Some Thoughts On The Good Life
To my way of thinking, rushing around is antithetical to living the good life. But what would it look like if the rushing wasn't there? Would it be like a perpetual vacation to a plush resort in the Carribean or on a Greek Island? Would money be a concern? Would it be easier or harder than you have now?
So one question comes up as to what that rushing is all about and is there anyone "out there" who has really come to terms with the pursuit of money and who has also found a way to live "the good life?"
A few months ago I was introduced to the writings of one such couple, Helen and Scott Nearing and one of their books is appropriately named: The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living. The edition I have also contains another of their books, equally appropriately named: Continuing The Good Life. I'm still reading the book in a leisurely manner and am in no rush to finish it since it keeps feeding me wonderful thoughts and images and possibilities.
The book was originally published in 1954, the year I entered high school. Their formal journey began at the height of the Great Depression. They left their professional life in the New York Area at a time when "society was gripped by depression and unemployment, falling a prey to fascism, and on the verge of another world-wide military free-for-all; and entered a preindustrial, rural community" by buying a run-down farm in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont.
By way of their intent, they "thought of the venture as a personal search for a simple, satisfying life on the land, to be devoted to mutual aid and harmlessness, with an ample margin of leisure in which to do personally constructive and creative work.
They started with a set of goals (they were very focused), a timetable, a willingness to get their hands dirty, and the wish to not be consumed by "things." But what really caught my attention was their attitude towards money and food and time and not going into debt.
They had a series of rules or guidelines. One was that they grew as much of their own food as possible. They were vegetarians so that made that task somewhat easier. When they had enough food for themselves and for the non-growing season (remember it's Vermont where they start their adventure) they would give away the food. They take delight in talking about how they had bountiful crops from their pole bean plants and they would fill baskets full of fresh beans and go into town and offer them to people for free. People tended to be hesitant to accept them, but when they found out that there were no strings attached they did, and were appreciative.
They were entrepreneurs in the sense that when they ran into a problem, they would look for a way to solve it and would, in a sense, start a business. For example, when they were building one of their stone homes they had difficulty negotiating a steep and oftentimes muddy road. So they bought a piece of property which a neighbor had no use for (and thought was useless) and started pulling out gravel from the property, sold some of it to the town for road repairs, bought a truck to move the gravel to pave their own road and then when that was finished, sold the property to another resident in the area at essentially the same price they bought it for. There's a lot more to that story which gives glimpses into their character and how they were clear that they were not trying to make any money at anyone else's expense. I would say they were living the principle of: "win-win or no deal."
Their work schedule was equally interesting. They worked 3 hours a day. I'm not sure about Saturday but I do know that they took Sunday "off." You read it right! Three hours a day. Period. It was their choice if they worked the 3 hours in the morning or the afternoon, and it could vary according to weather, or whim. They took three hours each day to read or write or walk or talk, or whatever, but no work during that time.
In their book they talk about how they had frequent visitors. The rule was the same for their guests. Everyone worked for 3 hours. One of the problems they ran into was the "city folk" wanted to continue working once they got into it. But the Nearings would insist on the house rules - 3 hours per day, and that's it.
Their built their sheds and houses, gardened, gathered wood, had a sauna, collected maple syrup, etc.
There was one other particularly important and fascinating practise they followed. They kept close financial records (they actually kept careful records of all their endeavors) and they estimated how much actual money they would need to live their lives for that year, and when they had enough food, and enough money for expenses for the year, they stopped working for the rest of the year.
I'm sure it helped that they didn't have any children. I have my doubts that they carried any insurance. They were clearly healthy - he died at 100. That's a story in itself. And they travelled when they wanted and they had earned their yearly quotas of food and money. To my knowledge, and this is equally significant, they carried no debt.
I have always found it helpful and valuable to meet someone or read about someone who is actually doing something that others talk about but never seem to actually get around to doing. Thoreau talked about it and lived it for a year or so and thankfully wrote about it for all of us to enjoy and dream and wonder about, but the Nearings actually did it and showed how they did it and left their footprints in words so others, if they chose, could also set out on a similar path.
