December 15, 2008 – I’ve spent a lot of my life around people who think money and security are the same thing, and measure simplicity in terms of monthly expenses. I’ve wasted a lot of money in my life, and spent it foolishly. I see that simplicity is an internal, not an external thing. Same goes for peace and fulfillment. Money is necessary, of course, especially in our world, but simplicity to me is not about saving money or cutting costs.
  It is about choosing what you will focus on, make room for, allow into your life. I have often been guilty of cluttering up my mind and my life with too many things to absorb, rushing from one to another. This happened on the farm, a simple, manageable place when I came. Two donkeys were great, so four were better. Why not have some goats, who are fun? Or get steers and a cow as pets?
  I wrote about them, of course, and learned much from them. But the farm grew beyond a simple place into one that was continuously in need of hay, mucking, water, fence repair, tree guards and strong fences.
   Simplicity is, I think, about learning what I need, not what I can get. Tough lesson, hard-earned. Lessons often come at a high cost, to me, or to others. A sad thing about them.