Comments on: The Art of Artlessness: On Living Simply and Naturally http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/ Simple Productivity Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:06:07 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Fan Siteleri http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-76742 Fan Siteleri Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:05:23 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-76742 I have read this blog since almost the beginning, and this is the first post that ever depressed me… odd. <a href='http://ferditayfurfan.wordpress.com/'>Ferdi Tayfur</a> <a href='http://yalinfan.wordpress.com/'>Yalın</a> <a href='http://yakupekinfan.wordpress.com/'>Yakup Ekin</a> <a href='http://ebrugundesfan.wordpress.com/'>Ebru Gündeş</a> I have read this blog since almost the beginning, and this is the first post that ever depressed me… odd.

Ferdi Tayfur
Yalın
Yakup Ekin
Ebru Gündeş

]]> By: THE 10 STEPS TO CREATING THE SIMPLICITY YOU NEED TO MOVE FORWARD | The Map Habit http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-74183 THE 10 STEPS TO CREATING THE SIMPLICITY YOU NEED TO MOVE FORWARD | The Map Habit Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:28:01 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-74183 [...] The Art of Artlessness: On Living Simply and Naturally – ZenHabits.net [...] [...] The Art of Artlessness: On Living Simply and Naturally – ZenHabits.net [...]

]]> By: Dhammika http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72873 Dhammika Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:28:57 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72873 Hi, I like this article. I mean I really like it. End of craving is end of suffering. Regards Dhammika Hi,

I like this article. I mean I really like it.
End of craving is end of suffering.

Regards
Dhammika

]]> By: Kira http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72530 Kira Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:57:44 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72530 I traded in a swanky cell phone for a used one. I eliminated all phone numbers through the transition, and it felt refreshing. My cell now has a swipe of orange paint from my apt. paint job over the weekend, and I appreciate that personalized mark more than any Ipod gizmo. I traded in a swanky cell phone for a used one. I eliminated all phone numbers through the transition, and it felt refreshing. My cell now has a swipe of orange paint from my apt. paint job over the weekend, and I appreciate that personalized mark more than any Ipod gizmo.

]]> By: Stephen http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72522 Stephen Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:18:56 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72522 Wow, Elizabeth, I have never read that but it is really an amazing quote - It’s said that Socrates once addressed the ultimate minimalist, a seemingly humble fellow in tattered clothing who was begging on the streets of Athens, with the following words: “Your vanity shows forth from every hole in your coat.” Wow, Elizabeth, I have never read that but it is really an amazing quote –

It’s said that Socrates once addressed the ultimate minimalist, a seemingly humble fellow in tattered clothing who was begging on the streets of Athens, with the following words: “Your vanity shows forth from every hole in your coat.”

]]> By: Elizabeth Rasche Gonzalez http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72461 Elizabeth Rasche Gonzalez Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:02:11 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72461 Leo, I want to add that I hope you will have a chance to read all the comments and respond personally to some of the more critical ones. Having followed your blog for some time now, I get the sense that you are a kind person of genuine modesty who does not hold his own principles inviolate for everyone for all eternity or consider his opinions Holy Writ.. Still, I found this recent post peculiarly unsetling, even distressing. I realize, now that I have read more of the comments myself, that my own little critique may have been supefluous. It is great to se that others are thinking the same way -- are thinking at all, in fact, enough to reason out their own thoughts on the important issues you raised. I know you clarified that your choice of clothing may not be for everyone. The workplace everywhere has gotten more casual. Still, outside a few places -- Tucson comes to mind as I know of an IT guy who goes to his job there in sweats, and maybe wherever you work in Guam is similar (what do you do for a living, anyway?) --many people just do not have the latitude to show up in shorts and sandals. And not everyone would WANT to. I guess the problem I am having is that in spite of such qualifications, you sometimes seem to be sending out a subtle innuendo that your way of life is really THE way to live and to be. I am hoping that you never become enamored of your own way to the point where you see yourself as a specially evolved role model for humanity! All kinds of lifestyle-choices -- some widly different from yours -- are IMNSHO worthy of respect and even admiration.. It's said that Socrates once addressed the ultimate minimalist, a seemingly humble fellow in tattered clothing who was begging on the streets of Athens, with the following words: "Your vanity shows forth from every hole in your coat." Leo, I want to add that I hope you will have a chance to read all the comments and respond personally to some of the more critical ones. Having followed your blog for some time now, I get the sense that you are a kind person of genuine modesty who does not hold his own principles inviolate for everyone for all eternity or consider his opinions Holy Writ.. Still, I found this recent post peculiarly unsetling, even distressing.

I realize, now that I have read more of the comments myself, that my own little critique may have been supefluous. It is great to se that others are thinking the same way — are thinking at all, in fact, enough to reason out their own thoughts on the important issues you raised.

