I think SLOW living is a more accurate term than SIMPLE living. Finding purpose in all homemaking, gardening, life skills is not easy (simple). Adding one new skill and mastering it before tackling another one is important if you want to live SLOW and with purpose. Living SLOW allows you to use and regain senses/skills that our forefathers used. I can imagine that daily living was even more labor intense without running water and electricity in the home. And having to drive a team of horses and a wagon as a mode of transportation ... would make your trips to town maybe be no more than once or twice a year. I can understand the reason my mother-in-law wants nothing to do with canning, sewing, or SLOW living. She was raised on a farm with ten siblings, no running water or electricity. The amount of effort to live off the land and make clothing, put away food would be a non-stop job. I'm sure one reason she has good health today is from her early years on that old farm. Good food. Lots of exercise. Having to get along with so many people under one roof, working together. This farm family survived the Great Depression from the resources on their farm. Having the knowledge and skills to hand make nearly all of their necessities gave them the tools to survive.
If you're into SLOW living, please share a few skills you've had to learn.
8 comments:
I love this idea of slow living. My husband and I have started to make a conscious effort to bake, can, preserve, conserve, recycle, you name it. Homesteading is definitely coming back.
I have much to learn and agree with you it is more aptly called "slow living". Back to basics is another way I think of it. No matter what it is called, this style of life is one to which many are returning -- by necessity or personal desire.
I don't know that i'm good at slow living, tho i'm striving that direction. But i agree with you on the health of individuals raised on a farm & eating whole foods rather than convenience stuff.
My MIL is very vigorous. I'm sure much of that is from her childhood. My foster mom (& her husband who is over 80) believes the reason they are both so healthy is that they still work the farm.
Enjoy your goodies. :)
Slow living, I like that. It depicts that everything does take a bit of time and effort. It also stresses the importance of it all being local. To me it also reflects how long it takes to relearn all of these tasks that have been forgotten in todays modern (fast) society and thus are no longer being taught to the next generation.
I think perhaps the most interesting "skill" we have been focused on learning over the past few years is that of using the wild edibles that surround us. Every year they become a larger part of our diet as we become more confident in our abilities to identify and locate them.
The "simple living" phrase is a bit of a misnomer, isn't it? We live with more simple values but our lives are often complex because we choose the self-reliant path and do much by ourselves. I also am comfortable with the "slow living" phrase because it counters against the fast-paced lifestyle that American society has allowed but we removed ourselves from.
Your kitchen photo is wonderful! Your contentedness shows well in and around the kitchen. (And I am happy to now have the ability to once again leave comments here! Woohoo!!)
I think I was the first in my family to make homemade bread since my grandfather was a boy at home on the farm. Baking my own bread and sewing my children's and not grandchildren's clothing have given me the most satisfaction out of all the skills I've learned.
This is an awesome post - you put to words what is very hard to describe to people in the rat race - do you mind if i put a link in my blog to this post? peace
Rural Rose ... link away :)
DarcyLee ... homemade bread is the BEST
LynnS I switched the comment settings .. not sure how they messed up.
Yes, Mr. H. wild edibles are a good source to add to your diet. You and the Mrs. have good training and keen senses to do this. I always enjoy your posts about your 'wild' adventures :)
meemsnyc .. a conscious effort is the beginning to slow living ... go for it s.l.o.w.l.y :)
Kathryn ... yes, farm life .. though hard .. makes a person have good fortitude.
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