If someone offered you a simpler life, would you take it? I did once. It was just before the birth of my son and I was working as a reporter for a daily newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The hours were unpredictable and the work was frustrating at best (covering territorial politics is a […]
Photo Credit: John H. Tarbell. Held by the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
If someone offered you a simpler life, would you take it? I did once. It was just before the birth of my son and I was working as a reporter for a daily newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The hours were unpredictable and the work was frustrating at best (covering territorial politics is a special kind of hell). In short, it was not the recipe for a happy household when there’s a newborn in the mix. So when a friend of mine offered me a part-time gig working on his farm, I thought, “why not?”
For 10 hours a day, three days a week, I cleared brush, raked hay, and flipped compost. I waged an interminable war against Caribbean weeds and chased mongooses out of the chicken coop. It was hard work, of course, and I was bitten by a whole menagerie of tropical creatures, but these days I find myself missing it more and more.
Life was so straightforward then. When I was at work, I worked. When I was at home, I raised my son. I was free from the looming menace of deadlines and the nagging fear of missing an email. I picked up my labor in the morning and put it down in the evening, and at night I enjoyed the honest sleep of an exhausted man.
The Lure of a Simpler Life Photo Credit : John H. Tarbell. Held by the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Having since returned to New England and writing, I’ve found my experience on the farm has given me a new appreciation for the Shakers. Not just because they held simplicity as a sacred virtue—evident in everything from their architecture to their lifestyle—but more so because they seem to have mastered the elusive art of setting boundaries.
The truly remarkable thing about the Shakers is that, unlike the Amish and other Utopian groups, they did not shun the outside world. They embraced technology and traveled freely outside of their communes. Through their various industries, they interacted with their neighbors on a daily basis. The temptations of a normal life were always near at hand, and yet somehow they persisted. Somehow they managed to avoid being swept away in the relentless current of the mainstream. They kept the pressures of the outside world at bay and found the freedom to live the lives they wanted to live.
I wish I could tell you how they did it. It’s a bit of wisdom I think we could all use today, in our mercilessly connected world where multitasking is the norm and the 40 hour work week is little more than a quaint suggestion. I don’t regret returning to my career, but that time in the fields has made me aware of what I’ve lost. When I’m at home with my son, now a rough-and-tumble one-year-old, I find my mind drifting off to story ideas and my eyes darting to the laptop. Like many people, work has become an unwelcome tenant in my home, and I’m not sure what to do about it.
I selected this photo taken in 1907 by Massachusetts native John Tarbell (1849-1929) to share this week because it so perfectly captures the peaceful ideal of Shaker life. The note attached to the photo offers little detail about who this woman is or where she lived. It only tells us that she is preparing to make applesauce. The look of quiet concentration on her face and the delicate way in which she is inspecting the first fruit suggests to the viewer that her mind is entirely consumed by the task in front of her. She is about to begin a chore she has undoubtedly done a thousand times before, but there is no hint of boredom, just a sense that she is committed to doing her job well. The scene is a perfect embodiment of the classic Shaker hymn, “’Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free. ‘Tis the gift to come down right where we aught to be.”
So how about it readers? If someone offered you a simpler life, would you take it? If there was just one thing you could take off your plate, one thing you didn’t have to worry about anymore, what would it be?
Justin Shatwell
Justin Shatwell is a longtime contributor to Yankee Magazine whose work explores the unique history, culture, and art that sets New England apart from the rest of the world. His article, The Memory Keeper (March/April 2011 issue), was named a finalist for profile of the year by the City and Regional Magazine Association.
I would…I find working full time and working several freelance jobs all-consuming, to the point that even a day off doesn’t keep my mind from stressing over each and every deadline and the never-ending to-do list. What a welcome respite a simple life would be…
The question for me is not so much “Would you take it” as “Are you really sure you would want it, and if so, why aren’t you doing something to simplify your life now?” My guess is that money would be a factor, as well as a fear of “falling behind” (technology-wise). Also, and I’m sure the author knows this, the simple life has its own drawbacks and we all have to be leery of over-romanticizing it. That said…well, I don’t know…it might well depend on what day you ask me!
Such a lovely article! I think so much of simplicity has to do with identifying our values and priorities and then designing a life that fits authentically around those– whether in a city or on a farm.
It is a subject I often think about and I agree with the author’s premise that when you unplug from the pressures of a technologically driven world, the daily routine becomes more defined . I did want to add that the Amish are not a “utopian” group who shun the world. They are a Christian sect who began to meet during the 16th century as Anabaptists, or re-baptizers who believed that only adults should receive baptism. This made them a persecuted group in their homeland and eventually led them to America. They interact in their community and do as much business with the “world” as did the Shakers. The Shakers certainly contributed much to our history , but their insistence on celibacy eventually drained their membership and today , there are a few active members at the Sabbathday Lake Community in Maine. Perhaps it was the lack of familial responsibility and the usual accompanying stress that allowed the Shakers to exemplify, for a time anyway, a productive and peaceful simplicity.
