simplicity

The world is too busy, mostly doing things that don't make much sense. Busy writing reports that no one will read. Busy accumulating data that will never be used. Busy trying to Make Money so they can Buy Stuff.
Stop it. Sit back. Take a deep breath. Relax.
Learn to make do with less.

Play Some Games

Okay, I admit it. I spend too much time on games. But they really are a simple, cheap, and easy way to have some fun and do some socializing. There are two new game links on this page to some stuff I've been working on. The first is a new page of Web Resources for Gamers. Actually, that's for cheap gamers. Follow the link and see what I mean. The second for some new card games I made up: The Rummy Murders, CardOpoly, and UNO: the Gathering. They're on the Simple Games page.

Get Rid Of Some Stuff

You have too much stuff. You know what I mean. Your closets are full of clothes you don't wear. The basement is overflowing with boxes you haven't even looked at in years. You can hardly park your car in the garage. It's time to get rid of some stuff. Remember: You don't own your stuff, your stuff owns you.
I've downsized a couple of times in the last few years. I've moved from a big three-bedroom house with a two-car garage and full basement to a two-bedroom duplex with a one-car garage and no basement. And you know what? I've still got too much stuff.
But what can you do? Well, it's wintertime, so you've got lots of spare time right now. No excuses Go through everything one closet or box at a time. Sort through one or two repositories every day. Every item (be brutal) goes into one of three piles:

Sell it. If you need the cash, this is the way to go.

If it's something big and worth over $50, like a spare car, refrigerator, or bicycle, take out a classified ad in the local newspaper or shopper.
If you've got some nice shipable items like good books or collectibles, sell 'em on ebay. (By the way, you don't really know what's collectible until you check out comparable items on ebay. Like, for example, Beanie Babies? Forget it. There are a billion for sale and nobody's buying. But old lunchboxes? There's a Battlestar Galactica lunchbox from the 70's for sale right now that's bringing $61!)
If you have a bunch of old clothes and odd knickknacks, have a garage sale.

Donate it. If you don't really need the money, this is the best thing you can do. You'll feel good, and in some cases you'll even get a tax deduction. Just make sure what you're giving away is good, usable stuff. Nobody wants your garbage.

Give it to a friend, neighbor, or family member. Or a friend of a friend. Ask around. And when you give it to them, don't make a big deal out of how charitable you're being or how needy they are. Make them feel like they're doing you a favor.
Ask your church. They probably know somebody, or they might be planning a rummage sale.
Drop it off at Goodwill or the Salvation Army. If you have enough stuff, they might even send a truck out to pick it up.

Recycle it. Don't just throw your stuff away. That just fills up the landfill.

Make something crafty, or give it to someone else who makes crafty stuff.
Put it in the right bin, if your city has recycling.
Take it to a recycling center.

Stop Worrying

We Americans like to worry. We worry about whether we live in the right neighborhood, or if we're too fat, or if we're going to get cancer, or if terrorists are going to kill us,. I know some people who have turned worrying into an art form. But you know what? Worrying doesn't help a bit. It's important for us not to worry. God considers it important, so important that when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, the first thing He said, right after the Lord's Prayer, was not to worry so much. This is how He put it (Matthew 6:25-34):

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Find a Cause

I worked hard to try to defeat Bush's election bid last year. Even though we lost, it made me feel good to be part of the cause. I believed we were Right with a capital 'R', and I still do. I think you feel better about yourself when you develop real beliefs and then act on them. The unhappiest people I see are those who have given up, those who believe nobody can make a difference. So find yourself a cause. Start by checking out the Big List of Causes at Yahoo. I'm sure you'll find something you feel strongly enough about to get involved. Be an active participant in the world, not just a spectator. Here are a few topics to get you started:

Abortion Rights
Age Discrimination
Animal Rights
Child Advocacy
Civil Rights
Conservation
Feminism
Gun Control
Human Rights
Multiculturalism
Peace
Politics
Racism
Tax Reform

Meditate

Learn to meditate and you'll live a longer, healthier, happier life. You don't have to be some kind of Eastern mystic to meditate. 'Mediation' is really just a synonym for 'deep relaxation'. Click here to go to a site that explains how to meditate, without adding all the pseudospiritual mumbo-jumbo.

Take a Walk

I have always loved walking. I used to walk to work, summer and winter, and it was not only good exercise, it gave me time to think. It's good for the environment, too. I had foot surgery last winter and couldn't walk for about six months, so I came to really appreciate it. I know it's the middle of winter, but you can still do a little walking at the mall or your local community fitness center. Like everything else, people can get a little obsessive and crazy about walking. I suggest you just go somewhere, do it, and relax.

Laugh A Little

Turn off the TV sitcoms and find something good to laugh about. Read some Thurber or Twain, tune into an old Looney Tunes cartoon, read a Dr. Seuss book to some kid (it doesn't have to be yours), or go down to the community theatre and check out their production of Arsenic & Old Lace (it would even be okay if you watched a video of the Cary Grant film version, checked out from the library, of course). Have some fun. You remember that? Fun? Me, I've got Flooby! Sometimes I just can't believe the antics that little puppet pulls! :)

Find Inner Peace

One of the best ways to simplify your life is to find some meaning to it.^* Personally, I've never understood how anyone could go through life without questioning what it's all about and trying to find their place in reality. As most of you know, I'm a Christian, and I receive a great deal of peace from my beliefs. I don't know how I would have gotten through this last year without Christ in my life. But though I believe wholeheartedly that Christ is the Way, I also firmly believe that each of us must find our own path to peace. The important thing is to begin the journey, and stick with it until you find Truth. I link to a site that provides a Verse of the Day at the top of my home page, and I think that's as good a place to start as any. Go to Bible Gateway and just poke around. They've got a dozen different translations of the Bible online, as well as pages of links to other Christian sites. Look up some words (try 'peace', 'love', or 'salvation' for starters). In Deuteronomy 4:29 it says "seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul." It worked for me.
^*(Helpful Hint: it's not money, it's not fame, it's not drugs or alcohol, it's not sex, and it's not power. There, that should save you quite a bit of time...)

