How do we change the world?

1. How do we change the world? “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” (Gandhi) “Whatever you do to one of my brothers or sisters, you do to me.” (Jesus)

2. “The World As It Should NOT be” • Millions of people are living in extreme poverty. • The earth’s resources are being depleted.

3. “The World As It Should NOT be” • In the USA we are suffering from a new complaint: Affluenza • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlNAJm4FTVY • How do we change the world? • We start with the one thing we CAN change: ourselves

4. Eucharistic living • Acknowledging that God is the Source of all that we are and all that we have • Living with gratitude for what is • Recognizing that we are in communion with all humanity and all of creation

5. Simple living is • freedom from stuff and over-consumption.  • living intentionally and with integrity.  • caring for the Earth and Earth's inhabitants.  • an act of faith and a spiritual discipline.  • living ethically.  • a political act and an economic revolution. • time tested and patriotic in the spirit of Thoreau.  • anti-empire and pro-community.  • our future as a species and a planet.   • www.simpleliving.org

6. Living Simply • Seven Reasons for Choosing a Simpler Lifestyle: • 1. As an act of intentional living performed for the sake of personal integrity and as an expression of a commitment to a more equitable distribution of the world’s resources. • 2. As an act of creation care for ourselves and especially for our children and grandchildren against the earth destroying results of over-consumption such as pollution, climate change, and resource wars.

7. Living simply • 3. As an act of solidarity with the majority of humankind, which has little choice about material affluence • 4. As an act of celebration of the riches found in God’s creation, and the riches of community with others, rather than in the "poverty" of mindless materialism. • 5. As an act of spiritual discipline ordering our lives to reflect the values of simplicity and just living taught by Jesus and teachers in other world religions.

8. Living simply (Based on an article by Jorgen Lissner)  • 6. As an act of advocacy for changes in present patterns of production and consumption. • 7. As an act of provocation (ostentatious under consumption) to arouse curiosity leading to dialog with others about affluence, and sustainable "green" living to redirect the production of consumer goods away from the satisfaction of artificially created wants toward the supplying of goods and services that meet genuine social needs.

9. Living simply • Simple Living is "living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich. This way of life embraces frugality of consumption, a strong sense of environmental urgency, and a desire to return to living and working environments which are of a more human scale.” • (Duane S. Elgin and Arnold Mitchell)

10. Living simply • The practice of voluntary simplicity is advocated in the teachings of Jesus, the early Christian Church, St. Paul, St. Francis, and many others. It also has it roots in the teachings of other world religions, the teachings of Gandhi, and the writings of Thoreau. The American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers) define simple living as a "non-consumerist lifestyle based on being and becoming, not having.“