+ The Good Life

Thoughts on Simplicity

The Christian scripture contain strong admonitions to care for the needs of the poor. Back in college I read Ron Sider’s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.  It was a study of the biblical passages on poverty, oppression and injustice.  My guilt was stirred.  I didn’t adjust my lifestyle much, but I thought about it.

Then in my first year out of college I decided with several friends to participate in a book study.  We read Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster.  Following our discussions of this book, I dedicated myself to a life of simplicity.  I made a commitment to tithe my income, to drive a very basic vehicle, to dress simply, and to avoid extravagant dining and entertainment.  This was easy to do.  I had no money at the time.  Shopping at Goodwill was a necessity.  Giving away 10% of nothing was nothing. 

Even as I advanced in my career, my wife and I stayed committed to simple living.  We had no TV and very few meals-out.  We did not get a television set until my oldest son was 10.  Major League Baseball made the difference.  We did not feel comfortable imposing on friends to each night to watch their television for seven days of the World Series. I couldn’t take my little kids to sports bar.

Now that we have no children in the home, my wife and I are back to no TV, but I must admit that it's hardly simple living.  We get everything we want to watch on the computer.  The other night while I was watching a comedy show on You Tube, programmed from an app on my iPhone, I wondered once again about my commitment to simplicity. 

I don’t have the same level of guilt that I once had about my advantages as an American, but I am deeply aware of the vast differences between the “have’s” and the “have not’s,” and I am passionately concerned about how we can support the elevation of standards for those living in poverty. 

Many Christians take 40 days near the start of the year to recommit to simplicity and to actively participate in acts of charity.  If more of us did this, and allowed our spiritual insights and emerging healthy habits to shape our lives, I think it could make a world of difference.

 

Endless Love at the End of 2014

Heap on more wood! — the wind is chill;

But let it whistle as it will,

We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.

Each age has deemed the new born year

The fittest time for festal cheer.

And well our Christian sires of old.

Loved when the year its course had rolled,

And brought blithe Christmas back again,

With all his hospitable train...

Old Christmas brought his sports again.

’Twas Christmas broached the mightiest ale,

’Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;

A Christmas gambol oft would cheer

A poor man’s heart through half the year.  (From Sir Walter Scott 1808, Marmion)

 

Edify Video (Ghana)

Edify continues to do an amazing job expanding the reach of quality sustainable schoolings for Children in poor communities of the developing world.

 

Time with Hans Blix at Columbia

Today at Columbia University, Hans Blix shared his optimistic view of the non-use of armed force as an evolving norm.   On the other hand, he shared the conviction that global warming is as great an existential threat to human existence as the potential for nuclear disaster.  The Former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission in Iraq also warned about armed intervention with Iran.  He said, “The U.S. attacked Iraq for weapons that did not exist.  The U.S. could attack Iran for intentions that may or may not exist.”

During our time of dialogue, Blix offered a very positive view of nuclear power.  He didn’t rule out alternative fuels, but he sees great advantages for nuclear power over fossil fuels and believes that nuclear technology is becoming safer and supports the development of new reactors with safer processes. 

He was as Professor Richard Gardner described him: "A very disarming personality."

Here are a few past quotes from Han Blix:

"On big issues like war in Iraq, but in many other issues they simply must be multilateral. There's no other way around. You have the instances like the global warming convention, the Kyoto protocol, when the U.S. went its own way."

"Look at the Palestinians with the huge, huge percentage of unemployed. What does that breed? Anyone who's unemployed in the world, you feel there's no meaning and there's a risk that you drift over to something desperate. Yes, we have to tackle the social problems as well."

The Transformation of Suffering

Meaningful compassion for those who are dying can be be enhanced when we ask ourselves:  How fully cognizant am I that this will happen to me?  The Buddhist roshi Joan Halifax shares how mindful support of those in the active dying process can help us transform the time of suffering for those to whom we offer care, and also shape us into transformative people.  Her thinking reminds me of the complimentary teaching of the Christian priest Henri Nouwen, who described compassion as "the full immersion in the condition of being human."