The Choice of Simplicity

- Bernard Dangeard*

Simple Living was the title of a talk my wife Simone gave in Montpellier in the South of France on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Gandhi's martyrdom. She started her talk with a quote from Muhammad Yunus: "A society's quality of life should not be measured by the standards of rich people, rather by the standards of those at the bottom of the social scale."

This idea is still relevant, but the market oriented research does not give us a lot of information on this subject. Since its formation in 1948, the Community of Ark, France has kept alive this idea and the commitment to a simple way of life. But in practice, what does it mean to live simply?

Let me quote again from Simone's talk. She wrote: "In the footsteps of Gandhi, the Ark of Lanza del Vasto has been attempting, in all humility but with perseverance, that it is possible to forsake privileges, abuses of power, accumulation of consumer good, selfishness, exploitation of people and the earth, easy options proposed by the media, mass production and uniformity. Instead we experimented the choice of a simple life, sharing, co-operation, mutual support for the hardest jobs, seeking to be as coherent as possible with a lifestyle which respects each person with what they have in terms of creativity and to give. This process begins with oneself, others and nature. We learn through this, to be content with little, as long this little is beautiful and good."

Thus, simplicity of life is a choice. Is it a choice for the rich? Yes. In a certain sense to have such a choice is to become rich. It involves the decision not to increase wealth, not to compare ourselves to those who are richer and no desire to be rich. While taking this decision one should know well where this can lead us... But can we just choose not to amass wealth? Would this mean refusal of happy life?

Simple life is a choice within which we recognize other riches. There is a deep perversity in the belief that scaling down our wants or voluntary simplicity is synonymous with abject poverty. It is also an error to think that all problems confronted by humanity could be resolved with dollars, euros or rupees... How many traditional societies have collapsed, or have been damaged following thoughtless introduction of money? French farming is a case in point. Can we still talk about a farming lifestyle? European aid has widely destroyed farmers' autonomy, independence, solidarity and generosity. We believe that their true wealth was and is in those values.

Simple living involves choosing those values, different from those values which appear in our societies now as unavoidable viz. egoistic evolution, economic development, rejection of faith and spiritual life, frenetic drive to possess symbolic goods, losing touch little by little with the ordinary activities (cooking, gardening...).

The most important thing is to see beauty and to bless the Lord through humble tasks, praising God for what He gives us to live. In doing so, it can happen by chance that we become rich, even materially!

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), wrote the following in the 16th century:

"Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created."

If we follow Saint Ignatius, his message seems very compatible with those of Gandhi and of Lanza del Vasto, Gandhi's disciple and founder of the Ark Movement in the West.

There is no need to despise the lovely and good things of life. On the contrary one has to live life fully, to the utmost, taking our experiences as a gift with thanksgiving; even when the gift seems a bit unpleasant.

Over the past ten years global consciousness has made good progress against the craziness of certain human activities and their serious consequences. However, voluntary simplicity is not yet a subject for the electoral campaigns!

For those who seek inspiration from Gandhi, who wish to follow him, voluntary simplicity has become a necessary act, a personal choice which brings us closer to those for whom frugality is neither voluntary nor accepted.

Returning to Muhammad Yunus who was quoted at the beginning, as well as Gandhi, living simply is thus to get closer to the lifestyle of those who are at the bottom of the social scale, not from a pleasure of self-denial - a kind of masochist ideal - but in order to increase the quality of life, the fulfilment of the greatest number, and to find therein one's own fulfilment.

Courtesy: From the book, Contemporary Perspectives on Peace and Non-violence, published by Institute of Gandhian Studies, Gopuri, Wardha.

* Bernard Dangeard is Secretary of the Community of Ark, France, founded by Lanza del Vasto. | E-mail: siberdange@wanadoo.fr.