Life Philosophy

I'm going mental. That is for the past few weeks I've been plowing through some tough questions. Questions about possessions, materialism, and consumerism. Questions about changing my life and living out some ideals that I think are good. I've just finished reading Donald Miller's "Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road" and it dealt with the idea of leaving behind materialism for the sake of living life. Selling everything you own to head out on the road and experience life. I've long felt that our consumption society is distracting us from each other. This book really helped me focus my attention on my own life and see what can be done. I don't meet people everyday that are talking about philosophical ideas on how to spend their money. Then a few weeks ago I was watching a documentary on the Discovery channel on the historical Jesus. It put a lot of focus on his teachings of social change and how much emphasis he put on the poor. Then today I was listening to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on NPR and they were discussing the ideas of Henry David Thoreau. The host, Clay Jenkinson, was reading excerpts from "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" and had Thoreau leaving behind normal life in search of the essentials. So after work I went and picked up a copy of "Walden and Civil Disobedience" and am going to start it tonight. The point is that I've started questioning how I want to change my life to be intentional and purposeful. How do I want the way I live my life to look? I've come up with a few "Life Ideas", and here they are...

• Try to live simply when possible and consume locally when possible.
  
• It's not a hard lined approach.
• It looks like vaguely veg but for your life...try to live with balance and consume with purpose.
• Try not to be cluttered
• Lets get rid of some stuff.
• Let's try to consume locally and support locally with our finances.
• Let's live so we can give back to people who can't do for themselves.
• Live within your means.
• Stuff isn't bad.
• Excess stuff is unnecessary and distracting.
• Sell it...give it to the poor. Really try and live out the social teachings of Christ with our finances and consumption.
• Let's work towards supporting children in impoverished nations. Not just one. As many as we can through humanitarian organizations..."whatever we do for the least of these we have done for you..."
  

So there it is. My ideas on some ways I'm hoping to change the way I live. What do you think?