A life of simplicity in the slow lane; one which is less complicated, peaceful, and yet prosperous! Isn't that the life we all dream of — at least occasionally?
If we slow down long enough to take a look at the Amish lifestyle, it appears that they have accomplished that "Great American Dream" in many aspects.
When we hurriedly rush by in our car on the way to work, we only get a glimpse of their beautiful, picture-perfect homesteads with cows and horses lazily grazing in the pastures. Small children are finding enjoyment on a tall swing under the tree in the front yard or building sand castles in the sandbox. The beautiful gardens, half the size of a field, are promising a bumper crop at harvest time. Neighbors are helping neighbors put up hay. The women are busy cooking and baking the most delicious meals you've ever eaten! What an ideal life they must have, you may say!
Wait! Not so fast! Before you get too green with envy, let's take a look "behind the curtain!"
Yes, there is an invisible curtain which hides many realities of their admirable lifestyle and strong work ethic.
How do I know that to be true? Because I was born and raised behind that "curtain."
What you don't see when driving by are the long hours of manual labor involved to simply survive and keep up with life.
Those cows have to be milked twice a day by hand — no milkers.
The horses have to be brought in from the field, fed, and harnessed before they slowly pull a plow across the one field all day long for many consecutive days — no tractors.
Children learn to work at four and five years old. As they grow, so do their responsibilities. Pulling weeds is an endless job, and the older children usually deserve the credit for the clean and well groomed gardens — no chemical weed killers.
Putting up hay involves much manual labor in the hot sun working with horses and a wagon day after day — no self-tie balers.
And those delicious meals are usually cooked by laboring over a wood burning stove or an oil stove on hot summer days — no microwave, no crock pot, no electricity.
As I mentioned at the beginning...
Simple life? Yes.
Slow lane? Yes.
Less complicated? Not really.
Peaceful? Rarely. (With many rules comes much contention. See future post.)
Prosperous? Occasionally. Some survive much better than others, which is quite obvious from driving through their communities.
Your next question is probably, “Why?” Why make life so hard when there are much easier ways to accomplish the same tasks? I'm glad you asked.
See my post, More Than Just a Lifestyle, to find out their purpose and philosophy in doing what they do best!
Photo Credits:
All photos: Randy Fath
In my book, The Greater Inheritance, I share many more little-known facts like this!
The Greater Inheritance
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book, The Greater Inheritance