That Happiness We Have Chosen to Lose

by Jared Neibaur

As I have been working on my little farm lately, I have become aware of a battle inside of me. It is a battle between a modern lifestyle and a more simple down to earth lifestyle. Unlike the fairy tale battles of good and evil, this is a fight between two sides of myself that each has some good and evil.  Watching this battle has revealed an astonishing truth. I have been wrong about what actually brings true happiness to my life and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was deceived. 

It is no secret that we live in a world that is very connected. The internet, television, radio, and other media sources are always on and talking to us. If you are anything like me you spend a lot of time plugged into the media. Over my lifetime I have learned that it is a great get-away from the struggles of your day. It feels great to sit down and watch a movie, or a show, to forget about the stresses of the day. Listening to music helps time pass as you work through the day. When disaster hits and life gets really hard it is easy to turn to the bowl of ice cream and the movie marathon. I know because I have been there. In ways I'm still there. Media tells me that happiness is only a click away. They are not the only one.

There are other theories about happiness that knock on our doors and ring in our ears. I get a little buzz anytime I buy something new, or when I eat something tasty. You hear that it is an accomplishment to sleep in, or stay out all night. We all strive for that day off from work, and we picture ourselves sitting around all day and being happy. I have been taught by the modern world that convenience is king and hard work is a sign of poor judgement or stupidity and should be avoided. I want to remind you that I don't feel that any of these things are all evil, but I have found better and truer happiness elsewhere. 

Where I Have Found Happiness

As my family and I have taken on this modern homesteading project, and have worked to be more self-sufficient, we have noticed something surprising. The satisfaction of accomplishing hard things for ourselves has brought deeper, longer-lasting happiness than we have found in any of the things I mentioned before. It is an amazing sense of being that has to be experienced and cannot be accurately described. And it has been troubling to us. 

It was just last week that we were out working together and we started this conversation. I was telling my wife how wonderful it felt to be out of the house and clearing and preparing the land.  I was trimming trees and clearing brush and dead weeds from last year. It was hard work but it felt better to me than other things I had done lately. She then told me about how good she has felt about crocheting and how awesome it was that she was crocheting with a hook that we had just made out of wood. We then realized the other things we have been doing that have made us feel this "different kind of happy"; making bread from our own wild yeast, making our own yogurt, starting a large garden, and other similar things. We noticed that they all had something in common: We were feeling contented happiness from doing our own work with our own hands. 

Really, if you think about it, life is really about growing. You know something is alive because it grows. Those things that the world and media teaches me to do to be happy don't cause a lot of growth in me (besides that growth around the middle). These things that I am doing on my small farm are bringing large amounts of learning and growth. They each augment my life and improve the world. Why would I not want that kind of happiness over the other? And the funny thing is, I was choosing to watch a movie instead of working with my hands. Or to make money to spend on things to make me happy, instead of seeking a simple life with less money where I don't need stuff to make me happy. Now that I know the difference I will choose differently. 

Choose to Find Happiness

This kind of happiness that I have been finding has to be experienced to be understood. It is likely that you have felt it in your own life before. I invite you to ponder what I have found in my life and see if it is true in yours. If it is true I challenge you to live more simply, even if it means more work, so you can experience a higher level of happiness. I also challenge you to share this with someone else who might find it interesting. My hope is that, with a little awareness, the world can be a happier place.

As always, thanks for reading. Let me know about your experience in the comments below.