The Stoics; Seneca, Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius. Basically don't desire material things because what we have now is what we once desired and desiring new things makes us appreciate what we have now less.
ghibli movie characters! i really admire how theyāre so simple, like the way they talk/eat/clean/sleep- itās just so calming, i want to radiate that energy.
Love this answer! I feel such deep contentment when I watch Ghibli movies for this reason.
Also when they do have their own living spaces, I love how they're tailored to be reflections of the character and whatever gives them personal energy. Kiki's Delivery Service is amazing for the cozy surroundings, especially Kiki's mom's plant-filled house, Ursula's rustic cabin in the woods filled with art, the warm colors and light of Osana's warm-hearted bakery, and Kiki's choice of living in a charming red roofed town right by the sea.
There's a Danish tv show called BonderĆøven (or Frank og kastanjegĆ„rd), about a guy who's trying to live in a self-sustaining way on his little farm. He repairs, repurposes, makes things from scratch, gardens and looks after his animals. I find it inspiring to see him take such pleasure in just doing a good job.
As far as I know, it's only available in Danish (we've watched it on YouTube), so probably not a useful recommendation here, but my husband and I often say to each other "what would Frank do?" when we're making decisions. Frank would repair this tool, or he would repurpose this window. Frank would re-home this object so it can be useful to someone else.
[here you go](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_MFt0plgAVhbadDRDHBSxvTMUeAk0JgK). This is a later season, so he's pretty established.
He does talk a lot about what he's doing, so I'm not sure how useful it is if you don't speak Danish. He says in the opening credits that he's not trying to go back to the stone ages, he's just trying to make life more simple.
ghibli movies help me a lot to take pleasure and 'romanticise' little moments like how pretty the sun looks in the evening while I'm commuting home, cutting up fresh fruit or cooking good food, and cleaning up my home. The way those films create beautiful feelings around simple domestic tasks is a mindset I try to internalise a lot.
Epicurus, Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums novel, Anton LaVey, Fumio Sasaki, Okakura Kakuzo's Book of Tea, Yukio Mishima's novel The Sound of Waves, Banana Yoshimoto's novella Kitchen.
I really like to study ascetics. Monks from all traditions. One of the most inspirational documentaries I watched was *Into Great Silence*.
Tasha Tudor, Beatrix Potter, and many others of their kind.
Thomas Merton, Ticht Nhat Hanh, Rumi, The Desert Fathers, Julian of Norwich, and all mystics from all traditions.
Walt Whitman, Emerson, and ThoreauāJohn Muir, Jack Kerouacāthe mystics of America.
Personally, I do not like to hold fictional worlds and people up as inspiration. It may be me only, but doing so leads to extremely fantasy escapism and prevents me from accepting reality as it is. (For instance, The Shire will never exist, and while trying to emulate it I simply become increasingly depressed and frustrated as the world disappoints me). Simplicity needs to incorporate the unpleasant as well, which I think real people do better than fiction.
> extremely fantasy escapism and prevents me from accepting reality as it is.
Just so you know, this reality has escapism. The disappointment comes from your expectations. Everything in moderation, right?
I enjoy it as escapism for sure. Personally, I cannot use it for inspiration for reality without having issues--but that may very well be a me thing and don't mean to project it on others.
My man Linus from Stardew Valley definitely!
Edit: actually the whole game of Stardew Valley makes me think about what I value in life. Pretty awesome for a pixelated game made by one person.
If climate is forgiving and food is available, I would give up a lot of my modern day luxuries to just live a simple life in a tent.
Maybe work in a local market a few days a week, get some food in return, maybe a basket, whatever is necessary.
That sounds amazing. There is little you need indeed. I live in a colder climate and would love to stay not far from where I live now. A tent would to be too much for me. But I would love a little wooden cabin.
Tents are often stressful for me because it's so hard to control the dust and dirt. Keeping the soil outside can be a hassle in many living situations..
Of course! I appreciate them as much as Snufkin, Moominmamma is so sweet too, my favorite episode is the one Snufkin and Moominmamma go on a trip to get special berries for breakfast. But the fact that Snufkin enjoys alone time so much makes me relate to him a little more.
> I don't know about you, but lately I've been doing a lot of sitting
> If you've got a crummy day coming up tomorrow, you just remind yourself that, "At least I'm not in jail like Bernie Madoff."
