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Redefining The Good Life

In the early 70's, hippie cultural revolutionaries were becoming discouraged by the deaths of leaders like Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the defeat of anti-war candidate George Mc Govern by Nixon and the use of violence by groups like the radical left's Weather Underground. No longer believing that change could be brought to the greater society by working inside the system or through social political means, many began to feel it was time to separate from the mainstream in what became known as the "back to the land" movement.

Helen and Scott Nearing were early role models. Scott had been a college professor who was blackballed as a communist in the 1930's. Stripped of his teaching position, Helen and Scott moved to a farm in rural new hampshire, where they built their own home from the ground up and began to grow all of their food. Their book Living the Good Life inspired a new generation of idealists and became a model for a an existence outside the mainstream, independent of the corporate treadmill.

When I re-read this manifesto recently, I was struck by how many of their ideas and proposals I had maintained in my life, taking them to a new level through life in community. As we all seek to understand how we will survive and prosper in this new century, I find this updated blueprint for a sustainable life to be one that becomes ever more relevant to upcoming generations. Rather than attempting to turn back the clock, it is a marriage of old and new, simplicity working in conjunction with technology. Naturally, we must each define what works for us in our own life, and this may change as we make our way in this journey. What I present here is a package of ideas with a defined direction, one which may be applied as a toolset for re-defining the good life.

To Find Peace, Surround Yourself With Nature

As a youth, I came to believe that the purest form of God and Spirit in this existence was to be found in the natural world. Free of ego, identity or dogma, nature is a pure manifestation. When surrounded by nature, we can truly become immersed with peace in the here and now.

It may be you touch this through walks in a park or trips to preserves and federal lands, especially if your home is in a city. Take this one step further and make your home in a rural area. Life in the country is a key component of the sustainable life...more to come.