The text below is the translation of an excerpt from a book by Pierre published in 1996 by Jouvence. Pierre used to share it with participants at some of his workshops.
Simplicity of life is much more than just consuming a little less; and to present it in this way is to caricature it ‘ to the extreme. We rarely simplify our lives just for the sake of simplifying it, although some may opt for this approach. We do it as a function of a life choice which, little by little, gives increasing coherence to all the different aspects of our existence. Just as a pacifist or vegetarian will organize his or her life around his or her basic philosophy, the person who opts for simplified living will do so in the same way, according to an initial orientation.
This choice for a simpler life develops naturally, without laborious effort, according to an inner imperative, a meaning that, over the years, imposes itself on us. The key to this simplification is the word “coherence.” This simplification is first and foremost an inner state, a state of mind, an adjustment of priorities. Gradually and joyfully, it leads the individual to center himself on an inner pole, a sort of life compass according to which he makes those thousand little choices that make up the fabric of daily life, and first and foremost the organization of time and the way he manages his money and other resources. Over the years, the person in question sees an internal coherence appear in his or her life, a sort of Ariadne’s thread that makes choices increasingly simple, rapid and coherent. The throes of indecision give way to calm, measured decisions that reflect the growing freedom of one’s inner space.
Once meaning has been found, if, at least, it is a meaning that transcends the individual, that directs him towards something other than the simple service of himself, this meaning penetrates, as if by osmosis or capillary action, all the different aspects of his life. It orders existence, structures it, gives it an internal cohesion that is marvelous, light (in the sense of something that does not weigh, that lightens), that frees the mind more and more from trivialities or banalities.
A blessing for simplicity
By Pierre Pradervand, from https://pierrepradervand.com/365-blessings-to-heal-myself-and-the-world/
In the whirl and swirl of our modern world, I bless myself in my ability to step aside, stop, and enjoy the greatest gift of all: the infinite simplicity and riches of Your Presence.
May I learn to prune my life of all its useless trappings and activities and simplify it down to its essentials, that I may have the time, energy and desire to hold on to what really matters: listening to You and serving my neighbor who also happens to be myself in disguise.
May I drop the hectic and impossible challenge of keeping up with the Jones’, the latest news, the latest book “I just must read,” and the latest fashion of this or that. May they just fall by their own weight, and may I stand, in the simple elegance of one who has discovered the fundamental truth that the “Kingdom of God” is simply that place of sublime beauty inside us where there never entered a single unessential presence or thought, where reigns but the feeling of God happening within.
I bless my fellow humans that they may discover the healing peace of uncluttered lives, the healing simplicity of an existence guided by one single and only desire: to love more, to serve more faithfully and hence to rejoice more constantly.
