The October issue of George magazine featured an article by James Reston, Jr. entitled "Going Out with a Whimper." Reston bemoaned the fact that the U.S. had budgeted a paltry $1 million for millennium festivities. The U.S. efforts, stated Reston, are Lilliputian compared to other nations. England, for example, has built a $900 million dome (double the size of the current record holder, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta) on the Thames River. The Eiffel Tower in Paris sports a gigantic digital board that is counting down the millennium. And in Egypt the international Millennium Society is sponsoring a Grand Millennium Ball complete with two-hour sound-and-laser-light show.

According to Reston, Washington lacked courage. If it weren't for Madison Avenue and Hollywood, the U.S. would be a total disgrace. A closer assessment, however, reveals that our elected officials may have - for once - really had their fingers on the pulse of the people. The cover story in the November 29, 1999 issue of Time was "The Simple New Year's Eve: Why we're saying no to the hype and opting for a quiet, meaningful evening."

It turns out that big-ticket millennium venues are going begging. Empty seats are expected at London's Millennium Dome. In New York, all six suites in the New York City Palace's $25,000 "Splurge of the Century" remain unbooked. Instead, people are opting for simple celebrations. A Yankelovich poll for Time and CNN found that 72 percent of Americans say they are not planning to do "something special" on New Year's Eve, up from 63 percent in a similar poll last January.

So, what's going on? Yes, there are the Y2K jitters. But there are also some indications that simplicity has become a growing trend as a lifestyle and not only on New Year's Eve. One of the best ways to find out about this trend is to visit the World Wide Web. Plug in the term "Simplicity Movement" into your favorite search engine and you'll come up with a substantial number of sites. A good place to start is at the ABCNews.com "Healthy Living" section.

You can go directly to a page about Cecile Andrews, one of the leaders of the simplicity movement by typing in http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/simplity980630.hrml. The headline on the page states, "Escaping the Rat Race, More People Choosing Voluntary Simplicity." In 1989, when Andrews first offered a class in Seattle on voluntary simplicity only four people registered. She waited three years and offered the class again. This time 175 people crammed into the room. At that point simplicity began to catch on and is considered a growing trend. Trends Research Institute, for example, estimated that 15 percent of American adults would be living the "simple life" by the year 2000.

The ABC News page features a list of Secrets to Happiness based on The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs. These include:
Live beneath your means and within your seams.
Learn from the past, plan for the future, live in the present.
Skip two meals a day and give the money to the homeless.
Donate blood.
Don't criticize anyone for 24 hours and see how you feel.
Let someone cut ahead of you in line.
Take a 30-minute walk in your neighborhood every day.
Listen more. Talk less.
Be kind. Be even kinder to unkind people.
Understand and accept that life isn't always fair.

Luhrs' list may not be your list, but it certainly provides food for thought.

The ABCNews.com simplicity page is nice because it provides links to other simplicity sites. These include www.pbs.org/kets/affluenza. This page features information about the PBS special Affluenza and its sequel Escape from Affluenza hosted by Scott Simon. Simon defines Affluenza as "the bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses."

Another site is The Affluenza Project, www.affluenza.com. This site offers information, resources, publications and counseling on affluenza, wealth-related issues, and associated addictive behaviors. The Simple Living Network, www.simpleliving.net, is an on-line service containing thousands of pages of information about publications and tools for "those wanting to learn how to live a more conscious, simple, healthy and restorative lifestyle." They suggest that you "relax, make yourself a cup of tea, and plan to stay awhile."

The Awakening Earth site, www.awakeningearth.org/simplicity.html, and the Positive Futures Network site, www.futurenet.org, have a focus that combines simplicity with spiritual values. Positive Futures Network is dedicated to "supporting peoples' active engagement in creating a more sustainable and compassionate world." They are publishers of YES! A Journal of Positive Futures. The Awakening Earth site is hosted by Duane Elgin, author of the book Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple and Inwardly Rich.

What is your millennium resolution? If it has anything to do with simplifying your life and finding inner peace, then visiting and bookmarking these sites makes a lot of sense.

P.S.: I have a few review requests stacked up, but I thought the simplicity message was a perfect way to begin the year 2000. I promise to get to those other reviews starting in February.

Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises (Freelancing with Finesse), specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web authoring, development and publicity. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com, by phone at 773-235-8821 or at her web site at www.montymedia.com