What is the "Simple Life"?

I think the "simple life" was REALLY the "hard life".

What you describe as the "simple life" is in reality, hard non-stop work. While I am capable of living the simple life, I would not like to do so for an extended time. All the modern conveniences like indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating, telephone, television, etc. are far too useful and beneficial to give up willingly.

I'm too old and spoiled for the simple life. Enjoyed your article immensely.

Meaningful work... that works to my mind. Simple doesn't have to mean easy. I think most people want to be engaged with something, and doing this work - hard as the tasks are - is engaging.

So you'll do this again next year? How long - four days?

Thank you for your comments...all of you. I personally prefer to dip into the life style once a year -- yes, Julia, I will return next year for the four days. I love it. But I do have friends who keep their wood stove busy all year, I know middle aged folks who are choosing to live "off the grid" permanently. I live with wells that are not always pressure-perfect, I spent several months one winter with a frozen septic tank.

It is true...it's not "simple" and it is pesky, inconvenient and time consuming.

On the other hand, I love being close to a garden, milk animals, fresh baked sour dough bread and home-made everything.

And I like the word "concrete" -- that works for me. Thanks.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. A simpler life to me means less things and less fuss. I "simply" do not keep with with the Joneses. I am always thinking of how to simplify more. Owning fewer things is a huge way towards simplying my life. I don't live in a log cabin but I don't own a George Forman (or any other kitchen novelty item for that matter). I buy quality not quantity. How do others simplify?

Kat, I did wonder as I heard the young women talk about the simple life, if it wasn't about owning too many things, in too big houses that require too much maintenance. One thing about the log cabin -- the wood floor, the few pieces of furniture -- it is simple to keep up at the same time there is little pressure to have it "perfect" or perfectly clean.

Cynthia - what a great conversation!

I like the idea of taking the best of all worlds, past and present, when assembling "the simple life." As you know, I don't own a car, because I think it complicates my life more than it simplifies (car payments, gas, repairs, insurance, parking, tabs, road rage, etc, etc, etc). But I did finally buy a small microwave when I realized it would help me to cut back on my gas bill. Tea and oatmeal now get heated in the microwave, I have fewer pots to clean, and breakfast is ready to eat in less time on a winter workday morning.

Whenever I make a purchase (okay, MOST of the time when I make a purchase) I first ask myself "is this going to improve my quality of life?" Clutter is a hindrance, not a help, so I'm not likely to buy something if it's just going to add clutter to my life. Or responsibilities - I particularly avoid things with monthly fees - magazine subscriptions, and the like. And no tv! It just makes you want things you don't need.

This year I started my first vegetable garden, and I'm hooked! I feel much more in touch with where my food comes from. While it may not be as "simple" as going to the grocery store, it does make me focus on the bounty of the earth, our ability to provide for ourselves, and the passing of the season, from planting to harvest. That certainly improves my quality of life.

I also think living the "simple life" means focusing more on things like relationships, community, and the environment. It's as much about awareness and intention as it is about posessions.

I am in the middle of reading Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" which, of course, speaks to this very discussion. I think it has been discussed on other Gather pages, but what has boggled my mind so far as I read it, is how very complicated our lives and our food supply really is. Marianne, have you read it?

For me simple life means Intentional Life. We all make choices and I choose to make most if not all of my food from scratch. It tastes better and gives me both a creative outlet AND a sense of accomplishment and meaning ful work. I do not own a microwave either though I am tempted at times because of the convenience of defrosting things from the freezer and deciding to make that quick cup of herbal tea. Marianne also has a point of simple lives help us to focus on things that are meningful in our lives.

Cynthia - no I haven't, but I can certainly relate! I rarely eat meat now - occasionally fish or eggs, more rarely chicken. It's both for health reasons, and for environmental ones. Would you recommend the book? Can you give some examples of the food supply chain?

Mark, I totally agree about food preparation - and I bet Cynthia would, too. I love to bake...and while some of the things I make might seem quite complicated, I get a great deal of satisfaction from it. It's a creative outlet, and on the whole much better for me and my guests than anything I might buy that's pre-packaged.

