Riding our bikes we carry everything we need with us. Surprisingly, that is not really that much. Living simply for us is much more than giving up western-world luxuries. Life in Switzerland is ridiculously comfortable and it is all too easy to completely forget that we are just incredible lucky.
Live simply, so other can simply live- said Mahatma Gandhi.
Living with less can actually be a relief. The things we own do also own us and can hold us back from experiencing life. Sharing, repairing, caring and problem solving can be uncomfortable or tiring at times though gives us time to grow, make friendships and appreciate what we already have. Consumerism wants us to believe that we deserve to have everything and that we can cover up the discomforts of life. Modern life has a lot that we should be grateful for, though we have arrived at a place where a standard life here means using more than what is available. The endless rows of endless options filling soulless warehouses is not one of modern lifes’ positive aspects.
It is not easy at all to sail through modern life, taking part in it and embrace it but at the same time being aware of the injustice and disaster it is causing elsewhere.
Our personal choice is to say “no” to some of the attractions that modern life offers and we mostly stick to these «R`s»:
Reduce:posessions, needs, meat consumption, flat temperature, flat-size, flights (we will sadly not be able to refuse that all-together) and so on
Refuse: to have or buy new stuff * (borrow/lend/ recycle instead!), refuse to get single use stuff, to get lured in by commercial and peer pressure, to buy ridiculously packed things, to buy off-season veggies/fruits, to follow each buying-impulse straight away, refuse to get used to too much comfort, design and unnecessary luxuries
Reuse & Repair: get stuff from the Brocki or friends, fix things, combine broken stuff to new stuff etc.
Recycle: well of course we recycle- we`re Swiss after all 😉
Ride your Bicycle: oh yeah! Every day, every where. No jam no oil! The perfect choice for us right now!
Maybe there is something in for you too? A nice side effect of this life-style: Saving up (for our trips) is fairly easy.
* one exception here is some of our adventure gear. But it then has to lasts till it turns to dust; till shoes turn into sandals. and sandals into Swiss cheese…