What can you live without?

Last night, for some reason, I was thinking about a survey group I participated in a number of years ago. It was one of those instances where you walk into a mall and someone comes up and asks if you have a few minutes to answer some questions. Well it turned out to be a bit more involved and I wound up returning to that mall for 2 or 3 weeks to answer questions and watch videos. The question we eventually focused on was if we could give up music for 30 days. A few of the participants initially said yes but then we were asked if we could do it over the Christmas Holidays. Not one out of the dozen or so of us taking part would agree to that; even when they offered to pay us.

So thinking of that made me think...is there anything in my life I could do without for 30 days? There is a lot more to choose from now than there was back then. Could I leave my cell phone behind? No, there might be an emergency where it is needed. Computer? TV? CD's? iPod? Microwave? Kindle? Nook?

I guess that if I absolutely had to do without I could handle a month without everything mentioned above. I wouldn't want to but I could. I could live with out a computer because they still do print newspapers. There would still be radios for music and movies and plays for entertainment. I could use my regular old land line phone to keep in touch with my friends & family. The stove and oven still work so I wouldn't starve. As for books...they are still printed and available in brick and mortar stores and libraries.

The thing is that all those things that we could live without do make our lives pleasant. My grandmother lived without all those things (well she did have a TV for the last 40 years of her life) and she would think that all these things were absolutely frivolous.  But I can only think that popping a meal in a microwave to heat it up would have been easier on her than having to heat up leftovers on the stove or in the oven. My mother would have adored cell phones and computers. I love being in touch with people via facebook. I touch base with people from my past and I meet new people who bring light and laughter into my life.

So think about what you would give up for 30 days. What would the impact on your life be? And here is something else to consider...most of the things I've mentioned living without have only come into our lives in the last 25 years or less. Can you imagine what might be on that list 25 years from now?