I think farming has to be one of the hardest jobs out there, I do not see it as a simpler way of life, if it really was that easy why are fewer and fewer folks deciding to take it up? As for the Shakers, you could ask those still living at Sabbathday Lake in Maine what has sustained them and what keeps them going. I bet the answer would be their faith and the belief system that guides them through each day. As for the song Simple Gifts, the correct lyrics are ” Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free. Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.”
I was raised on a farm; a real, diversified, small, family farm that has almost completely disappeared from America, except for the Amish and Mennonite communities. There can be a lot of rough and unkind natures in that simple life without social standards that foster that sense of simplicity and peace. Farming requires a certain hardness of spirit that can translate to human relationships. The work can be exhausting, and one cannot call in sick when there are cows to be milked and hay to be brought in. Without a strong faith and those close community ties to support each other, farmers can be some of the most worried, frustrated, and unhappy people in the world.
I work on an organic vegetable farm in NJ, which surprises most people and I am a undergrad student. When i’m on the farm I can feel my biological heritage, my body is supposed to be moving for 10 hours a day, I am supposed to be in the sun, I am supposed to be breathing fresh air all day. It’s so obvious when i’m out there that this is what my body was made for. And my farm crew is the most real people I’ve ever met. They care and they listen, they’re tough, they don’t complain about meaningless bullshit. We all work as one unit and we get great things accomplished. And then I return back to school where things can get chaotic, emails must be checked, deadlines are everyday, but I learn a ridiculous amount of information I just would not learn otherwise. So I think its a balance. And my ideal is to move closer to the country, have a few acres of land, farm one, have a small house, live simple, be near a river, have a job that makes me happy, sing and dance and always keep in mind what is important.
I’m trying to find any records of what happened to Hartwell Farm in Concord or Sudbury – years ago our family went there to eat quite often. Can you help?
Janet Miller McKee
I would…I find working full time and working several freelance jobs all-consuming, to the point that even a day off doesn’t keep my mind from stressing over each and every deadline and the never-ending to-do list. What a welcome respite a simple life would be…
The question for me is not so much “Would you take it” as “Are you really sure you would want it, and if so, why aren’t you doing something to simplify your life now?” My guess is that money would be a factor, as well as a fear of “falling behind” (technology-wise). Also, and I’m sure the author knows this, the simple life has its own drawbacks and we all have to be leery of over-romanticizing it. That said…well, I don’t know…it might well depend on what day you ask me!
Such a lovely article! I think so much of simplicity has to do with identifying our values and priorities and then designing a life that fits authentically around those– whether in a city or on a farm.
It is a subject I often think about and I agree with the author’s premise that when you unplug from the pressures of a technologically driven world, the daily routine becomes more defined . I did want to add that the Amish are not a “utopian” group who shun the world. They are a Christian sect who began to meet during the 16th century as Anabaptists, or re-baptizers who believed that only adults should receive baptism. This made them a persecuted group in their homeland and eventually led them to America. They interact in their community and do as much business with the “world” as did the Shakers. The Shakers certainly contributed much to our history , but their insistence on celibacy eventually drained their membership and today , there are a few active members at the Sabbathday Lake Community in Maine. Perhaps it was the lack of familial responsibility and the usual accompanying stress that allowed the Shakers to exemplify, for a time anyway, a productive and peaceful simplicity.
I loved this story and pray someday I’ll be able to try living this way.
I think farming has to be one of the hardest jobs out there, I do not see it as a simpler way of life, if it really was that easy why are fewer and fewer folks deciding to take it up? As for the Shakers, you could ask those still living at Sabbathday Lake in Maine what has sustained them and what keeps them going. I bet the answer would be their faith and the belief system that guides them through each day. As for the song Simple Gifts, the correct lyrics are ” Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free. Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.”
I was raised on a farm; a real, diversified, small, family farm that has almost completely disappeared from America, except for the Amish and Mennonite communities. There can be a lot of rough and unkind natures in that simple life without social standards that foster that sense of simplicity and peace. Farming requires a certain hardness of spirit that can translate to human relationships. The work can be exhausting, and one cannot call in sick when there are cows to be milked and hay to be brought in. Without a strong faith and those close community ties to support each other, farmers can be some of the most worried, frustrated, and unhappy people in the world.
I work on an organic vegetable farm in NJ, which surprises most people and I am a undergrad student. When i’m on the farm I can feel my biological heritage, my body is supposed to be moving for 10 hours a day, I am supposed to be in the sun, I am supposed to be breathing fresh air all day. It’s so obvious when i’m out there that this is what my body was made for. And my farm crew is the most real people I’ve ever met. They care and they listen, they’re tough, they don’t complain about meaningless bullshit. We all work as one unit and we get great things accomplished. And then I return back to school where things can get chaotic, emails must be checked, deadlines are everyday, but I learn a ridiculous amount of information I just would not learn otherwise. So I think its a balance. And my ideal is to move closer to the country, have a few acres of land, farm one, have a small house, live simple, be near a river, have a job that makes me happy, sing and dance and always keep in mind what is important.
I’m trying to find any records of what happened to Hartwell Farm in Concord or Sudbury – years ago our family went there to eat quite often. Can you help?
Janet Miller McKee
Hi Janet,
Unfortunately, we don’t have any information on what became of the Hartwell Farm online. Good luck with your search!