For ages and ages folks have been moving to the country to "get away from it all" and return to "the simple life." They come out here laden with anxieties and accessories in the hope that open space and clean air and rural living will somehow relieve their stresses. But then they lock themselves inside their homes and plug themselves into their possessions and wait for a transformation to simplicity that never shows.
Even the ancient Greeks had trouble simplifying their lives, as Socrates noted in "The Dialogues of Plato": "Many people will not be satisfied with the simpler way of life. They will be for adding sofas, and tables, and other furniture."
Truth be told, very few of us living in rural America today are leading simple lives. Most are as complex and stressful and as dependent on material possessions as any urban or suburban existence. Most of us are as burdened with credit cards and cable channels and call waiting as anyone.
"Plain living," as the English poet William Wordsworth called it, is a middle ground between excessive consumption and abject poverty where a person has the time and wherewithal to pursue art and friendship and perhaps a fish or two. A simple life in the country may mean different things to different folks, but finding it today requires a few essential steps:
Turn off the television.
There's no way to "get away from it" and still be watching it on TV. Seeing is believing and what we watch on the tube has a heightened sense of reality that easily dominates what is real and immediate. We need closeups on our own families and commercials for our own dreams. There are daytime dramas and situation comedies and newsbreaks all around us, if we tune in to the right channel.
Stop commuting.
Much of our lives are spent traveling from one place to another, commuting to work and school and church and shopping, all the while getting farther and farther from where we really want to be, or so it seems. Oh, what we could have done with all those hours! Built a barn. Raised a crop. Earned some extra cash. Walked across the continent.
Avoid debt.
Nothing complicates a life more certainly that debt. Most of us would have fewer possessions and richer lives were it not for consumer credit. There are a thousand good reasons to borrow money; there's only one good reason not to: peace of mind.
Raise something.
Growing a garden or raising an animal won't make you self-sufficient, but it will put you in touch with nature. The byproducts of husbandry are more than meat and vegetables, but also thrift and frugality.
Meet your neighbors.
Mutual cooperation was once a cornerstone of rural America. Folks watched out for one another and were always ready to lend a hand when they could. Giving aid and being willing to receive it not only creates bonds between people, it fosters a sense of security and well-being that no government program or insurance policy can provide.
If you can't do these things, plain living will remain as elusive as a mirage, a fantasy with no firm edges and no foundation.
You may be living in a rural place, but your life is not simple and you're getting away from nothing.