Whether by choice or necessity, people are taking stock of their lives and priorities. The prolonged economic downturn means that many people are discovering for the first time how to do with less.
Andrew Cohen wrote In pursuit of simple things, observing:
In the Age of Excess, we are urged to shop, the recession notwithstanding. But if you step away for awhile, it's refreshing to learn how you can live with less.
It is about the spirit. It is understanding the pleasure of reading and the joys of nature. It is seeing the need, more broadly, to preserve values such as restraint, resourcefulness, courtesy, modesty, frugality and equanimity.
To resist the siren call of more and to relearn the lessons of our grandparents.
The question that remains to be answered is how many of these people will discover that less is more and that pursuing the simple things of life can truly be the best life has to offer?