Simpler Living Nudge
Posted on: April 15, 2020
4/15/20 — eNews #103
In This Issue — Time for INvoluntary Simplicity // Celebrating the Easter season despite Covid-19 // Jubilee in the Midst of the CoronaVirus // Busting Two Killers: Growth Economics and Human Population Growth amid Species Extinctions // Latest Podcast Episodes // Much More!
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LATEST Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast–Ep. 0420:: CoronaVirus: A Devastating Natural Disaster with a Message–Live Differently
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Time for INvoluntary Simplicity
Simple Living Works! — and its founding predecessor, Alternatives — have been promoting Voluntary Simplicity since 1973. It’s voluntary because we privileged North Americans and Western Europeans have a choice. We can live extravagantly or sustainably.
Now more and more folks will live simply INvoluntary. Over half the people on the globe, especially in the developing world have been living simply INvoluntarily in all of modern times.
Those of us who have practiced voluntary simplicity most of our lives are now prepared for this time of crisis. We follow the ten standards of Living More with Less. And financially we practice the 3 S’s. We Share at least 10% of our income, we Save at least 15%, which leaves 75% to Spend on expenses.
When we talk about recovery from the crisis, we do NOT mean getting back to “normal.” Normal is destroying the Earth. Instead we try to learn from the Earth and its carrying capacity. We urge the One Planet / One Child plan to reduce our current Overpopulation. We urge learning what is Enough and avoiding OverConsumption and waste.
I don’t mean to criticize or belittle those who are suffering in this crisis. I offer another way that has worked well for us.
The SLW! web site has numerous videos and documents to guide individuals, congregations and groups through this crisis. It takes time and discipline to convert from the “American Dream” to the Land of Enough.
What can we and the government do to save America? 1. Adopt the Basic Universal Income, which gives each adult $1200 per month. This is not a limit but a foundation to support oneself and one’s family. 2. Adopt Medicare-for-All, which provides basic medical services for everyone. 3. Promote a Steady-State economy. Infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet.
And how would we pay for these expensive benefits? TAX the RICH! FDR did it in the 1930’s and it saved us from the Great Depression. For the past 20+ years the wealthy have gotten disproportionately more benefits than the average citizen. And since the Republican Tax Scam of 2017, big corporations and the super rich have grossly increased inequality in America. The current pandemic has brought that inequality into sharper focus.
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Celebrating the Easter Season with Covid-19
During the pandemic responsible churches plan to celebrate the Easter season in new and different ways, mostly online, despite calls from crazy fundamentalists and the White House to the contrary.
One congregation is waiting until they can worship together, face-to-face again to celebrate Easter, another resurrection of sorts.
Some see the virus as Mother Nature’s corrective to human overpopulation and overconsumption. If we care for Creation, we will learn from this terrible experience and not repeat our wasteful ways.
SLW! has been producing non-consumerist resources for individuals, families and congregations for the Easter season for several decades. Those many resources are available free of charge at Who’s Risen from the Dead, Anyway?
(If you find this title a bit too clever, it’s an extension of the very popular Advent/Christmas/Epiphany series “Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?” They’re both attempts to put the emphasis on what’s really meaningful and parody their commercial extravagances.)
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SideEffects of Sheltering at Home
As terrible as the pandemic is, it can be seen as Mother Nature correcting humans who are pushing the Earth beyond its carrying capacity. When the pandemic resides, we must not return to “normal.”
Some folks who are bored at home may have “unprotected sex,” thoughtlessly procreating. Sex for pleasure is a gift of God, avoiding disease and unplanned offspring.
Some pro-growth corporatists and fundamentalist “Christians” will likely guilt people to replace the dead, disregarding sustainability. Ignore them.
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Giving Idea
Rita and I have decided to give our “share” of the Covid-19 federal bailout to local non-profits and mutual aid societies helping the needy. We have enough. Urge your congregation to do the same. Maybe publish a list to identify the helpers. As the closing song of our podcast proclaims, “Learn to live simply that others may simply live.”