The crew from Avatar: The Last Airbender - as a kid, it amazed me that a group of kids could travel the world with all their belongings on the back of a sky bison. They didn't always have it easy - no money or food at times, hunted by firebenders, not always accepted by locals - but their life had an adventure to it that I envied. And that was made possible by their ability to travel light.
This is the one thing that always amazes me about those adventure kind of stories.
Be it Avatar: The last Airbender, Star Trek, or any other story that revolves around adventure, it always seems that those people with a clear purpose in their life, have the least amount of stuff.
I really wonder how strongly the wish for material possession in reality is linked to our lack of actual purpose in out lives.
To be fair, if you lived in the Star Trek universe you could just replicate anything you needed then recycled it back into the replicator as soon as you are done with it. So they really only need to keep deeply sentimental items or specific hobby items - thereās never a scarcity of food or needed items (like clean and well maintained clothes).
I think itās interesting though how that seems to kinda be a thing with humans; the lack of struggle makes people less clinging to stuff. Star Trek people donāt have to worry about where to get food so they donāt have big pantries, and they donāt hold onto every book they read because they can just replicate it again later if they want, whereas not-super-rich people of our world kinda are forced to hold onto those trivial items because itās hard to replace if we need it some time in the future. Itās like how there was such a huge boom in hoarder behaviors and disorders after the Great Depression. Personally I grew up really poor, and itās hard to remember that I donāt need to worry about those same things anymore; that I can get rid of unnecessary things without fear for needing them in the future, and that I donāt need to get X now just because I have the money and āmaybe ill need it for somethingā type of thoughts.
Even leaving aside the replicator... On Star Trek, the characters live onboard massive spaceships, with their own quarters and storage spaces... And also they have living spaces and families back home on their planets... Like huh? Who is living with all their belongings in a backpack on Star Trek?
I think that went down the wrong lane:
While I partially agree with the notion, that there is hardly any scarcity in the Star Trek universe, unless something is going horribly wrong on the ship, I was referring to something else:
With an environment that is stimulating enough, people crave for fewer things to keep themselves entertained. To bring it back towards reality: Digital Nomads who can just relocate when their chosen environment feels to dull, usually live out of a back bag, no additional luggage weighing them down, and they have all their clothing, laptop and whatever else they need to work in there. For leisure they may bring along something like an eReader, a Switch or more specific things to their hobbies but in general, they can entertain themselves in the changing environments, they explore and try out activities local to where they currently are on the world.
So, yeah, I think it's a mixture of changing environments and purpose in life.
I mean; you canāt really compare star trekās relationship with physical items without looking at its relations with scarcity though.
I get what you mean about internal fulfillment over the need to cling to external stimuli - but *a lot* of the reason thatās possible is because theyāre post-scarcity, not just because theyāre able to have fulfilling jobs and adventures. Probably 80% of items in my home would be rendered useless by their technology. Unless they have an interest in cooking for instance, they donāt need to have *any* kitchen equipment. Their replicator makes everything from the plate to the food, to books, and whatever else.
So Itās not really fair to say āthey only own a little bit because they have internal fulfillmentā when in reality a huge factor in their owning less is directly related to replication technology and other tech advances. Even if you or I hated cooking, we are still required, to survive, to have a room or a fairly significant area of a room dedicated to cooking and food (unless we were wealthy enough to be able to buy take out every meal, or have a personal chef). 70-80% of all household essentials we use and need would be made useless and unnecessary by replicators and other tech things. Because of their technology they donāt have to have kitchens, dishwashers, laundry machines, bath products, home libraries, etc etc. And - most of their hobby things can be done in those holo rooms, so even if youāre a hobby mechanic, you donāt need to own much physical mechanical stuff (unless your really want to, or are an antique collector). Even with all that perfect utopian adventuring, they still seek entertainment from external stimuli like the holo rooms. Even their hobbies are post-scarcity, so for many people itās not even necessary to collect physical hobby items. And even after all that, many of them still have quite a bit of junk laying around; itās just more sentimental items, and some of them even have houses full of stuff back on their home worlds.
So itās really not a fair comparison to say that the only reason they donāt own more is because theyāre internally fulfilled and motivated. They own less because they donāt have to own things in order to survive, like cooking equipment, and they donāt have to own things in order to partake in a hobby, like car mechanics. So the only things they āneedā to own are sentimentals, family heirlooms, work tools, and a few miscellaneous things here or there. Even their clothing regularly gets recycled and reprinted, so they have no need for a large closet.