Marianne, I am reading the book for our book club, but I do recommend it. He describes corn from the farmer in Iowa to the stock yards in Kansas to the table. He also visited large scale organic producers. The section I read this morning describes his visit to a "grass farmer" Joel Salatin who raises his animals on nothing but pasture.

There is some controversy about what he says about Whole Foods Corporation...I found this on Kurt Michael Friese's gather page: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976766010

Yes, I do recommend it, though it makes going to the grocery store tough.

I thought about this during our recent week 'at the cabin'--three rooms plus a tiny bath, no AC. It really was relaxing to have fewer "things" to take care of, and all of rugged materials. Didn't have to worry much about tracking a little dirt onto the worn linoleum. I love my spacious house with its conveniences, though!

If I could do without one aspect of the "complicated" life, it would be the paperwork and bureaucracy. I'm glad to have health insurance and some retirement investments, but some days I feel like a full-time bookkeeper!

Jana, did you feel like you were taking a vacation in the "simple life" when you were at the cabin?

I remember my neighbor taking her five children and husband in a small pop-up camper for a "vacation" to a nearby lake. It seemed like so much more work than if they had stayed at home and just drove the 5 miles from their quiet country home to the crowded campsite for a few hours of swimming. Seemed to me that the vacation was more complicated and difficult than daily life...

Obviously the definition of "simple" determines the answer to the question. With the introduction of each new modern convenience comes more space and time to be filled. And what do we fill it with? Americans take far fewer vacations than their European counterparts, the average number of hours in a work week exceeds 40 and stress-related illnesses are on the rise in this country. That's not "simple" in my dictionary!

Great article and comments!

I agree with Diana....great article and comments.

Cynthia, does the 4 day stint included nights? Is the fire kept going from one day to the next?

I don't think I would mind 'the simple life' for a while, and I know I'm self reliant enough to survive for a few weeks in that type environment if I had to, but I would not want to do it as a permanent way of life.

in old sturbridge village,they do that in the warmer weather and it is rather interesting. most of the people are teachers off for the summer and their families are there on the weekends with them. it is a rather interesting aspect. I can live like that for a while,but being acclimated to the use of computer and telephones,etc,i am spoiled by this modern technology and would miss it after awhile.
We have the easy life,because there were no stores to go and buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of fresh milk,nor the use of freezers or refrigerators, they worked from sun up to sun down and then ate simpe meals during the week and on Sundays they had the elaborate meal after church. the chores were done every day and they did not have a day off for rest. so i guess we have it lucky

I think this simple life, maybe means to live with simple things...not that it was simple to live. The idea that you only need the land and hard work to live your life does sound nice. It would make you less dependent on others and more dependent on yourself and your family, and I like that idea. As it is now we depend on stock boys, and farmers from around the country to get the food we need. So it would in a way be simpler to do it all yourself...but not easier that's for sure.

Sonia, I did not sleep at the cabin. Some years ago, there was a family of 10 or so (the woman was either pregnant or carrying a new baby) who stayed at the cabin for the whole fair. It was not a change of life style for them, however, it is how they live everyday at home. When the older kids turned into teens, there were some problems with them living at the cabin during the fair...as you can well imagine.

Joy, I think you may have hit on the definition I was looking for: "...to live with simple things...not that it was simple to live."

This weekend there has been lots of talk on the radio about preparing for an emergency (anniversary of Hurricane Katrina reminders). So I spent some of the weekend thinking about how prepared I might be should the electricity go and all the conveniences of modern life along with it. I live in the country and my major dependency on electricity is my water...I have no back-up plan to get water without electricity unless I melt snow or dip from the nearby river. And, of course...there is that stuffed freezer. But I can heat with and cook on my little wood stove...and learn to use a saw on all the dead trees in my woods. Life would be simple...and hard.

The poet Gary Snyder wrote a poem about the value of "the real work," which he defined as chopping wood and carrying water. I do that. After years of trying to make a living in the world of jobs and money, I have suffered loss after loss, until now all that is left to me is forty acres of trees and a one room log cabin. Watching the sunrise one morning, I finally realized I had achieved my lifelong goal by doing everything in my power to avoid it, and failing. Simplicity at last! Or, in another word, poverty.

