The Simple Life

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent a few days of our summer vacation in Amish country, and one of the things that struck me was the beautiful simplicity of life out there, the same sort of lifestyle which served as the backdrop (sort of) for that great pinnacle in American television, The Simple Life, where socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie take a break from their lavish Beverly Hills lifestyle and spend time at a farm in Arkansas.

We chose to stay at a "homestead" owned by an older Mennonite couple which hosted a number of visitors, but had a nice yard adjacent to a cornfield, plus an animal pen with chickens, peacocks, sheeps and goats. Our days at the homestead were pretty nondescript. We woke up, walked over to the kitchen to get breakfast, which usually included fresh fruit, baked goods and egg casserole and spent some time in the early morning reading while the kids played out in the yard, occasionally feeding the animals. We'd do our day's activities (either at Dutch Wonderland or some other touristy venue) and then returned home after a smorgasbord dinner with the kids resuming their play outside, the sun setting behind us in an red sky. And my wife and I would just sit on the swinging bench and read and the sun set, illuminating the sky with new and wonderful colors.

A day free from television, meetings, conference calls or constantly having to check my Blackberry for messages was nice. The kids were content - at least during the trip - not playing "Angry Birds" on the Nook, watching DVD's or playing games on the laptop; they couldn't have had a better time frolicking on a wooden jungle gym adjacent to the large farm animal grazing area, while chasing each other in front of a large cornfield.

I have no doubt that the quiet rural lifestyle may get old, but I wonder how much complexity and noise exists in our lives by choice. Maybe we've forgotten the good discipline of being still without living life artificially stimulated with smartphones, tablets, laptops, cable television, reality shows and Page Six. Maybe the experience of walking into a general store with goods and handmade crafts that you can sample and touch is sometimes better than the super-efficiency and convenience of Amazon.com or big box superstores. I suspect that for the folks that live out there, people work to live, and they live life at a slow pace where everything can be soaked in, like a wine connosieur allows a fine pinot noir to settle over his tongue - and I bet they wouldn't have it any other way.

For a four day vacation, I certainly didn't mind the simple life. I just don't know if my current life affords me the luxury of having one.