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Jubilee in the Midst of the CoronaVirus
Click to access Jubilee-in-the-Midst-of-the-Coronavirus.pdf
DONATE: https://oneearthjubilee.com/support-oneearth-jubilee/
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Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast
Episode 02/20: John Michno, Adding Leadership for the 2020’s Climate Challenge
Episode 01/20: David Hoferer of the Sierra Club and Audubon Society on Birds, Insects, Big Ag and Spirituality
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Simpler Living Daily Nudges–Month 4*: Earth Care–Voluntary Simplicity Life Principle #5: Cherish the Natural Order–Week 1 Water || Week 2: Energy || Week 3: Chemicals & Waste || Week 4: Consumables
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- Non-Conform-Freely Celebrations: Months 1-4*
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What’s Happened
Peace Podcast from John Dear
On the first day of each month, Pace e Bene is pleased to post a free, new podcast featuring Fr. John Dear reflecting on some aspects of nonviolence. John Dear has been studying, teaching and writing about nonviolence for 40 years, given thousands of lectures and published over 36 books. We are happy to share his latest insights on nonviolence each month. They are specially recorded for Pace e Bene in an informal conversational style. We encourage you to listen to the whole show, or to break it up and listen to it over the course of a week.
You can access John’s latest podcast, The Nonviolent Psalms of Peace, at www.paceebene.org, on Apple and Google.
SLW! Legacy Podcast Episodes–John Dear of Pace e Bene: Campaign NonViolence, author of ‘They Will Inherit the Earth: Peace and NonViolence in a Time of Climate Change’
- SLW! #114: Part 1
- TCGP #98: Part 2
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Solving the Climate Crisis with No-Growth Economics
To get a worldview very different from the greed and profit-oriented politicians and corporatists, visit these solution-oriented resources:
“Jubilee Circles” is now available also as an audiobook, at iTunes, Nook Audiobooks, Google Play, and Audiobooks.com, which offers a free sample. It includes 20 actions to take to help keep our planet livable.
https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/jubilee-circles/381421 THAT’S THE LINK to the audio version of the little book “Jubilee Circles: Help Save Life on the Planet.” Please share this audio version with all who’d like to listen while jogging, walking, etc.
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We will protect ourselves from Climate Crisis deniers, through such series as:
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- Why We Podcast–We truly believe in the missions of SLW! and Jubilee OneEarth Economics! The mainstream corporate media — left, right or center — exist to sell us more stuff. Though we are only the tiniest whisper, we cannot stop offering an honest alternative to that MultiEarth message. There is no Planet B. Here’s a list of worthwhile media. And even more.
- Our Daily Simpler Living Nudge — What It Is / How It Works / How to GET It – Subscribe by sending NUDGE to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com. / How to SHARE It
- Previews of Simple Living Blogs, Podcasts and Sites // Collaborators & Champions
- Recent Responses to SLW! media
- Publications–The complete SLW! Monthly Digest on the SLW! site features the latest posts from colleague organizations and is updated weekly. Simpler Living Nudge features offerings from SLW! It comes as your free subscription to SLW! Blog. Daily Nudges come by email (send NUDGE to SimpleLivingworks@yahoo.com) or by Twitter @GeraldIversen. Choose the options that work for you.
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Peace, Gerald “Jerry” Iversen, Chief SLW! Activist
Copyright: Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike license.
Through social media, we extend the mission and resources of the non-profit organization Alternatives, 1973-2011.
*We choose to use month numbers rather than the traditional names because the names are inaccurate (September means “7” but is the ninth month?!) and they honor gods and emperors from warring ancient Roman culture. For more, see Weekly Nudge, 8/8/18.
Simple Living Works! 
April 22, 2020 at 6:34 pm
Jerry Iverson et al !! Can’t keep a good man down! They named the die hard battery after you and your wonderful life mission of Simple Living ministries and messages. Thank you for keeping the hope alive for us all to never let go of trying to live more simply so others can simply live.
What a history making time we are now living in if only we had listened to the prophets of the last decades. I still have some really old, 10-20 year old news letters and sales fliers. You and your charming wife stayed with me in Raleigh about 15 years ago, right at the time you two were making a tour when someone in your family died as I remember.
Stay in Stay healthy, you are loved and a blessing to us in many ways.
Stephen Mayberry and Missty Rose, long passed Golden Girl