I’m currently staying at my friend’s organic farm in Maui, Hawaii. Seeing how they live has inspired me to write about simplicity in life. It’s amazing to realize how little in life you actually need, not only to survive but to live an abundantly rich and rewarding life. My friends Zac and Jen live on 3 acres of land in a rural part of Maui. There is only solar electricity and their water is gathered from rain. They have goats for milk, chickens for eggs and plenty of fruit trees and veggies for eating. They have 2 children and stay at home with the kids and work on the farm every day. It’s a hard life by many accounts – most people cannot even imagine living the way they do. But the reward is that the children are very independent, healthy and the family unit is very strong. They eat nearly all organic food, they never get sick and they enjoy the simple things in life, like walking down to the beach in the afternoon or watching the sunset from their porch.

Most of us will never live a life so remote and basic. But we can still benefit from knowing that there are people out there doing it. How?

In your own daily life, you can start your own little veggie patch or even grow an herb garden in your kitchen. In no time you will be feeling the excitement of watching your crop grow and knowing that you did it all yourself! It’s not that hard. You can go to your local garden center and usually find starter plants already growing.

If you are really interested in actually living on a farm, you can become a wwoofer – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (www.wwoof.org), and spend a vacation working on a farm somewhere in the world for 2 weeks as part of a work exchange program. This a great opportunity to understand more about where your food actually comes from and to gain a deeper appreciation for the work involved in having an actual farm.

As much as you can, try to buy local and/or organic foods. It may seem like more money initially, but the long-term investment into your health is priceless. Remember, if you don’t spend your money on your food you will spend it on a doctor. You deserve the very best, so start eating better foods today.

We can all benefit from slowing down a little in life, even designating one night per week as ‘family night,’ where everyone stays at home and spends time interacting with each other. Playing cards or board games is a great way to spend time together.

You may not be waking up at sunrise to milk the goats ever, but you can start living a more natural life and even you can feel rewarded from the simple things in life.

This article written by Jennifer Thompson for woman.ca

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