July 24, 2002
Mills selects simple life in hectic world
Author reads from 'Epicurean Simplicity' Thursday at Traverse City district library
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Stephanie Mills knows about enchantment.
The enchantment of a dragonfly lighting on a fence post or a fragrant flower swaying in the breeze.
The enchantment of discovering a company of ants finding their bliss in her hummingbird feeder. Saving them from drowning in the sugar water, Mills takes pleasure in their mindless quest - pursued so passionately without concern for their impending doom.
Mills finds innumerable pleasures - small and large - from her simple life as a steward of 35 acres, a small home and freestanding studio in Maple City. Author, teacher, activist, Mills has launched her ecological endeavors from this small slice of Leelanau County for the past 16 years.
"Living here is a great way to learn about the land," Mills said. "Nature enchants me. I'm so fortunate, living in northern Michigan it is such a great piece of good fortune that nature is such a close presence."
Reverence for the natural world is scarce these days, a passing Mills mourns.
"We're taught to fear nature yet it is the ground of our being," said Mills, a Phoenix native who studied and lived in California until the mid 1980s. "My mother, especially, communicated a sense of wonder to me so I was kind of disposed to marvel at birds and small animals and the beauty of plants."
The nationally-renown author delves into the seasons of her land, her struggles and delights with it, in her latest book, "Epicurean Simplicity." The book was published in April and chronicles her effort to live simply - eschewing TV, computers and many conveniences of modern life - and acknowledges that it is not always an easy task.
"What's hard for me is the basic things everyone struggles with: making ends meet," she said. "I just try to have shorter ends and keep them closer together."
"I have chosen simplicity as a lifestyle."
The spirit of "Epicurean Simplicity" harks back to the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who saw virtue in simplicity and believed in trusting the senses. Mills was intrigued by his writings and delved beyond the perception of hedonism commonly associated with his work.
Mills composed her work as she does all her books and articles: on an old manual typewriter or in longhand, depending on the complexity of the passage. Her purpose for this is twofold and reflects a broader philosophical approach to life: a belief in completing the process on a human scale and determination not to be ensnared by modern technology.
"My editing is with tape, paste and scissors, with scritchy-scratchy interjections," she added, noting the dubious thrill of having spent hours cutting and rearranging pages and passages, only to realize one stiff breeze could sweep it all away.
Local activist Sally Van Vleck, co-founder of the Neahtawanta Research and Education Center, said Mills is an inspiration in many dimensions, personally and as a fellow environmental activist. Having published some of Mills' writings in Center literature over the years, Van Vleck said that Mills' philosophy spreads naturally to those around her.
"Sometimes it is a little hard when publishing her work because she doesn't use computers or e-mail, but it slows down the pace and we have to honor a more natural rhythm," Van Vleck said. "It forces us as organizers to slow down, which is another part of simple living: that life is a process. That is why her writing is so powerful because she writes slowly, carefully and thoughtfully, it has a more natural rhythm."
Mills' realizes her life is a stark contrast to what she terms a spree that Americans have been embarking on for decades. More stuff, more roads, more money - all are hallmarks of a cycle of consumerism run amok that she consciously shuns.
That is not to say that Mills believes that all material things are inherently bad, just that so many make such poor choices about how to use their resources and the Earth's resources - choices that are made without thought.
In pursuing a simple lifestyle, Mills fully realizes her good fortune to have been born where she was, in the time she was, with the skills she was given. She knows she has the luxury of choosing simplicity when so many in the world barely survive by necessity. Her choice in part honors those who have none.
"The values we espouse in this country in terms of consumerism are pretty recent," she said. "This kind of spree the country is on has gotten worse and is very heavily promoted."
"At present it is quite an uphill battle to be environmentally mindful."
Mills will be reading excerpts from "Epicurean Simplicity" on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Traverse Area District Library as part of the Live at the Library series This presentation is free and open to the public.