Saturday, July 4, 2009

Living off the land

A friend of mine described to me what a special feeling it is to pluck fruits off your own trees. He says he'd like to retire on a farm and grow his own food. In the newspaper today, there is a country town in Victoria that offers a farm for $1 rental a week to anyone who would want to live there. The town has been facing a dwindling population and the move is meant to attract people to stay there. So it seems that my friend's dream is not difficult to realize after all. When you start to think about it, you will perhaps envy the islanders who live in places like Cook Island, Samoa, or Tonga. The people there probably live very simple and carefree lives, unspoiled by the trappings of a materialistic city life.

As I ponder on the above, I realize we are all born to do work. Life in the city requires us to do work for monetary gain. We exchange the money for food, household conveniences, utilities, and paid services. Life on a farm or on an island also requires ones to do work, albeit a different kind. You may have to catch or grow your own food, fix your own straw house, or row your own boat for transport. If you ride a horse, you have to feed the horse and groom it.

Do you want to live a carefree life in a farm? Or have a perpetual "holiday" on an island? Many people actually have the means to do so. Yet they don't make the move. This is because they want such a lifestyle AND the trappings of modern life WITHOUT having to do work. They want it all. That is why such a lifestyle remains but a dream for almost everyone.

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