The Hidden Door Analysis

Safely housed within three stories houses, acquiring desires with a click of a button, and with the ability to move from one location to another faster than what should be possible, humans have constructed a bubble of comfort around themselves in order to deny the possibility of extinction that lurks around the outside and threatens to enter. Since humanity established themselves on the Earth, they have become increasingly more consumeristic; we are driven by our proclivity to want more. Mark A. Burch’s book (2013) entitled The Hidden Door: Mindful Sufficiency as an Alternative to Extinction addresses the concern of consumer culture and suggests mindful sufficiency as a contrasting lifestyle to the present consumerism. In dialogue with Burch,

In relation to technology, Burch makes reference to the unnecessary updates thrown at individuals with phones, computers, or tablets. Anyone with, or who has had, an old phone knows the frustration of this. Phone companies purposely design updates, although completely unnecessary, which will slow down the software considerable, forcing you to buy a newer model. You cannot even ignore the updates because after a while, your phone cannot function without them. Technology is in the hands of consumer culture and is manipulating society. Situations such as this one are subtly dropped throughout the book to keep the reader engaged in a solution to consumer

Coming for a background where this idea is not entirely new, I was able to pick out strands of Burch’s work and both see how I have already integrated some of these aspects into my life and how those changes are the first step to the larger picture. Some criticism which I had was both the language used and the structuring of the book. I found mindfulness to be an exclusive word that not everyone would be comfortable using and as a result, it discouraged the full immersion into the book. In addition, the mountainous content was overwhelming and caused not only stress, but confusion of where to start applying voluntary simplicity. In conclusion, I find The Hidden Door: Mindful Sufficiency as an Alternative to Extinction helpful to understanding the boarder application and effects of voluntary simplicity, but I think it is more useful as a resource for those who are more acquainted with the subject and have perhaps considered, or even started, applying this lifestyle to their