I know you clarified that your choice of clothing may not be for everyone. The workplace everywhere has gotten more casual. Still, outside a few places — Tucson comes to mind as I know of an IT guy who goes to his job there in sweats, and maybe wherever you work in Guam is similar (what do you do for a living, anyway?) –many people just do not have the latitude to show up in shorts and sandals. And not everyone would WANT to. I guess the problem I am having is that in spite of such qualifications, you sometimes seem to be sending out a subtle innuendo that your way of life is really THE way to live and to be. I am hoping that you never become enamored of your own way to the point where you see yourself as a specially evolved role model for humanity! All kinds of lifestyle-choices — some widly different from yours — are IMNSHO worthy of respect and even admiration..

It’s said that Socrates once addressed the ultimate minimalist, a seemingly humble fellow in tattered clothing who was begging on the streets of Athens, with the following words: “Your vanity shows forth from every hole in your coat.”

]]> By: Elizabeth Rasche Gonzalez http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72457 Elizabeth Rasche Gonzalez Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:18:53 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72457 Stephen, I can not thank you enough for your beautifully expressed thoughts,. You achieved what I had hoped to in my own earlier comment, but you did so with clarity and elegance. I fear we may be approaching yet another wrongheaded era in groupthink and the hegemony of popular opinion. Yes, it is important not to live gluttonously, to conserve our earth's dwindling resources, etc. -- but we should never have to bow to some trendy demand that we all spend our lives in picnic clothes and embrace a style in home decor that is so pared-down as to be monotonous bordering on antiseptic. Leo, please, give us a break. Leave some room in the world, Leo, for individual taste, for a love of beauty and novelty -- for preferring a homey, cluttered abode to the zendo -- for choosing a witty, literate statement abounding in rich and expressive language to a few deliberately "simple" words designed to hide any education or special verbal finesse that the speaker/writer might have, What next? -- Perhaps the abolition of all departments of comparative literature and art history? The elimination of programs in art, architecture, interior design, creative writing? Enough already. Your spare lifestyle is commendable and obviously works beautifully -- for YOU!. Stephen, I can not thank you enough for your beautifully expressed thoughts,. You achieved what I had hoped to in my own earlier comment, but you did so with clarity and elegance.

I fear we may be approaching yet another wrongheaded era in groupthink and the hegemony of popular opinion. Yes, it is important not to live gluttonously, to conserve our earth’s dwindling resources, etc. — but we should never have to bow to some trendy demand that we all spend our lives in picnic clothes and embrace a style in home decor that is so pared-down as to be monotonous bordering on antiseptic.

Leo, please, give us a break. Leave some room in the world, Leo, for individual taste, for a love of beauty and novelty — for preferring a homey, cluttered abode to the zendo — for choosing a witty, literate statement abounding in rich and expressive language to a few deliberately “simple” words designed to hide any education or special verbal finesse that the speaker/writer might have,

What next? — Perhaps the abolition of all departments of comparative literature and art history? The elimination of programs in art, architecture, interior design, creative writing?

Enough already. Your spare lifestyle is commendable and obviously works beautifully — for YOU!.

]]> By: Heather http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72433 Heather Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:04:41 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72433 Awesome post, Leo. Just an honest guy on Guam w. a lap-top and flip-flops :) and not pretending to be anything "more". That's why we all listen. Heather Awesome post, Leo.

Just an honest guy on Guam w. a lap-top and flip-flops :) and not pretending to be anything “more”.

That’s why we all listen.

Heather

]]> By: Roberta Beach http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72431 Roberta Beach Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:31:23 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72431 Love this piece and took it a bit differently than some others. I never was under the impression that you meant we should literally follow what you are able to do (sandals, shorts); I am an RN - no job for me if I showed up in that get up :). At home, I am a solitary and/or hermit, take your pick: newly defined, definitely paring down using the 100 things guide. One change I am planning is to do away w/my cable including internet as well as my land line and go straight w/my iPhone and Macbook (under a program that gets me a new computer every two years for $30/month). Plan to use free WiFi or the iPhone - free up lots of time at home...also help me focus when I AM online. Speaking of, home is not only my home but the residence of my dog sanctuary - currently 20 dogs. Again, pareing down is in process, to make simple, colorful walls and put my stuff in the 1/2 floor above - my space :) including my worship space. As a nurse, I like to use the most correct language for the situation - then explain what that term means to my patients so when someone uses it and doesn't take the time to explain it, they will at least have a reference point. I also let them know many of us no matter what profession can tend to get stuck in our own language and to let me know immediately should they not completely understand something I said; I love language, I love to use correct terms in my life but am very willing to be clear to those who don't know them and to ask for clarification of those who use terms/words I don't know. The dogs take most of my money; even before, I had become a small philanthropist. I have let my family know since we no longer need "things" I will be giving to causes about which they care on their behalf - and only once a year; else, they get an e-card :). My debt is out of this world; cancer can do that to you. The cancer is 10 years past (after on/off for about 20 years) - insurance helps w/the medical bills but not the mortgage or monthlies and when I was able to survive only on one paycheck a month, I didn't go that route, now regretting it - but hey, that is past and as the prayer says "what is done, is done - let it be." So, one of my foci for this year is to start making some serious dent in my debt. Any thoughts anyone? Thanks again - I have you bookmarked and RSSd :) Thanks for all the inspiration. Love this piece and took it a bit differently than some others. I never was under the impression that you meant we should literally follow what you are able to do (sandals, shorts); I am an RN – no job for me if I showed up in that get up :). At home, I am a solitary and/or hermit, take your pick: newly defined, definitely paring down using the 100 things guide.