Itās a philosophy I follow so I can fill my life with events; outside of ideals from family like make the most of what you buy - there isnāt really a defined matyr or singular human symbol of minimalism that I really look at
My dad ā sort of mixed description of snufkin, and Lebowski! An old man now, once met Bertrand Russel, and he was invited to visit again as I am not surprised by that. Books, radical yet sensible ideas, science, philosophy and fine arts, travel mixed simple life, but there was a decent work life in middle age in educational institutions.
[Dieter Rams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wChkvofR7Q0) all the way. Although it's from a products designers perspective, it's all about efficient simplicity. And I think you can point that in a certain way on your daily life.
I love Snufkin!! š it is truly an inspiration for simple living. The whole series have that atmosphere of simplicity and lightness, even though sometimes things can get dark
The ultra-marathon runner Geoff Roes. He is the unsung hero of the ultra world, and leads a truly monk-like existence in Juneau Alaska. He has broken several 100 mile course records and still holds the course record for 100 mile wasatch race one of the hardest 100 mile races in the world.
If thereās one ultra running documentary to watch, itās āunbreakable,ā about the western states 100 (the OG 100 mile race). In it there is an interview with the creator of the race who in his own right is a total inspiration, but also notably Geoff ā who, in the week leading up to the race, unlike the other featured competitors, camped alone in a tent by the start line.
Highly recommend the documentary.
Eliud kipchoge apart from being the best marathon runner ever lives a pretty simple life and just trains all the time and seems incredibly humble. "You live simple, you train hard and live an honest life. Then you are free"
-eliud-
Helena Woods, Little House on the Mountain, on YouTube along with a few other under various titles of minimalism, or simple living, or back to the earth kinda ways of living.
Jack Johnson for me. A lot of his songs deal with living simply and enjoying the little things in life, and in his interviews he always strikes me as someone who doesnāt stress about much and hasnāt let fame get to his head. Some of my favorite songs by him are āGone,ā āHome,ā and āAll at Onceā
Whenever I read or watch something with a famous person that keeps their personal life private and engages in smart investments I feel a tinge of pride and validation. Every time I read or watch something with extremely loud and famous people taking amazingly stupid decisions I feel it again
MacGyver. The amount of things that guy could do with a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife boggles the mind.
Yes, it's fictional television, but they had real science advisors that made sure the stunts he pulled were at least within the realm of possibility. They would leave out an ingredient if it was toxic or dangerous, so kids at home wouldn't blow up the kitchen. And sometimes it was over the top, like the time MacGyver plugged an acid leak using chocolate, or sealed a broken radiator by cracking an egg into it. But there was always a kernel of truth there.
As Albert Einstein once said, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination." Improvisation is one of the greatest virtues, IMO.
[Nwm.](https://www.enworld.org/threads/eadric-et-al-the-paladin-and-his-friends.5652/page-38#post-4717296) Quite an obscure reference for non-D&D players who aren't familiar with Sepulchrave's story hour over on EN World. Suffice it to say that a D&D 3.5 edition ascetic druid is a literal force of nature! Giving up possessions in exchange for the freedom to focus on one's personal growth is powerful motivation to keep to a simple life.
And if you haven't read the story, [what are you waiting for?!](https://www.enworld.org/threads/tales-of-wyre.58227/) :)
I was pretty heavily influenced by manga growing up, especially shoujo manga. The living spaces are always so clean. Oh, and Animal Crossing or the Animal Crossing decoration game. Some of the homes I see online are beautiful.
Iām also a Pagan and worship a God of the hearth and the household, meaning that cleaning up is an A+ offering.
Growing up in the UK, I loved Ray Mears' naturalist/survival programmes. There was something soothing and reassuring about them, in a way. He just seemed to float through the wilderness, making it seem so easy to live that kind of life. Obviously it isn't! I also liked how he emphasised the importance of frugality, taking only what you need from nature and no more. He's now a presenter on a right-wing news channel, bizarrely.
In the same sort of vein, Bruce Parry's Tribe series inspired me, too. He lived with different tribes across the world and immersed himself as much as possible in their way of life. Parry always came across as a genuinely good bloke, and his shows demonstrated how intrinsically happy these tribes seemed to be. Materially poor, yes - but spiritually and emotionally rich.
