From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 4: Culture Shock: Lessons from Alternative Living

“America’s current love affair with technology is partly based on the notion that hard work is a bad thing. If you are the smart guy, you’ll think of a faster, easier way to do things than by manual labor. The cleaner one’s hands are from the grime of hard work, the more highly esteemed and highly paid.”– David and Elizabeh Vendley in “The Plain Reader”

The Least You have to Know

1. By studying other cultures and definitions of “simple living”, we can enrich our understanding.
2. Basing communities on simplicity has benefits and challenges.
3. Joining together with people who share your beliefs and principles can make sticking to your plan easier.
4. People with diverse beliefs can also join together and share resources if certain basic principles are also shared.

Some Lessons from the Amish

You don’t have to choose the Amish way of life to learn from them. Here are some great lessons:

1. Having a support group makes it easier to stick to choices that may not be followed by the majority.
2. Restricting or even eliminating mass media, especially television, can greatly enhance family life and personal growth.
3. Spirituality is often a good foundation for simple living, whatever the source of that spirituality might be.
4. Couples who share the same vision and treat each other with respect and love can have an abundant simple life together.

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