Simpler Life

As we grow older, we reflect on the past days as a ‘simpler life’.

So why do we wish for simpler times?

With all our technological advancements and cultural changes, could we go back to simpler times?

Do we want to go back to a time without electricity? Could we cook or eat food not refrigerated? Could we walk to the store? Could we make our own clothing? Could we grow our own food?

Can you turn off your television and your phone and your tablet for a day?

Then what do you do?

There was a time when rural people would come to the urban splendor and still complain there was nothing to do. No matter the number of hotels, restaurants, clubs and bars there was never enough to keep them entertained.

Traveling to a larger more prominent city like Chicago, Austin, Memphis or New York gave more options to hotels, restaurants, clubs and bars, but it was the venue but the persons you traveled with that make the adventure memorable.

As we grow older and less mobile, the simple things in life become more important. Rocking on a porch on a hot summer day watching the dappled patterns of the canopy as the left start to turn. Taking the time to listen to the songs in a yard given for free. Finding a feather, cherishing it as a treasure. Noting the generations of your furry and feathered neighbors and appreciating their games and antics while giving them space to romp and rummage as nature intended.

Unfortunately when we visit our elderly in the nursing home, instead of being distracted by the machinery and the hustle of caregivers, pay attention to what that person appreciates. 

Simpler times means not so worried about pleasing others but taking the space to enjoy your personal environment. Calendars and clocks mean nothing. The shoes you wore yesterday will still fit today. Deadlines, appointments, reservations and delays are a thing of the past.

Or we can spend the few moments we have on this planet taking selfies and checking our messages instead of living life.