This Life is Real…and so are the Answers

If you are a city person, loving the lights and glamour, then this post is probably not for you! This post is about simplicity, and the pleasure found in having little, access to nothing.

Years ago, young couples wanting to marry and begin life together, didn’t start off with car loans, home mortgages or exorbitant rent. They didn’t plan for a vacation every year to an exotic place, running up credit cards to do it. What was a credit card?

At one time, life was based on survival. You hoped, prayed, and worked for a shelter to cover you, something to keep you safe and warm from the environment. Often times the home was built by a young man or couple. You grew your own food, made your own clothes, and were thankful to have loved ones around you. Maybe you had a small church to attend where you could fellowship with others. 

Yes, life was probably difficult, a daily struggle, and your years on earth were not as long as they are now. But there is much to be said for simplicity, taking pleasures in the little things in life.

The world today, and those of us living in it, face a much different reality. Yes, we have beautiful homes, each child having their own space. A chef’s kitchen awaits us, while we spend a big percentage of our paychecks eating out. We have manicured yards that we may sit in once in a while, but much more time is spent keeping them that way. The lawn mower is more familiar with the grass under our feet than we are. If we have gardens, the goal is to grow big and beautiful, chemicals helping us along the way. The food harvested there is not for our survival, but a fun hobby.

It is no wonder that the tiny house movement has become so popular. We are burned-out on surviving in this world today, trying to keep the pace at a fast and furious rate that our ancestors would not have tried, or even wanted.

I know I want off the merry-go-round. My head is spinning with all of the have-to items that we self-impose into our lives. I don’t want to have to be fashionably dressed, just decently clothed. I want to enjoy my yard in the peace and quiet of nature, and not worry about the town’s standards of what I should and shouldn’t do. I don’t want a career, but enough to meet our needs.

I really wouldn’t mind living in a home such as these pictured, the only criteria being a porch for my rocking chair. For those of you that shake your head, saying I don’t know what I’m talking about…I do have a clue. I learned to cook on a wood cook-stove, baking seven loaves of whole-wheat bread every Saturday for several years. I’ve split firewood, unloaded cords of wood to heat a house for the winter. I am extremely grateful for my inside bathroom, and running water, but I could even get use to no electricity if needed.

It’s whatever we’ve become used to. What we’ve accepted as normal.

I think I’m feeling nostalgic today. Autumn is playing for real now here in the mid-west. The trees are becoming bare, leaves scudding across the ground. My thoughts turn to outside chores needing to be done, and the holidays ahead. And like every year, I don’t want to be caught up in all the items that are expected of us. I just want to enjoy those people around me that care enough to be part of my life.

In our world today, we have missed the bigger picture. We’re frantically trying to survive, by having the best education, successful career, showplace for a house, every opportunity for our children…and we have lost love for what life should really be about. That list above won’t last into eternity, and after we’re gone, we won’t care.

The holidays are coming and I challenge you as I will be doing myself to seek Him first in all things. Be thankful for what you do have in the forms of jobs, housing, family and friends. But strive to connect with what matters, and get rid of what doesn’t. All of us have much that we could put on a back burner…and especially during the next couple of months when we celebrate the holidays. Make time for family and friends. Put down the phone when in a public place and connect with those around you. And most certainly put the phone away and relate to the loved ones you’re with. They may not be there tomorrow.

Strive to live a simple life among the luxuries of today. Think about those people and things that are really important to you, and make time for them. Don’t waste time on the other.