Frugal zen

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If you’re trying to free yourself from debt, or simply have to live very frugally due to your current life situation, then you may have noticed that living in this way opens up your mind to a whole new range of different possibilities. Frugal living can free the soul to concentrate on what’s important in life – the “here and now” in a very Zen-like way.  If, on the other hand, that hasn’t been your experience at all and you continually yearn for the things you can’t afford and worry about how you’re ever going to be able to afford them, then you’re probably stuck on the very non Zen-like treadmill that seems to ensnare so many people in the developed Western world today. Debt management has grown into a major industry as people who have been suffering from this “sickness” of the egotistical mind struggle to come to terms with their spending problems. And whilst it’s no fun not to have enough money to live on – a lot of the problems come from the vicious cycle of wanting things we think will improve our lives but which, in fact, don’t. If you read about Zen, or existentialism, and concentrate on the here and now and the things you need to do today to “be” and to get through the day in one piece – this can really free up your thinking and let you get the most fulfillment out of life. It’s a hard thing to explain until you get the sudden realization that the commercial merry-go round is one you can step off with relative ease. Instead of concentrating on what you want, be happy with what you have and concentrate on what you really need; food, warmth and shelter. As the song goes; the best things in life are free – and it’s true.