The Joy of Less?, Why Yes

While surfing around on PopTech! today, I stumbled across the discussion of a very timely and intriguing New York Times Op-Ed about living simply. After clicking on the piece and scanning its contents, my interest grew:

But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn’t want or need, not all I did. And it seemed quite useful to take a clear, hard look at what really led to peace of mind or absorption (the closest I’ve come to understanding happiness). Not having a car gives me volumes not to think or worry about, and makes walks around the neighborhood a daily adventure. Lacking a cell phone and high-speed Internet, I have time to play ping-pong every evening, to write long letters to old friends and to go shopping for my sweetheart (or to track down old baubles for two kids who are now out in the world).

A very real part of me longs for the life that author Pico Iyer describes in this piece, and its a large part of what probed me to leave DC roughly a month ago in pursuit of a different way of being. After departing DC, I can't say that I miss it much. Sure, there's the occasional day when I long for a jaunt to the Corcoran, but what I don't miss are the endless emails, the unceasing obsessions with the latest news, and the intense sense of busyness on everyone's faces-yet with little concern for the people walking in front of them. At what point do we decide that the endless networking, communication, and (even) cause-promotion have gone too far? Maybe that life is for some, but it's not for me, at least not to the degree in which I was living it. At some point, I became more concerned with how much work I was doing and how "important" it was than the way I treated those closest to me or how readily I engaged my community. Furthermore, my weekends were a time for chugging down fresh air because the weekdays felt like sprinting a marathon-underwater. As I look back on my nearly two years in a power-hungry portal, I can't help but resonate with Iyer's words:

If you’re the kind of person who prefers freedom to security, who feels more comfortable in a small room than a large one and who finds that happiness comes from matching your wants to your needs, then running to stand still isn’t where your joy lies.

As confusing as it seems to those inside, life outside the bubble is quite pleasant, and-honestly-I feel more like myself than I have in a very long time. While this blog clearly displays that I haven't warded off technology to all extremes, many things have changed-as my lack of email and facebook correspondence might suggest to friends, mentors and prospective colleagues. Life feels fuller, slower, and more rewarding. Even as I'm still looking for my next job, I feel more human and more alive. Perhaps you can relate, perhaps you cannot, but I think Iyer's perspective has something to teach us all.