The Simple Life

The Stoic reading for this morning was from Epictetus, discussing how difficult it is for a wealthy person to live a virtuous life.  I think if you have spent your life pursuing wealth it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to pursue virtue above all else.  I think people who have inherited wealth, especially if raised that the wealth is a responsibility, can live a virtuous life.  They can look upon their wealth as a gift and responsibility to help their fellow men, using their wealth responsibly for the greater good.

So what does this mean to me?  I was not born into great wealth so that condition of wealth does not apply to me.  What now then?  We have recently had our "circumstances" downgraded somewhat from a six figure household income to double digits in reality.  Although, with both Michel and I looking for outside work now, this is purely a temporary state, we really want to re-evaluate priorities and look at this as an opportunity for change.  How best do we simplify life and take this opportunity to change what needed adjusting or tweeking in our life?  These are the questions that we are dealing with while we are in the process of job searching...  I have included a link to a TED talk that is quite inspiring for me...  an invitation to simplify and streamline our lives in order to find more freedom...

http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness.html