An interesting title to get your attention!

PJ and Miranda gave us some more films to watch. “For Richer or Poorer” was one of them. It is about a vacuous couple who run away to an Amish community to escape the IRS. They learn that the simplicity of life is good for their marriage etc. It’s a nice film to watch whilst crocheting a baby hat.

A message that struck me happened when Samuel told Jacob (Tim Allen) that the western world thinks that the Amish people are hiding from reality. But, he goes on to say, it is the Western world that is hiding from reality. This struck me as quite true. What we as Westerners are holding dear to us: money, career, houses, cars etc – (second to family, health etc, of course) are not actually real things at all. Money is not real; it’s paper that gets us things. Things do not matter, really. How greedy we are, compared to the simplicity of other cultures.

Having said all that, I’m not going to join an Amish community or anything, but over the years since my son was born, my values have changed significantly. What was once very important to me is now not as important, and my life is simpler and happier for it. My family, for example, cannot understand the change that has happened to me. A lot of people don’t understand why we’ve moved down here so we can eventually build a self-sufficient existence. It’s just something we want to do, for the benefit of our children’s future. We don’t think the western world is going to remain the way it is for ever.

Look out for me in my bonnet, as I tend to my kitchen herb garden. But don’t think we’re taking the easy option.