Radical Simplicity

QUESTION 1:





In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 10 years from now BEFORE reading Radical Simplicity (above):

In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 1- years from now AFTER reading Radical Simplicity (below):



Before I read Radical Simplicity, I envisioned my life 10 years from now as one surrounded by wealth. I am interested in business, and most people consider business and money as two topics essentially coincide. I knew that I would like to buy things, whether it is clothes or artwork, with the hopefully comfortable amount of money I would make. I imagined that I would be a marketing director, live in a large city and have some (notice the word some not just one) children and a loving husband. I envisioned I would live possibly in Los Angeles, San Francisco or essentially anywhere else in California. I am born-and-raised in California and could not really imagine myself anywhere else, especially in a cold climate.

After reading the book, I feel as though my life will still contain such things I listed above, however that I will weigh my options more heavily than before. I believe that I will always be interested in business and innovation. However, after our discussions in class I have realized that I need to work for companies that embody the green values that align with my own environmental beliefs. I believe that maybe I should focus more on eating more local and organic food and feeding these same foods to my children. I still want children, however I will teach them about how living an eco-friendly lifestyle is not hard, as I will integrate green beliefs into their seemingly normal lifestyle. For example, we will not use paper/plastic plates and try to garden our own food. After reading Radical Simplicity, I realized how much I miss nature, how much I wish to be surrounded by trees and plants and the open sky during most hours of my life. California is overcrowded and polluted. I have realized that maybe it would be better to settle in Washington or Oregon where the landscape is painted green from the plants rather than brown from the pollution as Los Angeles is. I also considered how I feel so much satisfaction after spending a day outside. This past weekend, I helped plant flowers in Westwood. Even for those few minutes, I realized how strong my desire to be outdoors is. Thus, instead of finding satisfaction in shopping I might find satisfaction in camping or hiking. From Merkel, I have learned that I can substitute my current material satisfaction with a truly natural satisfaction.


QUESTION 2:

From the outset, I believed that Merkel’s lifestyle is radical. I just believed he was another honky-dory environmentalist. But boy, was I wrong.

I learned a lot from Merkel’s lifestyle. Although I learned I could probably never commit myself that fully to the sort of life Merkel lives, I realized that I was convinced to live greener by the same factors that had convinced Merkel’s own self to live such a lifestyle, especially his anecdotes about Kerala. I enjoyed hearing how it is possible for a country like the United States, although we are much wealthier country, to adopt some of Kerala’s same eco-friendly techniques so that eventually we become condition to such ideas and these actions are merely unconscious. At points throughout the book, I did feel like the line between brainwashing and encouragement was blurred. I now believe, though, that he is not trying to persuade everyone to try and live the exact same way he does but is trying to show each individual how he or she can adopt certain sustainable techniques into his or her own life. I enjoyed hearing how although he initially struggled without a car, he now sees being car-free as liberation from the DMV and supporting unsustainable companies like Exxon and Shell (pg. 178). This gives me some kind of hope that maybe one day I will feel comfortable enough relying solely on public transportation that I will give up my car completely. I also enjoyed the last few chapters of Radical Simplicity, specifically when Merkel discussed how our Earth’s health and humans’ futures depend on our choices now. On page 191, Merkel begins discussing how we must not just educate the uneducated women about birth control but we must try and inform all women of the consequences of having children on the Earth and subsequently the humans. He brings up a point that had never occurred in my mind until I read it on the page: “With eighty percent of pregnancies in the US being unplanned, it appears that a radical change in cultural norms about communicating reproduction intentions during sexual encounters is definitely needed.” Unplanned teenage births especially should try and be prevented, Merkel claims.

Overall, I believe that Radical Simplicity offers vital information to all sorts of individuals. As Merkel points out through his analogy in the beginning of the book to the waiting line on Earth, one person’s actions always will affect another person on this planet. Our actions ripple across the planet and affect others, thus we must all work together in making our planet a safer, healthier place to live in the future for the sake of our own children and grandchildren.