Tuesday night I attended an author presintation and book signing by David Wann, the author of Simple Prosperity. It was an enlightening time and I came home refreshed and rejuvinated. I woke up Troy and we talked for hours about the direction our family has chosen to take.

Simple Prosperity takes a look at current social anthropology from both a society and an individual point of view. The way he welds the two together, weaving back and forth between the two, hammers home how we are neither separate from our neighbors, nor defined by societal expectations.

Values such as health, relationships with people, connection with nature, satisfying work, a sense of purpose, abundance of personal time, and freedom of expression are the real wealth, far more valuable than money and mountains of manufactured stuff. - Simple Prosperity Excerpt

Last night David Wann talked a lot about cultural expectations. It was nice for someone to speak about being immune to those expectations, to be willing to appear foolish, all the while traveling in your own direction. This really hit a nerve. At times I feel a bit crazy for not owning a TV set, or a home. Troy and I always seem to be doing things a different way, but we don't feel that our value system is that different than others. Family, health, shelter, stability.

David Wann's book illustrates a new way of life that can deliver twice the satisfaction for half the resources. Check it out, and let me know if you enjoy it. I would love to get together a coffee group one evening to discuss this book a little more.