Less Fear in Owning Less

Simplicity = Less fear when you own less.

You don't have to barricade yourself in a gated community. You don't have to quarantine yourself in a cookie cutter suburb. You can live in a city or small town, in a walkable neighborhood, close to other people, interacting with different types of people, and not fear.

Because your life is more than your possessions. Keep your very special things in a safe place, protected from fire and flood. Scan your important documents and keep them secure. Invest in a gun safe or safe for important items. Otherwise, what do you have to fear? Other than the amount of the deductible on your homeowners or renters insurance.

You don't have to worry about strangers walking on a sidewalk outside of your house. You don't have to fear "those people" living around you, people of different walks of life or income brackets.

If you have simplified your life and have made being in the moment a priority, you can make time to sit on the porch in the front lawn and talk to people who walk by. You can take the time to make cookies for new neighbors to welcome them to the neighborhood. When your neighborhood and city are a priority you can go to public meetings, participate in public events, take a leisurely walk and learn all of the nooks and crannies and characters surrounding you.

Less stuff. Less fear. More life.

Walking - At the Root of Simplicity

It's fitting that one of my first posts on a blog about simplicity and the built environment would be about walking. 

Yesterday I tweeted an article on walking by Antonio Malchik, The End of Walking. He talked about journalist and National Geographic fellow Paul Salopek's seven-year walking trip. 

"His reasons for walking? To ‘relearn the contours of our planet at the human pace of three miles an hour . . . I hope to repair certain important connections burned through by artificial speed, by inattentiveness.’"

We are made to walk. We are so used to our car culture that we forget that walking is the most natural way to get around. That might be hard to keep in mind when you are trying to cross a street or walk where there are no sidewalks; you feel like there is no room for you in your most natural state. 

Walking takes time. It also produces less stress, more joy, more health benefits. When you've simplified your life and made time for things that are the most important, you have time to walk. For pleasure, or for purpose. 

It's a great way to get to know a place. All of the layers and textures. The reason the suburbs have a bad reputation for being boring and lifeless is that they are largely experienced at 30 mph +. In a downtown of a small town or in a large city, places are meant to be experienced on foot, at 3 mph. Small businesses, food trucks, mom and pop shops can survive because people can pass by slowly. 

Walking makes you happy, for all of the obvious reasons. Think about places people like to go on vacation. New York City. Paris. Disney World. What do these places have in common? You walk everywhere. 

Simplifying your life gives you the space you need to just get out there and take a walk. To find the space in your life to advocate, to get involved in getting sidewalks where they are needed. Discover new things about where you live. Flaneur. Wander. Get lost. 

I recommend Jeff Speck's "Walkable City", an excellent read on general urban planning theory and walkablity.

Rooted

Rooted. It's about finding a place to dwell that allows you to be still so you can take on the world. It's about feeling settled, peaceful, and fulfilled at home. 

I've been following the simplicity movement for a while now, and this blog is about exploring how that intersects with sustainability and the built environment. There are so many great resources about simplicity (check out the resources page). I want to expand on that, wearing a designer's hat, but also look at how living a life of simplicity at home gives us space and time to help improve the world around us. 

My goals here are to:
-Empower people to think about the built environment around them and how if affects their health, happiness and well being.
-Give people tools to live a fuller, more involved, simpler, less stressed life
-Encourage community and civic involvement

Here are the quotes that I've had up on my wall for years that inspire me:

"It takes a village....I'd love to green my home,  add a guest house, and create a more welcoming place for my monthly community-building get-togethers with friends and neighbors. It's not just about me having a cute little home. I want to be part of something bigger than myself." -Jennifer Duff, Mesa, Arizona

"As cities grow, and the experience of urbanism becomes overwhelming and intoxicating,...the notion of domestic retreat becomes more and more important." -David Adjaye, Architect