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ACTIVITIES

Winter, 2004,Update for Members and Volunteers

UPDATE

For Members and Volunteers

Winter, 2004

Co-opting the Movement

Commercial marketers co-opt and pervert healthy symbols for their own ends. For instance, recently seen on a t-shirt on a young teen surrounding the Earthday icon.

Instead of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," it said...

 

I RECYCLE BOYS...

Recruit - Reject - Repeat

 

(from Fashion Bug catalog, late August, 2003)

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Time for 2004 Submissions

Contribute to our most widely-read, family-oriented booklet, "Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?" Send ideas and items before January 15, 2004. Prepare something during the holiday season when it's really on your mind. An item may be new or not, original or not. If it's by someone else, include a complete description of the source.

We print over 100,000 copies and reach many more through our website. We translate much of it into Spanish.

To read past editions 1) order the Whose Birthday Sampler ($9), 2) order "Simply the Best, v.2.1: Over 30 Years of Alternatives" CD-ROM ($15) or visit http://www.simpleliving.org/Archives/XB/XBindex.php

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SLOwDown in Action

Greetings:

I wanted to let you know that I gave the Unplug the Christmas Machine seminar to a church group of 21 women on Sat., and am giving it to our pre-school every Tues. night. It is a smashing success, and I think you would be very pleased. Even in an area as affluent as Carmel, CA, this workshop is being very well received. I can't thank you enough for this resource, and look forward to future purchases and products.

Blessings,

Suzanne

The Rev. Suzanne Watson
St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church
Carmel Valley, Calif.

 

 

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SPECIAL  for Members and Volunteers! 

"Simple Living 101: Toolbook for Activists Shy or Bold" HALF PRICE!

Yes, here's a little incentive to do what you want to do -- speak out for voluntary simplicity! By reading this practical and inspiring guide you will be ready! $10. $5. Add $5 for a binder and tabs.

BONUS! Get both "Simple Living 101" and its new companion audio CD "Living Simply and Loving It!" for only $10! Offers are valid till March 15th. Order now.

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How we simplified and enjoyed a superior quality of life

 Lise Nolet

Voluntary simplicity (VS), big words, big concept, big deal...what does it really mean on a daily basis?  Well, I think that my husband Richard and I are an example of why one should simplify and enjoy life to the fullest.  Here is our story:

Richard and I met through our volunteer work with the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada.  At the time, Richard had been living with MS for several years and was clearly disabled by the illness.  I was able-bodied and did not have the illness, but was committed to the issues through my sister who was also living with the disease.  Richard, shared that in his "previous life" (i.e., life before MS) he had been an accomplished athlete, in sports, such as Lacrosse, hockey, football and track and field.  I told him I was sad that he had lost such a huge part of his life and identity at such a young age, to which he responded, with a radiant smile and a twinkle in his eyes, "Oh no, don't feel bad for me, because MS has given more than it has taken away from me.  MS has given me a new perspective on life and given me the opportunity to broaden my horizons beyond sports."  I knew then and there that he would become my husband!

Our courtship was very brief, passionate and intense.   Very shortly into our courtship, we decided to live together and  later we married.  We lived together in Toronto, a major Canadian city in Southern Ontario.  A few months prior to our wedding, Richard and I decided that we needed to simplify our life in order to enjoy a better quality of life.  Richard's MS was progressing and we wanted to "slow it down."  For health reasons, Richard needed to get out of the business, the traffic, the heat and the humidity of southern Ontario. 

Richard's motto and life philosophy was, "Live each day like it's your last because one day you'll be right." He was determined to live by that philosophy.  Richard decided to leave his full-time career as a chemist in order to "savor life" and I found a job in a smaller city, four hours north of Toronto.  We also deliberately bought a cozy house well below our financial means and made a conscious decision to be a one-car family.

A typical week for us consisted of attending church service on Sundays, enjoying home cooked gourmet candle light dinners five nights per week, walks (with the assistance of Richard's wheelchair) in the neighbourhood five-to-seven days per week, at least four hours of volunteer work per week which we always did together and one evening at the local public library.  We also went swimming at the public swimming pool one-to-two nights per month and we entertained or ate out two-to-three nights per month.  Life was simple but delicious!  We were so happy that every candle light dinners consisted of a toast, "To our beautiful house and our wonderful life."  Richard and I even wrote out vision and mission statements for our life together.  Our vision statement was: "To master voluntary simplicity and acquire financial independence" and our mission statement was: "To become model citizens from an economic, ecological, community and family perspective."  These statements guided our life. 