Richard, do you find the "simplicity of poverty" simple?

Hi Cynthia

Sorry to take so long to answer. I am still getting used to the ropes around Gather. I like this site a lot, but I do think it could be easier to use. I am no expert in website development, so my comment on this may only be an expression of my ignorence.

About poverty.

An old black woman I met in Duluth once told me there is no such thing as "voluntary poverty." She knew whereof she spoke.

When I was a young man, still a child, really, I was taken with a religiosity from reading Kantanzakis' books, 'St.Francis of Assisi' and the Last Temptation of Christ.' I was much a fool and took these books very seriously. At that time I wanted to become a monk, and ever since, though two marriages, various funerals, and a variety of adventures, in some of which my actions were not heroic, I have consistantly broken my vows to my own soul to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience.

I had trouble finding anyone or anything to task my ego to obedience, and chastity was a weakness of mine and soon had to be abandoned. Poverty? I tried everything I could think of to avoid it, short of things immoral or criminal, but it has crept up on me. Chastity soon followed, but it is the chastity of one too old to worry much about fighting rageing passions. I still have not found any way to obedience, but I suppose it may come in when the doctor's get ahold of me.

So I have no reason to think I know the answer to your question. Anyway I am still very rich by most global standards. I have my cabin to live in, my truck to drive, food to eat and clothing to wear. I have the great wealth of loving freinds and neighbors, and family too although they do keep their distance. I have books to read, and I have my writing. In all these things I am rich, although in terms of cash, well, I haven't any, nor any liquid or liquifiable assets to speak of. I don't qualify to pay any income taxes, and even get an earned income credit.

Medical is covered by the veteran's administration. County assistance gets me more than enough food stamps. For gas money, I sell my plasma. I am still ashamed of my wealth, and show it here because I refuse to hide my shame, and it seems you have specifically asked.

Is my life simple? Pretty much so. My only real expense is my truck, and I can forsee the day when that expense will leave me stranded somewhere. I wish I had a mule.

Also I listen to the radio a lot, and my brother gave me this computer, and these things are far more complex than I could sustain on my own. You know, if I didn't listen to the radio or read the news, my life would be idyllic. Thousands of square miles of forested wilderness studded with lakes is just off my doorstep, and the depradations of global warming have, so far, been slow coming. I wouldn't even notice them much if I hadn't heard about it. It is true that the two upper stories of my forest are now lying in ruins of tangled branches on the forest floor, and the winters have been warm for the past ten years, and the summers longer and hotter than I remember up here in the boreal forest. But these things are up and down and have not gotten so intense that I would worry about the world's climate.

So, what is simplicity? I guess it probably lies in no longer having to make choices. I carry my water from an artesian well, so easy to pump up that it practically bottles itself. I cut the trees that have died around my cabin. Simple? Pretty much so. I do use batteries that I charge up at a friend's house. But radio and two lightbulbs are the extent of my electric needs. I would like to have some solar electric panels, but they are expensive.

Yeah, actually, for me, poverty is pretty simple, but I have no responsibilities (I have lost every responsible position I ever had, but not by being irresponsible) and I have no dependents, and I have no goals or even expectations.

Jean Jaques Rousseau, the French writer, musician, and naturalistic philosopher, ended his days by only wanting to be left alone. Fame and wealth and political connections brought nothing to his life but sorrow and regret, mingled with what appears, from his 'Confessions", to be a rampant paranoia. Of course his idea of poverty was a lot different from mine. He required servants, fine houses, and palatial estates to wander on. I have only my wilderness.

I don't think poverty is simple for everyone. If you want to make a way in the world, it is very inconvenient to be poor. I have not suffered Rousseau's fame, or the attendent bitterness. I am content with the privilages I retain. By the standard of our common society, they are not much. Yet I know most of the world would envy my position, such as it is. So I am grateful as well as content. What more does anyone really need?

Richard

Richard, Thank you for your comment -- and your story. Grateful and content. I like that. Simple and close to the earth. I like that, too.