The other day I was at a dinner with folks who are clearly well heeled, if not very rich. They have a tastefully furnished home, a music system for the discerning listener and a high technology kitchen. The main protagonist of my story, a lady with some pretentions to minimalism, was mulling over how important money was to her. “It has its place,” she sniffed delicately, “I live within what we earn. Basically, I am a very simple person.” This argument is decidedly specious : indeed, ‘simple’ may just be the most abused word in the English language.
This got me thinking quite a bit about what simple living means to the middle and upper economic strata; in essence, it means living with just what you need, not with what you can afford. The more I think about it, the more I realise that the difference between these terms is the difference between night and day.
The Mahatma would have approved.
We really need to have a discussion on this one on our next trek!! After our tonic session, that is...:) And it'll be more fun with Nari and Prakash around..
ReplyDeleteBtw I finished reading Walden.... :) Since you mentioned simple living I remembered him!!! Is he your hero too?