| Take me: to other places on this web site: to the Home Page of PastoralPlanning.com to the Resource Center for lifelong faith formation to "Getting Started" with lifelong faith formation |
| Key Links Just Faith A site which supports a parish program to teach in depth about just living. LiveSimply From CAFOD in England, the people who began the movement for simpler living. Catholic Relief Services A powerful agent of change in the world, also leading the US implementation of this movement. Common Hope A non-profit agency working to end poverty in the third world by establishing there a middle class. |
The Tenth Step How much time do you spend with media? Simplify your life by examining your habits. Let the prayer to the right be your starting point. |
| For group use when teaching this step to others Invite members of your group to "fast" together from their media. And ask them to note their experience of this and then to share it with each other. Be careful not to make this a judgmental exercise. No one can dictate to anyone else how much or how little media is good. But by reflecting together and using the Listening Prayer process, the Spirit will touch hearts and provide keen insights for everyone. |
| Prayer to assist you with this step Click here to print this or use it on your screen. Open your heart and prepare to take this step. |
| Read more deeply about learning to listen to God in prayer and about learning to "drive the speed limit" in life. See the e-books offered on the left side of this screen. |
| Tell us your story! What commitments have you made? What difficulties have you faced? What has worked for you as you chose to live more simply? How have you adjusted your lifestyle to one that is more sustainable? In what ways have you grown to be in solidarity with the poor of the world? Click here to send us a note and we'll share your story with others. To send us a video, song, pictures, poetry, or other media, simple attach it to an e-mail and send it to this address. |
| Take the other steps See a list of all 14 steps Step One: Step Two: Step Three: Step Four: Step Five: Step Six: Step Seven: Step Eight: Step Nine: You're on Step Ten! Step Eleven: Step Twelve: Step Thirteen: Step Fourteen: |
| Step Ten: Become aware of how much media you use - how you connect with other people and your culture. One of the main ways we make our lives more complex is through the vast system of communications with which we all now live. Where once a household had one phone which was rarely used, now we carry cell phones, laptop computers, and portable data devices everywhere we go. And of course, each of these comes complete with advertising, links, and more connections! It's hard to keep up with it all. We feel as though there is no peace and quiet left at all anymore. |
| In this step, we invite you to take inventory of all this. Click here to download an Inventory Worksheet which will guide you through a process of becoming aware of how this functions in your own life. And then - radically! - we invite you to experience a "media fast" for a day. We invite you to disconnect and turn yourself off. Where once this would have seemed like nothing, to many today, it will take enormous will power. Use the Inventory Worksheet to guide you. |
| On the Side... This step is a key to living more simply. We are just not aware of how complex our lives have become, but this step will help bring that to light. Simple living leads to sustainable living leads to solidarity with the poor. |
Please consider making a donation to support the work of this web site. We get by with a little help from our friends. Click on the candle to contribute. Thanks! |
| Two powerful resources Click on the cover to buy the book. A New Look at Prayer: Learning to Listen to Your Inner Guide by Bill Huebsch This carefully written e-book helps you recognize your own inner voice which leads to "right living." Driving the Speed Limit: Learning to Live Simply, Sustainably, and in Solidarity with the Poor by Bill Huebsch This e-book provides you with a road map (almost literally) to help you make choices which are both satisfying and in support of the common human good. |