One change I am planning is to do away w/my cable including internet as well as my land line and go straight w/my iPhone and Macbook (under a program that gets me a new computer every two years for $30/month). Plan to use free WiFi or the iPhone – free up lots of time at home…also help me focus when I AM online.

Speaking of, home is not only my home but the residence of my dog sanctuary – currently 20 dogs. Again, pareing down is in process, to make simple, colorful walls and put my stuff in the 1/2 floor above – my space :) including my worship space.

As a nurse, I like to use the most correct language for the situation – then explain what that term means to my patients so when someone uses it and doesn’t take the time to explain it, they will at least have a reference point. I also let them know many of us no matter what profession can tend to get stuck in our own language and to let me know immediately should they not completely understand something I said; I love language, I love to use correct terms in my life but am very willing to be clear to those who don’t know them and to ask for clarification of those who use terms/words I don’t know.

The dogs take most of my money; even before, I had become a small philanthropist. I have let my family know since we no longer need “things” I will be giving to causes about which they care on their behalf – and only once a year; else, they get an e-card :).

My debt is out of this world; cancer can do that to you. The cancer is 10 years past (after on/off for about 20 years) – insurance helps w/the medical bills but not the mortgage or monthlies and when I was able to survive only on one paycheck a month, I didn’t go that route, now regretting it – but hey, that is past and as the prayer says “what is done, is done – let it be.” So, one of my foci for this year is to start making some serious dent in my debt. Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks again – I have you bookmarked and RSSd :) Thanks for all the inspiration.

]]> By: Stephen http://zenhabits.net/2009/05/the-art-of-artlessness-on-living-simply-and-naturally/#comment-72422 Stephen Sun, 31 May 2009 23:07:32 +0000 http://zenhabits.net/?p=3431#comment-72422 I guess I should clarify my thoughts in regard to the above post – I can absolutely understand the need for constant/frequent evaluation of life/lifestyle, but on the other hand if everyone arrived at the same conclusions, I don’t think the resulting world would be one I would find very appealing. When I meet friends, I want them to be them, and when I travel I want to see the world, not necessarily an efficient, streamlined, minimalist, version of them/it. As far as dress, there are still many situations in the world that require ceremonial (even a simple t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes form a ceremonial uniform of sorts), or other specific forms of dress that extend beyond what is simple or practical. The same can be said for grooming, decorating, and the rest (at least I believe this). What we can cynically refer to as academic or geek speak does have a purpose. More complex words and terminology serve to help clarify important topics and ideas – that’s why I use them and the reason many people I know do the same. Also, I have found that sometimes when I do something at work with the initial purpose just being to impress – even if I do so to impress myself or a friend, the end result ends up being that I achieve something I either didn’t know was possible or find a new interest in. Sometimes any inspiration to act is better than resisting that urge because of fear – fear of doing things for the wrong reasons. I am not afraid to fail or stretch myself to far and I hope that there is still a place for aesthetics and unique choices in terms of dress, grooming, language, decorating, gifts, work, transportation, and devices. I guess I should clarify my thoughts in regard to the above post – I can absolutely understand the need for constant/frequent evaluation of life/lifestyle, but on the other hand if everyone arrived at the same conclusions, I don’t think the resulting world would be one I would find very appealing. When I meet friends, I want them to be them, and when I travel I want to see the world, not necessarily an efficient, streamlined, minimalist, version of them/it. As far as dress, there are still many situations in the world that require ceremonial (even a simple t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes form a ceremonial uniform of sorts), or other specific forms of dress that extend beyond what is simple or practical. The same can be said for grooming, decorating, and the rest (at least I believe this). What we can cynically refer to as academic or geek speak does have a purpose. More complex words and terminology serve to help clarify important topics and ideas – that’s why I use them and the reason many people I know do the same. Also, I have found that sometimes when I do something at work with the initial purpose just being to impress – even if I do so to impress myself or a friend, the end result ends up being that I achieve something I either didn’t know was possible or find a new interest in. Sometimes any inspiration to act is better than resisting that urge because of fear – fear of doing things for the wrong reasons. I am not afraid to fail or stretch myself to far and I hope that there is still a place for aesthetics and unique choices in terms of dress, grooming, language, decorating, gifts, work, transportation, and devices.

]]>