Keeping up with the Joneses, Simple Living Style

There is an ironic place I've been bumping up against lately, which is this: The whole point (well, one of them) of living the life we are striving to live is to eschew the whole notion of "Keeping up with the Joneses". To exit that whole rat race in favor of a freer, less frenetic, more personally authentic way of life. To be able to live not focused on what we need to obtain, but on what (and who) we have and are, and on tending and creating the place and time in which we find ourselves.

Yet lately I've been noticing that "Keeping up with the Joneses" is alive and well in the sustainable living sphere: In a meeting of moms striving to live with a holistic, sustainable mindset, a discussion of the best organic lawn care company to remove clover from a lawn; My afternoon, searching for the "right" rain gear to send with the boys to preschool and the "right" meal to cook for new friends coming over for dinner later this week. I have this uncomfortable, nagging feeling lately that while we may be in a pretty good place (according to our hopes) in terms of not striving after "things", perhaps there is a different level of keeping up that has a very real presence in my life: one not comprised of things, but of actions taken, decisions made.

And when it comes to the boys: We believe strongly in limiting to as great an extent as possible their exposure to advertisements and the madness of kid-centered brands and character franchises. We try to teach them that it is better to have fewer things and to value the work of creating and tending things oneself, of spending time outdoors or making up a game together over sitting in front of the TV (with a few exceptions a week, full disclosure). But are we just teaching them to value and seek after a different set of things: the "sustainably-superior" version of the Joneses?

Maybe, in reality, there is just no getting around some extent or manner of yearning to keep up with our peers - current or desired. I imagine it has been hardwired into us from the beginning. So perhaps the goal to strive for is not necessarily to become immune to or rise above the impulse, but to be aware of it when and how it shows itself at various times in our lives and to strive to direct, rather than be directed by, it. To be aware, to be intentional.