I Dream of a Life in the Country

I dream of a life in the country. A rural life*.

City people would say "boring", "nice for a get away but then it would be boring", "seriously, what would you do all the time?"

Take a look at the above statements. See the words "get away" and "do all the time". It seems to me that people are addicted to being in prison states of stress. The obsession that people have with taking vacations, going on "get always" or just "getting away from it all". Doing things ALL THE TIME. This is "normal"?

There is this huge fear of not having enough to DO. Like when you stop rushing and working and stressing, you are wasting your time. It scares me. It scares me that people think stressful city lives are normal. Please, I urge you, take one evolutionary biology course that touches on our species. Or maybe just employ your common sense. City life, the 9-5 daily grind, needing to be on time, in place, on your best behaviour, being better than your friends, better than your colleagues, not being good enough, stressing about getting this funding or that promotion, processed snacks, beeping, ringing, roaring, droning. This is NOT natural and it is NOT normal.

Monte Adone Wildlife Protection Center, Italy (Photo: Lucie Bardos)

Monte Adone, Italy (Photo: Lucie Bardos)

I suppose that if you have never known life in the country, you might very well think it is.

Think of your best childhood memories. Mine are at my grandparents' cabin in the mountains. When I ask people this, for them it's usually something like playing outside, building forts, climbing trees, etc. Why do children always cry when parents try to sit them down in a nice restaurant, imprison them in a high chair surrounded by loud munchers and the clinking of hundreds of pieces of cutlery with dull music in the background? I remember a Permaculture
workshop I did a few years back. The teacher had her 1-year-old strapped to her back or sitting beside her picking salal berries as we built berms and mulched vegetable beds in the semi-wild garden space around the main house. This was for hours at a time. I don't remember hearing this child cry.

La Hesperia Biological Station and Nature Reserve (Photo: Lucie Bardos)

Read some poems by the romantic poets or essays by the American transcendentalists. They had the right idea. They understood that humans are only at the peak of their happiness and intelligence and understanding of life when surrounded by a natural landscape. They knew that getting back to nature was getting back to ourselves.

"Getting away" from what is "normal"? That doesn't even make sense!

La Hesperia Biological Station and Nature Reserve
(Photo: Lucie Bardos)

Now lets talk about DOING. I have lived in the country. I have been to my grandparents' cabin, I have spent lots of time at ranches, animal rescue centres tucked in the mountains, cloud forest nature reserves. Every time the same thing happens. Time slows down. Everything you do makes sense according to your surroundings, has a purpose and a meaning to you. You feed animals who will live because of you, you tend to plants which will feed you in return, you walk in the woods that teach you about ecology and imagination, you hike and exercise your body, you build something and receive a structure to serve your needs for years to come. 

You work with others and build relationships that are not founded on unnatural amounts of competition and stress. You work hard and are tired but still have energy at the end of the day for talking, dancing, and music. Food tastes better. Your body feels better. Your mind is clearer and you take time to think by yourself, problem solve, meditate without feeling like you are wasting time. You have enough time. You may not realize that you are happy until you get back to "normal". Then you realise you were happy. Then some of us forget. And go back to what is normal.

La Hesperia Biological Station and Nature Reserve (Photo: Lucie Bardos)

Well I haven't forgotten. I need to live in closeness with nature. I am not against cities but too many of our cities are not build with human well being in mind AT ALL. Redesigning cities for human and other species' well being is essential and a whole other topic.

For now, I dream of a life in the country. I am working towards a life in the country. A rural life*.

*By "country" and "rural" I don't mean huge monoculture farms as those who know me may have already presumed. I mean a rural existence in accordance with the laws of nature, specifically based on Permaculture principles. Don't know what Permaculture is? Google it. It's awesome and it makes sense.