The meaning of “simple life” can be seen throughout the ages in literature. And if you were reading a lot of classical literature, you might understand right away what I’m talking about. Comparing idyllic simple rural life to the corrupt city life can be seen in many literature pieces, starting with the romanticization of the rural life in the early 19th century, to such ironical pieces as “Three men in the boat”, to the creation of the transcendentalism as a movement in the US.
Of course, as usual, everything depends on your definitions. But how do we get these definitions? Why, through the narrative! Yes, my examples belong to the 19 century and industrialization, the world has changed since then. But the narrative stays. And perhaps this narrative is true for me because I can somehow relate to it.
Now, my perspective is the one of the person from the big city. Fast-paced lifestyle, always running somewhere, while at the same time having morning coffee sometime in the afternoon and making some plans on the phone. Having a loaded schedule is normality. Finally taking a deep breath late in the evening at home and instantly going to social media for the sake of communication is normality. That’s the age we are living in. And if for me everything which I’ve said above is normality, it is not a case for the person from the previous generation. And here comes the narrative, wich we grew up with: life in the city is toxic, you need to have a “spiritual refuge”, and you can’t have it in the city.
So…in the essence, it’s not that different from what the writers and philosophers were talking about since the early 19th century, don’t you agree?
And then, when you feel tired, when you have time to breathe, you think: “Oh, how nice it would be to live a simpler life”. And when you think that, you imagine living in the countryside, where even the speed of life is different. And the narrative says that you definitely will feel better, you will feel connected, refreshed, reborn after the toxic life in the city. You imagine how your schedule would be easier, or…you might not need a schedule at all! (gasp! can you imagine?) And maybe, just maybe, you can plan all the meetings with friends in advance, and not last minute, like you usually do. And you will have some time to do things for yourself for a change. Or finally take a proper vacation (at least a weekend) when you don’t have to go to the office or answer the emails of your colleagues.
Just needed time to breathe.
Well, my dear friends…The day has come. The concept of the simpler life we’ve been striving for is here and now. Do you feel connected? Maybe reborn? We wanted life to slow down a little. We wanted a change of pace. Well…we got it!
Many people including yours truly have found themselves in smaller towns or villages to escape the dangers of the city (off-topic: which is yet another narrative, I just love the world of narratives we live in). And I’ve mentioned it in a previous post…the simple quiet life is more suffocating for a lot of people, even if we are meant to breathe here. And don’t get me wrong! It’s true about finding peace while grabbing some oxygen and connecting with nature…it’s true but you need a balance of things. And oh well, we now have to plan all of our meetings for May or June, it really depends on the situation. We might start writing letters to each other at some point (which by the way would be amazing! If anyone is up for it, let me know!). And the part about freeing up the schedule can do two directions: you either end up having more work than usual or not work at all.
I don’t mean to be negative, really. But it’s amusing for me to realize how perspectives on things can change in such a short time. How a hundred kilometers can suddenly become the distance you are not able to cross. Or how the place of peace (according to the narrative) can become the place of burden. How we can reevaluate some basic social concepts and values. Or maybe we change the way we define ourselves. Maybe life had slowed down, but we just couldn’t do it.
It’s been just a tad more than a month.
Life has never been simpler.
Adventures of a random volunteer 