So many books!
Gosh, there must be something in this stack
that can capture my attention.
What a waste!!
I pitched a bunch of them ... titles that were worthy of buying many moons ago seemed boring and irrelevant now.
And then I picked out Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, by Suzanne Woods Fisher.
I can't remember when I got this book ... but it was a theme that caught my attention sometime in the past, and I wanted to sit down and read it right now ... so I did.
Amish Peace is filled with short chapters about the central themes of Amish life. Each chapter includes Amish proverbs and facts about the Amish community told through the words of real Plain People. Each theme shows how less can result in more ... more peace!
Simplicity of life style, respect for time, focus on family and community ... are a few of the themes concisely covered in this small book. Although "going Amish" is outside the realm of reality (in fact it is nearly impossible), their wisdom is definite something to be emulated.
In my own life, I have used a few tried and true methods to simplify and add more peace to my own life.
- Back down external commitments to create more down time.
- De-clutter my environment to make my world seem less "busy" and stressful.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg for the Amish culture. There is so much more to learn from these people who have managed to successfully live in a way that is simply contrary to "the American way of thinking."
As quoted by "Uncle Amos," an Amish man who wrote occasionally for the Small Farmer's Journal:
"If you admire our faith, strengthen yours. If you admire our sense of commitment, deepen yours. If you admire our community spirit, build your own. If you admire the simple life, cut back. If you admire deep character and enduring values, live them yourself."
Well said, Uncle Amos!
"If you admire our faith, strengthen yours. If you admire our sense of commitment, deepen yours. If you admire our community spirit, build your own. If you admire the simple life, cut back. If you admire deep character and enduring values, live them yourself."
Well said, Uncle Amos!
Blessed are they who have nothing to say, and can't be persuaded to say it.
He who has no money is poor; he who has nothing but money is poorer.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
A task takes as long as it takes.
Enjoy today. It won't come back.
10 comments:
Those are all excellent quotes...perhaps you could give us a few more glimpses into the book in another post.
I LOVE Uncle Amos' quote!
Excellent bits of wisdom you received from the book. I liked:
A task takes as long as it takes.
Enjoy today, it won't come back.
As 2013 began I felt the need to be "quiet.". Not sure why, or what I hoped . . . but the word kept entering my mind so I decided to adopt it. It has been a very helpful and wise decision. I think the "quiet" I was seeking led me to a PEACE that I needed.
Sounds like something I would love to read.
~Laura
Great idea. There are a few chapters that stand out in my mind.
Seems like a wise man.
My personality, habit, is to do more and more. And that usually ends with me "dropping out" and doing less and less. I need to spend more time understanding the mind set expressed in the book.
I think you would. It is interesting that our culture - that seems to present itself as something to achieve - seems to fall short more often than not.
Yes, well said Uncle Amos!!
Somewhere I have a book I bought because I thought it would be about Amish Quilts but what I ended up loving about the book was their joy in doing each activity or task instead of only enjoying crossing it off the list. Appreciating the "doing" instead of only looking at either "done" or "not done". It was a wonderful point of view I need to keep reminding myself about!
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