There came a time when I too had to take a stand about my commitment to the simple life...That’s when I decided to put an ad in Cruising World for off shore sailing experience.

I recently got a letter for a friend who is learning to survive as an abandoned 53-year-old unemployed ex-wife. Luckily she has a mentor who is trying to teach her how to live on little by consuming less. One of the first things her mentor asked, “What do you spend on your hair?” Like most women my friend was shocked and absolutely refused to go there. Giving up her regular visits with her beautician and showing some gray hair was out of the question. Reading her letter made me smile. I love my silver hair.

I'm in my mid 50s and find it an amazing adventure watching my gray hair spread. I know there are others like me and I think we are blessed to feel this way. My main motive is that I value simplicity.

My first “Simple Life” mentor was a lawyer named Mike who lived in New Orleans, LA. His law practice was unique in that he was his sole employee. He was the receptionist (he used an answering machine), the bookkeeper and the accountant. He dressed in blue jeans and drove an old beat up car. Except for owning his own building you would never know he was a lawyer. He loved his work because he could take all kinds of clients—the rich—the poor—the indigent—the incarcerated. Sometimes his clients gave him produce or cleaned his office to repay him.

Michael, another friend who’s life influenced me, was from Macon, GA. He has cycled and camped around the world so many times he has lost count. He too lives simply to fund his travels. He’s been a law librarian (he has a law degree), taught college courses, done substitute teaching in schools and worked at Home Depot to name a few of his jobs. He also taught English in Japan for three years and that is where he met his wife. Their most recent trip was a six-month cycling trip from Amsterdam through the Middle East to Egypt.

“Simplicity Circles” devoted to exploring lower-stress, lower-cost lifestyles have begun to form all over the country. The groups are mixed with singles, couples, older, younger, urban and rural folks—all wanting to find more meaning in a work weary world.

Today, fewer people can say their work is their play. The simple life message is clear. First, become debt free. Second, it’s not about how much money we have but how we spend it. Third, know the difference between making a living and learning how to live—the more compatible they are the better. Fourth, find a balance between being work, money and time rich. And fifth, financial independence has nothing to do with how much we have but how much we need.

The list of consumer tips and do-it-yourself hints are endless when you’re in the company of the voluntary simple. There are entire newsletters like the “Tightwad Gazette” out of Leeds, Maine and “Simple Living” of Seattle—written for people with empty schedules and shallow wallets.

Among the books available for lending: Voluntary Simplicity, by Duane Elgin; Simplify Your life by Elaine St. James; How to Get off the Fast Track by M.M. Kirsch and Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominquez. The late Dominquez, a revered figure in the conscious living movement, lived on around $7,000 a year and donated the money he made from his book, tapes and workshops to a foundation he created to fund non-profit environmental and social justice organizations.

Dominguez saw his life work has helping people find peace with their concept of money, to stop consuming things they did not need, and to start contributing to goals and ideals they did believe in. His research shows that most of us experience fulfillment only up to a certain point with luxury items. Once our survival and comforts needs are satisfied, if we don’t give back to the world we experience disillusionment or depression.

Dominguez ultimate goal is to show how we can be released from the necessity of “making a living” and have a safe steady income for life from a source other than paid employment. With no concern about money and the need to meet expenses we can finally be free to live a conscious chosen lifestyle—to fulfill our purpose, our life work, and make our contribution to the world. In other words, we work because we want to, not because we have to.

There came a time when I too had to take a stand about my commitment to the simple life. I was offered the directorship job for the Children’s Unit at a Mental Health Center in Macon in the early 90s. I took the job on an interim basis but felt very torn. After eight months I learned I wanted to work less, not more. What I really yearned for was to spend more time in the wilderness. That’s when I decided to put an ad in Cruising World for off shore sailing experience. I was making $29, 000 a year when I left for my adventure in the Caribbean and I didn’t work for a year. I knew when I got back I’d have to earn money, so I started counseling again on a part-time basis for $12,000 a year with no benefits.

My experience made me realize you can unplug when you live simply. For example, I didn’t use the air conditioning when I returned to my home in Macon. What I did have was a huge, plastic horse trough I called my “Cold Tub.” In July and August when the fans couldn’t do the trick I’d hop in the tub for relief. I still don’t have air conditioning but it’s easier now that I live in the country. When I get hot I wade in the bubbling rocky creek that’s in our backyard to cool off.

My biggest challenge with giving up my career was giving up my identity. In our culture, our self-worth and our identity is tied in our occupation. When I got back from sailing, I had a serious identity crisis. I had to discover who the real Niki was, not just Niki the counselor. In our society our worth is also tied up in how much we earn.

To deal with my reduced salary I was inspired by a woman named Peace Pilgrim. She died in 1981 after a lifetime of walking across the county with no possessions, to spread the message that the way to peace is to overcome hatred with love. I’m particularly fond of a portion of her autobiography that reads, “ In my early life I made two important discoveries. In the first place I discovered that making money was easy. And in the second place I discovered that spending it foolishly was completely meaningless…There is great freedom in simplicity of living, and after I began to feel this, I found a harmony in my life between inner and outer well-being.”

Living simply has its own built in rewards. Like other people who embrace the simple life I get satisfaction from being frugal and a rush every time I fix something myself.