Write a Journal

Journalling has become a Big Thing in the 21st Century. People have discovered that writing down your thoughts has about 1,000 psychological benefits. It helps you relax, it helps you ruminate, and it can even be a valuable resource for your progeny. The folks over at Writing the Journey have put up an online tutorial for those who want to start journaling but suffer from Beginning Writer's Block. Their site includes a bunch of exercises that will get you started painlessly.

Be Idle

There's an article by Mark Slouka in the November Harper's Bazarr titled Quitting the Paint Factory that argues we're all too busy, and just slowing down would improve the quality of our lives. It's well written, as this sample shows:

Idleness is not just a psychological necessity, requisite to the construction of a complete human being; it constitutes as well a kind of political space, a space as necessary to the workings of an actual democracy as, say, a free press. How does it do this? By allowing us time to figure out who we are, and what we believe; by allowing us time to consider what is unjust, and what we might do about it.

Play Cards

You can buy a deck of cards for a buck, and you need never be bored for the rest of your life. The Card Games web site has the rules to every card game ever devised, be it solitaire or multi-player, all for free. (This page even links to the rules for my own card games Duel, Royal Assassin, and Rochester Poker!) So grab some cards, play a game, and relax.

Learn Something

Wikipedia is the free online encyclopedia written by the people, for the people. They're up to 422,393 articles, most of which are just as good as their counterparts in commercial encyclopedias. The home page always features a few links to a featured article, the latest updates, etc., so it's easy and fun to browse. You can even make your own changes to the entries!

Get Some Help

Want to know how to get into birdwatching? Need a good apple cider recipe? Need help with your homework? You can find all of this and much, much more at about.com. Though some of the site is devoted to reviews of digital cameras, new cars, and other consumer crap, and each page sports an ad or four, there's still lots of good help here. It's all maintained by subject matter experts who know what they're doing, and seem to have a lot of fun doing it. And if you need a laugh (who doesn't?), they've got a great humor section, too.

Read a Book

Get off your ass and go down to the library and check out a book. Before you do, plop said ass down in an overstuffed chair in the periodicals section, read today's local paper, and flip through a few of the latest magazines. It's all paid for by your taxes. Take advantage! If you don't mind reading from the computer screen or (as I do) from the screen of your PDA, surf over to the Project Gutenberg site and download some free e-books. They've got over 6,000 books online so far, with more every month. Though you won't find the latest best-sellers at PG, you will find some classics you've been wanting to read for a long time. They've got all of Mark Twain's books, Alice in Wonderland, and even Plato and Aristotle.

Buy Cheap Stuff

It may seem obvious, but in America there are lots and lots of people who just can't buy enough stuff to satisfy their materialistic stuff-lust. Eventually their homes fill up, and to assuage their guilt feelings they then donate their old stuff to Goodwill to make room for the new stuff they want to buy. The good part is that much of the stuff they donate is practically brand new. Goodwill then sells it in their stores at an incredible discount, allowing you to cash in on the stupidity of those who have more money than they know what to do with. Of course, this is all doubly good, because in the process Goodwill also provides jobs and job training for lots of people with disabilities. There are really some things you have got to love about this country. To find the nearest Goodwill store, use their online store finder.

Buy a Good, Cheap Car

Let's face it, in most places in the USA (except New York City), you just have to have a car. Public transportation usually sucks, and our cities are too spread out to make bicycling an option. But that doesn't mean you have to shell out $35,000 for a brand-new truck or SUV. If you're smart, you can save a lot of money by buying used. But how? Get some advice from Smart Car Guide. They've got reviews, crash tests, and lots of good advice that might ease the pain of acquiring this necessary evil.

Don't Work So Hard

There's a good article by Bill Beuttler on the Boston Magazine site titled We Work Too Hard. In it, he examines the historical, social, and economics reasons of why we work so hard in America. It provides a good foundation for thinking about how we got where we are.

Volunteer

Bored? Get out there and volunteer. Charitable organizations never have enough help. Check out the Scouts, the Red Cross, or any of your local charities. Or just cruise on over toVolunteerMatch. Type in your Zip Code and they'll match you up with dozens of organizations that need help right in your own community. You say you can't get out? No problem. They can also match you up with hundreds of virtual opportunities to help out over the Web.

Become an Expert

Becoming an expert in just about anything can take you a lifetime. Pick a subject and stick with it. For most things, it's just a matter of research and/or practice, neither of which has to cost you much but time. Just off the top of my head, here are a few subjects you could lose yourself in until the day of your demise, and still not know everything:

The Bible
Watercolors
The History of Some Razor-Thin Topic (Such as, for example, the History of Southern Iowa Railroads^*.)
Comics (passive knowledge), or:
Cartooning (active involvement)
Romantic Poetry
Crochet
Baseball
Chess
Wood Carving
BASIC Programming
Origami
Politics
Piano
Balsa Wood Planes
18th Century Harpsicord Music (history & performing)

You get the idea. Start with something broad, like History, and follow your interest until you find a niche that is particularly fascinating to you. Try not to succumb to the temptation to buy lots of books on the subject. Use the library and the Web (start with a Google search). And beware of pasttimes that soak up all of your financial resources. This mostly involves collecting stuff, or hobbies that require a lot of expensive equipment, like boating or building hot rods. Expensive hobbies have ruined more than one person's finances or marriage.
^*My Dad was an expert in the History of Southern Iowa Railroads. :)