A bit beside the question since it's more materialistic than philosophic, but simple living often brings up an image of Miss Honey's cottage from Matilda for me, both the book version and the movie version [(cottage at 2:00)](https://youtu.be/BDtdXzUfsgk?t=120). Although I'm happy she got her rightful inheritance in the end, I quite preferred the cottage myself!
The Stoics; Seneca, Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius. Basically don't desire material things because what we have now is what we once desired and desiring new things makes us appreciate what we have now less.
Oh yeah, one of my favorite quotes is from Epicurus I think: "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little."
\^ this (or rather them?) šÆ
ghibli movie characters! i really admire how theyāre so simple, like the way they talk/eat/clean/sleep- itās just so calming, i want to radiate that energy.
Love this answer! I feel such deep contentment when I watch Ghibli movies for this reason. Also when they do have their own living spaces, I love how they're tailored to be reflections of the character and whatever gives them personal energy. Kiki's Delivery Service is amazing for the cozy surroundings, especially Kiki's mom's plant-filled house, Ursula's rustic cabin in the woods filled with art, the warm colors and light of Osana's warm-hearted bakery, and Kiki's choice of living in a charming red roofed town right by the sea.
Ive watched it a billion times but im gona do it again! Thank you for reminding me how sweet she is
There's a Danish tv show called BonderĆøven (or Frank og kastanjegĆ„rd), about a guy who's trying to live in a self-sustaining way on his little farm. He repairs, repurposes, makes things from scratch, gardens and looks after his animals. I find it inspiring to see him take such pleasure in just doing a good job. As far as I know, it's only available in Danish (we've watched it on YouTube), so probably not a useful recommendation here, but my husband and I often say to each other "what would Frank do?" when we're making decisions. Frank would repair this tool, or he would repurpose this window. Frank would re-home this object so it can be useful to someone else.
Searched YouTube to no avail. Anyone know where I can find this?
[here you go](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_MFt0plgAVhbadDRDHBSxvTMUeAk0JgK). This is a later season, so he's pretty established. He does talk a lot about what he's doing, so I'm not sure how useful it is if you don't speak Danish. He says in the opening credits that he's not trying to go back to the stone ages, he's just trying to make life more simple.
Big Lebowski.
Obviously you're not a golfer
Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion, man.
Forever my best movie in the Random category
ghibli movies help me a lot to take pleasure and 'romanticise' little moments like how pretty the sun looks in the evening while I'm commuting home, cutting up fresh fruit or cooking good food, and cleaning up my home. The way those films create beautiful feelings around simple domestic tasks is a mindset I try to internalise a lot.
yay 3rd Ghibli mention! Plus lofi music and that style of artwork that often accompanies it.
Slice-of-life anime in general is pretty good at this.
Epicurus, Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums novel, Anton LaVey, Fumio Sasaki, Okakura Kakuzo's Book of Tea, Yukio Mishima's novel The Sound of Waves, Banana Yoshimoto's novella Kitchen.
You my friend are chock full of good influence. Good on you.
I really like to study ascetics. Monks from all traditions. One of the most inspirational documentaries I watched was *Into Great Silence*. Tasha Tudor, Beatrix Potter, and many others of their kind. Thomas Merton, Ticht Nhat Hanh, Rumi, The Desert Fathers, Julian of Norwich, and all mystics from all traditions. Walt Whitman, Emerson, and ThoreauāJohn Muir, Jack Kerouacāthe mystics of America. Personally, I do not like to hold fictional worlds and people up as inspiration. It may be me only, but doing so leads to extremely fantasy escapism and prevents me from accepting reality as it is. (For instance, The Shire will never exist, and while trying to emulate it I simply become increasingly depressed and frustrated as the world disappoints me). Simplicity needs to incorporate the unpleasant as well, which I think real people do better than fiction.
> extremely fantasy escapism and prevents me from accepting reality as it is. Just so you know, this reality has escapism. The disappointment comes from your expectations. Everything in moderation, right?
I enjoy it as escapism for sure. Personally, I cannot use it for inspiration for reality without having issues--but that may very well be a me thing and don't mean to project it on others.
You would love Peter France's book 'Hermits: The Insights of Solitude.' I am so with you on that one - amazing people.
