“Live simply so that others may simply live.” ― Mahatma Gandhi I was in my teens when I first heard that saying. I created a felt banner of it to hang on my bedroom wall as inspiration and wisdom. But I’ve learned through the years that it is not so easy to live. Living simply in a society powered by materialism is a challenge. The messaging and advertisements all say, “Want more; have more!”
I grew up in a family that embraced “re-use and recycle” long before those words became a catch phrase. My mom and dad both grew up during the dirty 30s and re-using and recycling were a necessary way of life. Farm life, too, demanded a frugality and careful use of resources. A summer hailstorm or drought, or heavy rains during harvest all meant that mom and dad would have to stretch resources through the winter. Our 3000 laying hens provided a steady income to see us through, alongside substitute teaching and bus driving. Mom and grandma made the most of a large garden, filling two large chest freezers to the brim and canning jar upon jar of fruit and pickles and chicken. Mom sewed clothes for my sister and me. Store-bought peas or bread were treats then, though now I’d take homemade over store-bought any day. I grew up living simply, but I never felt that I lacked anything.
I can’t say that I’ve managed to live as simply since. The temptations are great. The options are even greater. As good as my intentions, it is so easy to get caught up in the whole world of materialism. It reminds me of how privileged a life I lead that I can actually make a choice to live simply. Many around the world do not have that choice.
Greta Thunberg’s words to the United Nation’s yesterday (September 23, 2019) hit me hard, “How dare you?” "People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth," Thunberg said. "How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight?"
How dare we continue living as if there were nothing to lose? How dare we continue living as if our actions made no difference to the climate, to people in other countries, and to future generations?
I realize now it isn’t always as simple as I wanted to believe as a teenager when I put the words, “Live simply so that others may simply live,” on a banner. It’s not simple, but we must take Greta Thunberg’s words to heart. We must hear her declare, “How dare you?” and see the tears in her eyes. It isn’t simple, but it is possible!
However, it will only be possible if we start working together. We have allowed too many lines to divide us – we’re either for the carbon tax or against it, for immigration or against it, for oil and gas or for renewable sources of energy. It is time that we dropped all those false lines of division. Nothing is a simple as that. We don’t have to be limited to “either/or.”
It is time to bridge those divides by listening to each other. We must hear the fear in the voices of those working in the oil and gas industry as they face lay-offs and wonder how they will support their families. We must hear the fear also in the voices of young people, like Greta Thunberg, who see with clarity what is happening to our environment. We must stop hearing these as opposing voices, but rather see the commonality of fear in both. We must stop digging ourselves deep into one point of view, one stance on an issue, and instead listen carefully to what others are saying, even if we don’t agree with them. For if we listen carefully, there will be something we hold in common, whether it is fear of the future, love for our families, or yearning to create a better world.
There are too many leaders out there who are offering single-minded solutions, but single-minded solutions never work in the long run. We must learn, instead, to value those who can see many points of view, those who listen first and seek to build bridges between people of differing viewpoints rather than draw lines of division.
“Live simply so that others may simply live,” said Gandhi. I wish it were as simple as it sounds, but even if it isn’t simple, the wisdom is deep. I’ve never stopped holding this as my ideal and my intent. Today, however, I recommit myself to that wisdom that inspired me in my teens. While living simply has a lot to do with reducing material goods, the place I want to start today is in listening, simply listening, with care and compassion to neighbours and friends, to people in this community and around the world. Simply listening to their viewpoints, even the viewpoints of those I might consider enemies, for that’s what Jesus asked of us, commanded us. “Love your enemies; welcome the stranger,” he said. That, too, is wisdom for our time.
Too many are spending too much time declaring their viewpoints, putting down the viewpoints of others, and drawing lines that will ultimately only do more damage. So I commit myself to not only living simply but also simply listening, and in that listening seeking to build the bridges of understanding that will help us respond with action to Greta Thunberg’s, “How dare you?”
Greta is not as naïve as I was at her age. She understands that what must be done is not simple, but she still believes it is possible. So I say to her today, and hope others will join me: “We receive your challenge and together we will dare to create a better future and a better planet.” The answer lies between us, when we listen to each other, really, simply listen.
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