Like everyone adhering to the VS philosophy, we read "Your Money or Your Life" and actually made the monthly financial charts and "Choosing Simplicity" among several other books that we devoured on the topic. 

We were so happy and exhilarated with our choices.  Then one day tragedy struck us.  Richard, at 37 after living with MS for 14 years, was diagnosed with a very aggressive and progressive form of cancer on December 6, 2002, and subsequently lost his battle on January 13, 2003.   Adhering to voluntary simplicity did not shelter us from tragedy, but what it did do is ensure that we savored every moment we had and allowed us to live a truly content and simple life free of materialistic and other shallow values.  The day Richard was diagnosed with cancer, he said, "If this cancer takes my life, you can be rest assured that I will die a content and accomplished man, especially the years you were in my life."  How many 37-year-old men, living with MS for most of their adult life can ACTUALLY say and MEAN those words? 

On January 14, I was alone in our house and I was filled with contentment.  I felt content that Richard had lived a full and content life true to his convictions and content that we had lived an exemplary life as a couple.  Above all, I was content that our life was not cluttered by material possessions and debts but instead was filled with loving and profound memories.  I felt inner-peace knowing that Richard really lived every day of his life like it was his last and that as a couple we truly lived by those words every single day of our short life together.  Consequently I have no regrets for Richard and no regrets for us as a couple.  I owe a big part of this to our conscious decisions to live mindfully and simply. †

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Hey Muscles!

Hey, muscles! Staff and volunteers enjoy a pizza party after unloading "Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?" for 2003. We use a "firefighters's chain" for this annual June event. Workers include Rose Ann Pridie, Office Manager; Sharen Schwarz, Business Manager; and volunteers Michael Christofferson, Elysha Iversen, Peter Iversen, Cathy Zortman and Angela McDermott.

 

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Be a Part of The Earth Dome!

Yes, we plan to move this coming spring into The Earth Dome, as outlined in our fall appeal letter, which you should have received recently. If not, call for details. Please consider being a part of Alternatives' new, humble headquarters. You can assign your donation to our new endowment fund, to one of the special projects at the dome or wherever needed most. Receive special recognition and Thank You gifts.

Also, watch for our Moving Sale in the winter Resource Guide!

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Survey Report Summary

Alternatives is committed to be an interactive organization, producing and offering educational resources that meet our mission and that our stakeholders want. A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the health of Alternatives -- members, volunteers, customers, board and staff members, others.

The respondents displayed a high level of interest in the organization. They offered many comments on numerous subjects, including present and future resources and services.

You're invited to add your comments on this report. We plan to conduct a survey each year, so you may submit questions for next year's survey. We received about 150 responses, down somewhat from 2002. Since the 2003 survey was conducted in the summer, we will probably return to winter surveys to get a higher response.

To read the full report, visit http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archives/News/2003SurveyReport.php

Thanks for caring!

Gerald Iversen, National Coordinator

 

 

Watch for New Resources and Services "in the works"

• "The Anytime Game" (intergenerational, modeled after the popular "The Christmas Game") and "Simple Choices" (adults)

 

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Gentle Reminders

Get a free copy of our new 70 minute audio CD "Living Simply & Loving It!" or the CD-ROM "Simply the Best, v.2.1: Over 30 Years of Alternatives" (1500+ pages!) or "Unplug the Christmas Machine Workshop-on-a-CD" (audio) upon request with a donation of $100 or more.

UPDATE: These resources are now available for free on this site.

To read our many current and past inspiring testimonials, click Your Recent Comments in window #5 on Home Page at SimpleLivingWorks.org.

Take the initiative. Churches and other organizations in your area would welcome a presentation on voluntary simplicity. We'll back you up!

 Take one or more 'most recent' media releases to your local editor(s) and identify yourself as a supporter of Alternatives. Our current releases are available on our web site at "HOME -> About Us -> News."

Share our Resource Guide (catalog) with your church group, at a conference you may attend, as part of a display, at a meeting. A donation for shipping is welcome.

UPDATE: A simple reproducible flier is now available on this site at http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=contact.php

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Page updated 2 Feb. 2017 (19 March 2004)

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