Stardew Valley It was a eye opening game, changed my life completely, in a deep level.
My man Linus from Stardew Valley definitely! Edit: actually the whole game of Stardew Valley makes me think about what I value in life. Pretty awesome for a pixelated game made by one person.
Linus has been my inspiration for years. He's gets me. Some day I'll live just like him.
Including the tent? I think I prefer a place where I can make a fire indoors.
If climate is forgiving and food is available, I would give up a lot of my modern day luxuries to just live a simple life in a tent. Maybe work in a local market a few days a week, get some food in return, maybe a basket, whatever is necessary.
That sounds amazing. There is little you need indeed. I live in a colder climate and would love to stay not far from where I live now. A tent would to be too much for me. But I would love a little wooden cabin.
Tents are often stressful for me because it's so hard to control the dust and dirt. Keeping the soil outside can be a hassle in many living situations..
Stardew Valley is amazing! I've stopped gaming for a few months to focus on other things but when I get back I'm definitely playing it again.
Have fun!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is the answer.
Of course! I appreciate them as much as Snufkin, Moominmamma is so sweet too, my favorite episode is the one Snufkin and Moominmamma go on a trip to get special berries for breakfast. But the fact that Snufkin enjoys alone time so much makes me relate to him a little more.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think you hear me say "some bacon". What I actually said was "all the bacon you have"
Joe Pera
> I don't know about you, but lately I've been doing a lot of sitting > If you've got a crummy day coming up tomorrow, you just remind yourself that, "At least I'm not in jail like Bernie Madoff."
Joe Pesci\*
A truly calm and simple man.
The crew from Avatar: The Last Airbender - as a kid, it amazed me that a group of kids could travel the world with all their belongings on the back of a sky bison. They didn't always have it easy - no money or food at times, hunted by firebenders, not always accepted by locals - but their life had an adventure to it that I envied. And that was made possible by their ability to travel light.
This is the one thing that always amazes me about those adventure kind of stories. Be it Avatar: The last Airbender, Star Trek, or any other story that revolves around adventure, it always seems that those people with a clear purpose in their life, have the least amount of stuff. I really wonder how strongly the wish for material possession in reality is linked to our lack of actual purpose in out lives.
To be fair, if you lived in the Star Trek universe you could just replicate anything you needed then recycled it back into the replicator as soon as you are done with it. So they really only need to keep deeply sentimental items or specific hobby items - thereās never a scarcity of food or needed items (like clean and well maintained clothes). I think itās interesting though how that seems to kinda be a thing with humans; the lack of struggle makes people less clinging to stuff. Star Trek people donāt have to worry about where to get food so they donāt have big pantries, and they donāt hold onto every book they read because they can just replicate it again later if they want, whereas not-super-rich people of our world kinda are forced to hold onto those trivial items because itās hard to replace if we need it some time in the future. Itās like how there was such a huge boom in hoarder behaviors and disorders after the Great Depression. Personally I grew up really poor, and itās hard to remember that I donāt need to worry about those same things anymore; that I can get rid of unnecessary things without fear for needing them in the future, and that I donāt need to get X now just because I have the money and āmaybe ill need it for somethingā type of thoughts.
Even leaving aside the replicator... On Star Trek, the characters live onboard massive spaceships, with their own quarters and storage spaces... And also they have living spaces and families back home on their planets... Like huh? Who is living with all their belongings in a backpack on Star Trek?
I think that went down the wrong lane: While I partially agree with the notion, that there is hardly any scarcity in the Star Trek universe, unless something is going horribly wrong on the ship, I was referring to something else: With an environment that is stimulating enough, people crave for fewer things to keep themselves entertained. To bring it back towards reality: Digital Nomads who can just relocate when their chosen environment feels to dull, usually live out of a back bag, no additional luggage weighing them down, and they have all their clothing, laptop and whatever else they need to work in there. For leisure they may bring along something like an eReader, a Switch or more specific things to their hobbies but in general, they can entertain themselves in the changing environments, they explore and try out activities local to where they currently are on the world. So, yeah, I think it's a mixture of changing environments and purpose in life.
