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?

It is so easy to be discouraged and see all the complications still present in the way our family lives, but as I take stock, I see that we have made significant strides. We decided as a family to never shop at Wal-Mart again (unless the way they do business improves). We quit eating at fast-food chains (except Subway occasionally) years ago…if we want food fast, we stop at a grocery store and get a loaf of bread and some cheese. We grow an organic garden in the summer, and we keep three chickens for the eggs and the fantastic compost they produce (which goes on the garden, ta-da!) We only purchase fair-trade coffee. We don’t have our TV hooked up to cable/satellite, and in no way do we miss the bombardment of advertisements! I try to wear my clothes until I can’t fix the holes anymore. I buy most of my clothes at thrift shops. I compost my kitchen waste, I recycle as much as possible, I walk to work….etc. etc. Many little choices that have become part of our lifestyle!

4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?

If my family lived like two-thirds of the world, we wouldn’t have to ATTEMPT to live simply. We wouldn’t have a choice. We’d eat the same thing every day, we’d live in one room, we’d all work slave hours for slave wages, we’d battle sickness with prayer alone….the affluence of our society gets a bit depressing. I wish everybody had access to good work and healthy food. The overabundance that we wallow in is robbing the rest of the world from the very basics.

5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?

Take tiny steps! And take them one at a time! Our family didn’t go cold turkey from all the things we’ve given up…we gradually made changes as God brought them to mind. We continue to do this, and will until we’re done this race! When you remove complications, you find you have room for good things like family time, smelling roses, stars and sunsets…enjoy these things! They are free!

Paula Spurr is a pastor’s wife and homeschool mom living in Three Hills, Alberta in Canada. Music and art are driving forces in her life; at present she plays upright bass in Blue Grass Orphans. Wanna buy her a present? How about a nice organic red wine? She’d love you forever. Follow her on Twitter: @cowpunkmom

You can also listen to more of Paula’s story on the something beautiful podcast.

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