Have You Ever Wondered....

I would love to do the growing my own food part, unfortunately the growing season in Michigan is rather short.

Wehn I was living in Maryland , we had a lot of Amish people around us and many times I was thinking about the same thing like you. I think we got so spoiled, I can't even imagine to live without thins like electrocity and such.

We have amish that live close by here and they do not have it right at all. I know some of them do though.

The Amish are very hard workers and I give them so much credit for what they do. I would love to be able to say that I would be willing to work that hard, but I am spoiled and I love life the way it is. As for the growing of your own crops etc. I tried this year but those dastardly varmits got my garden ( the bunnies) so I failed miserably and if I was counting on that being my familys food we would all be hungry....

I have thought about it but I have come to the conclusion that I like my life just the way it is... ( of course I would love to have a maid, a cook, and a gardener LOL)

Great point and article!

Sarah, sometimes I think that while I wouldn't go quite as far as the Amish, there's certainly something to be said for simplification.

I would love to homestead! Now if I could only get my husband on the same page....actually, we both would love to simplify our lives. It just isn't possible right now. The Amish lifestyle is very appealing, though.

My grandmother grew up in a community similar to the Amish. She was a giving person who was selfless & happy with the simple things. I would like this community as a whole, but I like to wear clothes with a little more personality. I'll join if my clothes can come with me. =)

Certainly less focus on material "things" and more real efforts to understand one another would be a start. But FYI, the Amish do not reject medicine. As a matter of fact, because there is so much in-breeding and thus, significant genetic conditions among them, they have agreed to participate in studies at centers like Johns Hopkins where I once worked. Many of the conditions described by Dr. McKusick, the father of medical genetics, were first discovered in the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

I live near Lancaster, PA, and the Amish are certainly very interesting people. All things considered, I wouldn't want to trade places with them. No society goes without it's share of problems. However, your post does reflect a desire I've had about simplifying my life, perhaps not so dramatically as the Amish. Something to seriously think about.

I would love to own my own plot ot land or rent a big enough place to grow my own food again. I would also love to be able to walk, bend and squat without pain. But thats not going to happen either.

I have often wondered the same thing

It's funny they want nothing to do with our lifestyles, yet they take our money when we go to the Amish Country as "tourists" or shoppers, or what have you.

Having said that...I admire their hard work, and maybe we all desire some of their simplicity, but I could never do it, having experienced the life I actually have.

i wonder that all the time

Yep, I think that it why I like camping so much, LOL. Away from it all...

I love camping and being outdoors but I always love coming back to the electricity TV and computer. I cant do handicrafts so I dont think I'd be very good at being Amish.

well let me ask you! Can you go without your cell phone ....

I too believe pollution is the cause of a lot of our illnesses. And I own a cell phone and have used it twice...

I do not agree with you on the Armish thing our ancestors had a great time trying to eke out a living because it was much harder than it is know. I think that they are trying to do things the way life will take them I just find that if we do not take care of the people that are mentally ill with kindness and new medication than there will be a lot more people handicaped with mental illness

I don't think the Amish are anywhere near 'alright'; but they certainly have it easier than most of us. There are no taxes for anything on anything in their communities--no property tax, no school tax, no tax on food, and if they choose to use electric, gas or go to 'town in a vehicle' they rent from someone else, they got it made. We on the other hand, taxed outrageously for everything. They may live simply but they do live off of everyone else ! Good article question . . .
definitely sharing the light,

SOME technology is a major help. If it wasn't for the advances in computers, people with certain challenges wouldn't be able to make a living.

I think technology helps as much as it hurts, but it's not to blame or congradulate for everything.

I think the Amish might have it right! They live a good hard life!

I think they do.

Perhaps they do. I would like to try it, but I couldn't stay off gather long enough!!!

I have lived like that. It was in the 60's. I had no running water, but a creek. My bathroom was an outhouse in the center of my cow pasture, and I got hit by floods twice. like most things, it has both good and bad sides.

I have thought of this also in the past.....

Your article has just inspired me to write a blog...