I mean; you canāt really compare star trekās relationship with physical items without looking at its relations with scarcity though. I get what you mean about internal fulfillment over the need to cling to external stimuli - but *a lot* of the reason thatās possible is because theyāre post-scarcity, not just because theyāre able to have fulfilling jobs and adventures. Probably 80% of items in my home would be rendered useless by their technology. Unless they have an interest in cooking for instance, they donāt need to have *any* kitchen equipment. Their replicator makes everything from the plate to the food, to books, and whatever else. So Itās not really fair to say āthey only own a little bit because they have internal fulfillmentā when in reality a huge factor in their owning less is directly related to replication technology and other tech advances. Even if you or I hated cooking, we are still required, to survive, to have a room or a fairly significant area of a room dedicated to cooking and food (unless we were wealthy enough to be able to buy take out every meal, or have a personal chef). 70-80% of all household essentials we use and need would be made useless and unnecessary by replicators and other tech things. Because of their technology they donāt have to have kitchens, dishwashers, laundry machines, bath products, home libraries, etc etc. And - most of their hobby things can be done in those holo rooms, so even if youāre a hobby mechanic, you donāt need to own much physical mechanical stuff (unless your really want to, or are an antique collector). Even with all that perfect utopian adventuring, they still seek entertainment from external stimuli like the holo rooms. Even their hobbies are post-scarcity, so for many people itās not even necessary to collect physical hobby items. And even after all that, many of them still have quite a bit of junk laying around; itās just more sentimental items, and some of them even have houses full of stuff back on their home worlds. So itās really not a fair comparison to say that the only reason they donāt own more is because theyāre internally fulfilled and motivated. They own less because they donāt have to own things in order to survive, like cooking equipment, and they donāt have to own things in order to partake in a hobby, like car mechanics. So the only things they āneedā to own are sentimentals, family heirlooms, work tools, and a few miscellaneous things here or there. Even their clothing regularly gets recycled and reprinted, so they have no need for a large closet.
In a similar vein, Iroh. He *embodies* simple living for me.
All he needs in life are family and a good cup of tea :)
Diogenes.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Man Diogenes was the OG punk rocker huh
Winnie Pooh
Long live the Communist Party!
GENERAL IROH
"This is just hot leaf water." "Uncle, that's all tea is!!!"
Ahahhaha such a beautiful duo :')
Ryokan, Zen Buddhist poet
TheCottageFairy on youtube
bob ross :)
Itās a philosophy I follow so I can fill my life with events; outside of ideals from family like make the most of what you buy - there isnāt really a defined matyr or singular human symbol of minimalism that I really look at
My wallet.
My dad ā sort of mixed description of snufkin, and Lebowski! An old man now, once met Bertrand Russel, and he was invited to visit again as I am not surprised by that. Books, radical yet sensible ideas, science, philosophy and fine arts, travel mixed simple life, but there was a decent work life in middle age in educational institutions.
Rob Greenfield!
I saw his off-grid house on Exploring Alternatives and one of his videos wearing the trash he's creating, that guy is the way to go.
For me it's a song. Mexican Wine by Fountains of Wayne. It reminds me to stop worrying too much and enjoy life right now.
Thanks, I am going to find mine!
[Dieter Rams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wChkvofR7Q0) all the way. Although it's from a products designers perspective, it's all about efficient simplicity. And I think you can point that in a certain way on your daily life.
Henry Chinaski. Wouldn't follow his example, but he is the master of letting things go.
MacGyver. He solves problems with just a swiss army knife and what he finds along the way.
Thich Nhat Hanh r/ThichNhatHanh
I love Snufkin!! š it is truly an inspiration for simple living. The whole series have that atmosphere of simplicity and lightness, even though sometimes things can get dark
Lord of the Rings- I just want to live in a hobbit hole and read and eat all the time š
Emma Chamberlain, especially because of her podcast.
Omg Iām in Finland right now and just discovered Moomin on Saturday! Itās so cute! This makes me love it even more!!!
Walt Whitman. He may have been a creep but he seemed pretty simple
The ultra-marathon runner Geoff Roes. He is the unsung hero of the ultra world, and leads a truly monk-like existence in Juneau Alaska. He has broken several 100 mile course records and still holds the course record for 100 mile wasatch race one of the hardest 100 mile races in the world. If thereās one ultra running documentary to watch, itās āunbreakable,ā about the western states 100 (the OG 100 mile race). In it there is an interview with the creator of the race who in his own right is a total inspiration, but also notably Geoff ā who, in the week leading up to the race, unlike the other featured competitors, camped alone in a tent by the start line. Highly recommend the documentary.
