Plain and Simple
I have been reading the book Plain and Simple: A Woman’s Journey to the Amish
It is about a woman, Sue Bender, who has spent her life in the frantic pursuit of success, but who is inexplicably drawn to the Amish.
One Summer, she decided to live with an Amish family, to observe and learn their ways.
Here are a few excerpts from the book:
She described the process of the women canning vegetables… No one rushed. Every step was done with care. The women moved through the day unhurried. There was no rushing to finish so they could get on to the “important things.” For them, it was all important.
Everything was a ritual. Doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, baking the bread, quilting, canning, hanging out the laundry, picking fresh produce, weeding. Friday: housecleaning; Saturday: mowing the lawn; Monday: washing.
I have been thinking a lot about my days and how to make them simpler, less busy and less harried. I also love the idea of routine…. which is definitely not my strength.
It’s high time I get more of a routine: Mondays: ironing; Tuesdays: dusting and mopping; Wednesdays: bathrooms… and so on.
I think it would help me feel less like there is always too much to do and too little time.
I love the idea of deliberation and of being unhurried… of making each task important and of doing my best at each task. I think one of the keys to happiness is to enjoy the everyday things you have to do. And there is no enjoying anything when you are rushed.
This book has given me a lot to think about.
Sometime I would love to share my mother Leslie’s experience with the Amish… it’s quite a story.
I enjoy reading books (fiction and non-fiction) about Amish life. I’m very drawn to that way of life. I know that i appreciate my dishwasher and other conveniences, but the simplicity of life must be so refreshing at times.
I love that book. It’s been a while since I’ve read it. Thanks for the reminder of that message to live more deliberately.
I would love to hear your mom’s story!
The unhurried routine of house work: sounds like an oxymoron but with the Amish, they prove it possible. A good friend of mine spends the summers in Ohio shoulder to shoulder with Amish country. She returns home each August with one special Amish treasure, sometimes a quilt, sometimes a candle. I would love to live in Amish country and learn their wisdom, their ways.
PS: Your mom’s story with the Amish sounds interesting…I’m all ears!
Very good wisdom for this day and age. Difficult to enforce but achievable with practice… thanks so much for sharing.
I grew up around the Amish in Pennsylvania. Often we would be impatient behind their buggies that were driven on the paved roads. They never seemed to get flustered by the traffic or feel the need to move over. They just rode on. I can see the wisdom in choosing an attitude like that in our life pathway. Everything they do is done well, too. The quilts are done well. Their food is done well. The best lunch I ever had was from an Amish/Mennonite market where we had freshly shelled peas, homemade soft pretzels and cheese they had made. It was like flavors from heaven – at their peak of perfection.