Thanks for that:)

I honestly belive you live a better life when you live it "naturally".

Yes and no. I don't think I would be the person I am now otherwise, good or bad.

There are arguments for both side of that coin...

The thing is the life the Amish have taken for themselves is not for everyone...it is hard work, very hard work and I'm sorry but the majority of the people would not stay with it like they do...

Also the many illnesses you state have been around for ages just not reported as well as they are today because even just sixty years back the reporting was not as easy as it is today...we didn't have MRI or so very many other ways of detection as we do these days...the diseases were actually worse then than today, I remember the Polio scare when I was a kid and they finally came up with the vaccine for it which pretty much wiped it out without the medical knowledge that has come about in the last sixty to seventy years all of our lives would be different.

So no I for one would not want to return to the old days not even back to the sixty's or fifty's of last century...I had friends with Polio and that was not any fun to say the least. Not to say that we can not improve how we live even today. That is progress and what comes with it.

:O)

The Amish people near here seem to be very happy people. They like the plain, simple life.
They certainly are not affected by gas prices.

I think simplification is good. I would not be happy without electricity and running water.
There is room for everyone in America. I've seen Amish surreys stop for traffic lights and have also seen one in the parking lot at McDonald's. That seemed strange, but why not?

They have some 'simplification', but their animals get sick, just like our autos, their lives would be shorter without some of the modern medical improvements as would ours...the ave life span was 35 at one time...now it's nearer 70...and when there was that shooting, they had no phone to call the police in the school and the little girl had to run next door...
growing your own food without all the added stuff you find in the grocery store is good if you can physically do it and have the space, but you don't need to go so far as the Amish to do that....co ops would help if there was more of a 'neighborhood' atmosphere, but most people are too caught up in their own world or selfishness or mistruest to work it out..
but it is a good question.....we can learn something from everyone if we look and ask

I am sure there are things they can teach us.

We let it happen, we let big business poison us!! Then they want to fix it by using more poison to try to cure our ailments. The Earth is fighting back, we see what's happening! What ever happened to being off on Sundays to worship our Lord.
Don't you think the Lord is mad and is letting the Earth fight back???

I have thought about it quite a bit actually. I think we should do things in more moderation. It's hard to get away from electrical devices, especially when a ton of jobs call for computers or other EMF producing devices, and so forth.

You've asked a question that needs to be asked Sarah. There is so much entertainment today that we don't need to go out and socialize with others. On the other hand ... we communicate with more people than we ever did. These type of blogging keep us away from TV and computer games and we have very real conversations. We learn a lot.

The Bible says God reveals knowledge. So I credit Him with the continual flow of new truths being released into the world bhich was bound to bring about technology. Should we refuse it? Shoudl we embrace it and learn to walk with the Lord and love other people with the help of technology? I think the latter. Part of the charm of the world is that no generation is like any other generation. We were all raised with different circumstances that each offered their own set of strenghs and temptations.

Anything in life is worth fighting for. I don't think that technology has hurt us too much.
Only we are hurting ourselves by not being fully informed.

I would like to go back to some of the old ways, but I do not want to give up technology and technological advances.

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AMEN!! i think a little more of the simple life wouldn't hurt any of us

Maybe in some ways, but I wouldn't want to live that life.

sometimes yes and sometimes no

Some time I believe that the Amish have a lot of thing more right than some of us Christians,They haven't gotten into the world's changes, more you give in to the world's changes the weaker you become in your Christian life. I know we don't have to , but we do.

I think it is a double edged sword. Technology can either use us or we can use it. Sometimes people allow themselves to become slaves to technology. If this happens it is a bad thing.

This is really interesting, Sarah.
My husband and I moved from Australia to Japan to downsize. We live in a smaller apartment, we've exchanged our cars for bicycles (you don't need cars in Japanese cities, anyway) and although we don't grow our own vegetables, we're eating at home more and living a simpler life - we're happier.
Great post!

I do think some technology does more harm than good, but I don't think the Amish have it completely right.

A mix between us and them would be optimal.