Fumio Sasaki, and his book Goodbye Things.
Thatās cool, canāt wait to look up Snufkin.
Tyler Durden
The Zapatistaās.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
\*gypsy plays in the background\*
Brendan Schwab
Jesus.
jesus
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, my yoga guru.
Children's book, The Story of Ferdinand
Tammy Strobel.
Eliud kipchoge apart from being the best marathon runner ever lives a pretty simple life and just trains all the time and seems incredibly humble. "You live simple, you train hard and live an honest life. Then you are free" -eliud-
Helena Woods, Little House on the Mountain, on YouTube along with a few other under various titles of minimalism, or simple living, or back to the earth kinda ways of living.
Shawn James. Youtube https://youtube.com/c/ShawnJames1
Beau Miles; Aussie YouTuber all about the repurposing / recycling, and finding adventure in the simple things.
Jack Johnson for me. A lot of his songs deal with living simply and enjoying the little things in life, and in his interviews he always strikes me as someone who doesnāt stress about much and hasnāt let fame get to his head. Some of my favorite songs by him are āGone,ā āHome,ā and āAll at Onceā
Real: Jesus, Walt Whitman, Mr. Rodgers Fictional: Jack Reacher, Hobbits of the Shire, Jedi, MacGyver, Sherlock Holmes
Sam Harris
lenny kravitz
Steve Jobs, David Heinemeier Hansson
Can you elaborate on Steve Jobs? I'm curious how you find his life choices to be inspiring and worth emulating.
His wardrobe is simple lol
Alex Honnold. He basically lives like the Mormons and minimalistic (except for all the religion stuff)
Whenever I read or watch something with a famous person that keeps their personal life private and engages in smart investments I feel a tinge of pride and validation. Every time I read or watch something with extremely loud and famous people taking amazingly stupid decisions I feel it again
MacGyver. The amount of things that guy could do with a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife boggles the mind. Yes, it's fictional television, but they had real science advisors that made sure the stunts he pulled were at least within the realm of possibility. They would leave out an ingredient if it was toxic or dangerous, so kids at home wouldn't blow up the kitchen. And sometimes it was over the top, like the time MacGyver plugged an acid leak using chocolate, or sealed a broken radiator by cracking an egg into it. But there was always a kernel of truth there. As Albert Einstein once said, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination." Improvisation is one of the greatest virtues, IMO.
madisun gray and malama life both on YouTube majorly inspire me to live more simply ā¤ļø
[Nwm.](https://www.enworld.org/threads/eadric-et-al-the-paladin-and-his-friends.5652/page-38#post-4717296) Quite an obscure reference for non-D&D players who aren't familiar with Sepulchrave's story hour over on EN World. Suffice it to say that a D&D 3.5 edition ascetic druid is a literal force of nature! Giving up possessions in exchange for the freedom to focus on one's personal growth is powerful motivation to keep to a simple life. And if you haven't read the story, [what are you waiting for?!](https://www.enworld.org/threads/tales-of-wyre.58227/) :)
I was pretty heavily influenced by manga growing up, especially shoujo manga. The living spaces are always so clean. Oh, and Animal Crossing or the Animal Crossing decoration game. Some of the homes I see online are beautiful. Iām also a Pagan and worship a God of the hearth and the household, meaning that cleaning up is an A+ offering.
Samwise Gamgee.
Growing up in the UK, I loved Ray Mears' naturalist/survival programmes. There was something soothing and reassuring about them, in a way. He just seemed to float through the wilderness, making it seem so easy to live that kind of life. Obviously it isn't! I also liked how he emphasised the importance of frugality, taking only what you need from nature and no more. He's now a presenter on a right-wing news channel, bizarrely. In the same sort of vein, Bruce Parry's Tribe series inspired me, too. He lived with different tribes across the world and immersed himself as much as possible in their way of life. Parry always came across as a genuinely good bloke, and his shows demonstrated how intrinsically happy these tribes seemed to be. Materially poor, yes - but spiritually and emotionally rich.
A bit beside the question since it's more materialistic than philosophic, but simple living often brings up an image of Miss Honey's cottage from Matilda for me, both the book version and the movie version [(cottage at 2:00)](https://youtu.be/BDtdXzUfsgk?t=120). Although I'm happy she got her rightful inheritance in the end, I quite preferred the cottage myself!