Living Simply...

I know my blog can take on a sarcastic, almost ... well ... flippant tone. This is true for my personality but when my wife and I realize the need to be serious we use the phrase: "It's pay attention serious time." Well... this post is "Pay attention serious time.":
Living in Alaska for the past few months... has taught us to live very simply. While in law school there is an emphasis on money, prestige, clothes, "things", and overall ostentatiousness. Much of this builds on itself and isn't necessarily the by-product of law, but more professional schools in general. You find yourself buyings suits, laptops, books, and the next thing you know, you want nicer clothes, watches, briefcases, leather furniture, and 20yr old scotch.

Well, moving to Alaska has allowed my wife and I to shed those thoughts and to move back into simplicity. Alaska is our wilderness... our desert. [A snowy one at that :)] With gas at $3.59, eggs $2.50+ a dozen, most meals at a normal restaurant $15 and up [For example: McDonald's can easily run you $10 a person], and $5 footlongs... are $7 here. Each item alone doesn't seem all that bad, but when you add it up... it makes you live more simply. [For example gas: Gas in Michigan would cost us $47.19 to fill up, here it costs $66.42]. So we have definitely been focusing more on what we HAVE as opposed to what we want. Need vs. Want is a whole new discussion for us. [Also, for those that don't know... a clerkship is not a position you take for the money; it is the main reason people don't clerk for more than a year or two.]

I think if more people were willing to live this way, there would be a greater happiness which resounded in people. When the focus shifts from the negative to the positive... your attention is directed towards happiness more often than it is directed to unhappiness. It also makes you watch different things on tv, listen to different music, and makes you want to read a different type of book. [These things in turn make you happier, re-cycling your happy mindset.] It is no surprise we find ourselves involved more with Church, with the people that go to Church, and well diving deeper into our faith. [It doesn't hurt in this whole process that we are expecting a child soon, and thereby our options our limited in "going out" on the weekends.] Again though, I think these things feed on themselves. I think the catalyst was our faith for sure... but these things all build on themselves. I realized that time I used to spend online doing other things, I now dedicated to my blog or reading other Catholic blogs.

TV is a new thing for us [YOU need it in Alaska during November and December] but we are watching better shows for the most part - CUSTODY of the EYES. We now go to Adoration, and we note how "quickly" an hour goes by while there.

So I challenge you all... if you find youself living more lavish than necessary, or just less centered on the important than you would like try this challenge (Do two or more from each section once a week for a month):

FAITH THINGS:

1. Go to Adoration once a week if possible. (If there isn't Adoration, go somewhere to Pray for an hour. Read the Liturgy of the hours, a Catholic themed book, or something related to prayer or meditation). Go the same time every week if possible, at least the same day.
2. If you watch a lot of TV's or movies and you watch a show or movies that don't "add" to your life in a positive way (i.e. in a faith driven way) eliminate it from your life. (This is especially true if it involves any type of gratuitous sex, violence, or other sin/vice.)
3. Devote yourself to Church when you go. Show up on time, early if possible. Stay to the end, and pray a bit afterwards. If there is a "breakfast" afterwards... go to it and talk to people.
4. Join or help out with a new group at church. Trust me... there will be plenty. 
5. Find the least "helpful" website you visit... eliminate it... and read instead a Catholic website. A variant of this is to simply add a Catholic site to your web-time. I suggest this blog :)... but the Vatican website will do.

SOCIAL THINGS:

1. Spend an hour just talking with a family member or friend. No tv, no movie, no restaurant or coffee shop. Invite them over... make some coffee... and sit and talk.
2. If you eat out a lot, spend that money and make your own meal - essentially eliminate one "eat out" time per week/month. [If you don't cook... this is a GREAT chance to learn. It is something that takes time and practice... it is all in the preparation.]
3. Write a letter to someone. [No email... pen, paper, cursive... the whole 10 yards... not 9] Spice this up a little... get a disposable "fountain pen" and some stationary. [The point isn't to go lavish here... office depot, disposable fountain pen, and some cheap stationary $10 tops, total]. 
4. Read a book. Any book. If you already read quite a bit... pick something in an area you have little familiarity with. 
5. Invite friends over and play a board game. Someone has to have one... just do it. The fun is in the conversation and not the playing.
6. Drink water. If you drink coffee, red bull, or pop... spend the money you would on a water bottle. Then... drink a full bottle a day. You will feel better... and save money.
7. Take a walk/hike/adventure... make sure it's free/minimal cost... and just go. I know this is harder in the winter and fall but can still be done.

Look... I am not a hippie. These simple measures will allow you to live more simply. They will help you save money and re-focus your life. I know we are all busy but c'mon, we can all live better. We deserve it... and God deserves it.