Do you think it could be done in this age? Would you welcome the opportunity? Would you be able to handle the hard work and the slower pace? Would you feel good about yourself if you didn't buy as much as you buy? Or travel on a whim? Could you tolerate the apprehension of not having money set aside for "retirement?" Would you need to have more put away for a rainy day? And perhaps most importantly do you think that you would have to move away from where you are now and move "out there" somewhere? So many questions.
For some further thoughts on Homesteading you can find a brief thread on the Forum at Pathtofreedom.com.
I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts or experiences around this topic.
4 comments:
I recently read Lee Hoinacki's 'Stumbling Towards Justice', a series of reflections on various stages of his life, including the experience of leaving academia to set up a homestead in southern Illinois. This was in the 1970s and Hoinacki was married with two young children - what scandalised his friends was the idea of taking the children away from all the cultural opportunities of life in a university town, to homeschool them in an "underdeveloped" rural community. I'm often struck by the way parenthood brings increased pressure to conform - after the birth of her first child, a friend's sister-in-law said "Now you'll have to get a car!" What is seen as eccentric in the childless becomes irresponsible in a parent...
Anyway, just last week I was visiting my friends Ruth and Ick, who bought a few acres of land on a hillside at the edge of the North York moors, looking down towards Robin Hoods Bay, and have lived there now for twenty years. They built their own one-room house, with a byre underneath it, and a couple of outhouses elsewhere on the land - one which serves as a guesthouse, the other a workshop where Ick makes bits of furniture for sale, as well as things like gates and scythe handles for their own needs. Besides that, Ruth works one day a week as a gardener for a large house nearby.
The first time I went to meet them, having heard they lived without electricity and taking water from a nearby spring, I think I expected some sense of harshness to their life. But after several years of visiting them regularly, I doubt if I know anyone who seems as comfortable and happy with their lives.
Hi Dougald,
Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to take a look at that book. Interesting title; it hints at some of the same driving force with the Nearing's. I'm sure there are many more, however, who choose the life with the wish of decluttering, simplifying, amplifying more basic values without as many distractions, etc.
My wish with and through my blog is still to hear from more of those folk - whether through the comments sections, or if they are receptive, through telephone calls (skype), etc.
Ah, the English language...what's a "brye?" Is it referring to a barn of sorts?
Also here in the colonies, an outhouse is a place where a person does his or her business, less delicately stated, takes a dump or whatever.
Interesting people you Brits, to put a guest in an outhouse. (giggle, giggle.)
And yes, I think the whole process of social pressure goes up exponentially when the kiddos start coming along. Lots of pressure from family, neighbors, and eventually from the children themselves. That might be an interesting offshoot of your educational endeavors with alternate schooling arrangements, if I have that correctly.
Tim
Friends and coworkers used to always joke about making a book of "Quotes" from me. One of my favorite reminders to people is that:
"Words are defined by their users."
but it's not just that we define the words, we also define their purpose.
It's like that whole philosophical debate about "a gun". It is just an instrument used by people. We often think of it of having only one purpose, to kill. But, we could use it as a spade to dig holes (granted it would not be the best "tool" for the job), but we decide what it's purpose will mean to us.
Many things need in life need structure to thrive successfully. I think that's why it is important to have common rules (laws) and good organization (like keeping good financial records).
Balance.
Interesting couple, I might try to find the book later, but I am so behind on reading wants.
-P
Hi Tim,
Ah, the joys of the English language! Yes, a 'byre' is a barn - specifically, according to the dictionary, a cowshed, though I didn't know that. To me, it means any barn of an old-fashioned sort... In Ruth and Ickle's case, there are no cattle, but there's one small pony and one large, semi-feral shire horse! As for their out house (in your sense!), it has a small window, set so as to be at eye-level when seated, which gives a spectacular view across to the cliffs on the far side of the bay.
The Hoinacki book is definitely worth tracking down. There's a discussion of the role of debt in changing the character of farming which is very relevant to your post.
Oh, and thanks for your email, by the way! 'Other excuses' is absolutely fine as a label.
All the best,
Dougald
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