The simple life can be sometimes quite strenuous
„German“ was actually never my favorite subject in school - and was even replaced by „Literature“ in higher grades. It was only through my later work as a technical editor that I began to enjoy writing. Our literature teacher‘s name was Hufnagel (which translates to „Horse Nail“), and he was a tough guy about it. He had prepared a reading list with works from different German literary eras, and we had to read a work from each era and then write a synopsis of the work - as proof that we had read it. He knew all the tricks on how to avoid reading the books and still write a meaningful synopsis (there are, for example, novel guides to German literature that do exactly that) - that's why tricks were never tried on him. The book, I chose from the Baroque era, was “The Adventurous Simplicissimus” - which I even read in old German script. So my literature teacher at the time was somehow the initiator of the topic of my blog - and perhaps also the fact that the author of the novel came from the town near where I now live. It is a look back at the adventurous life of the main character - and the conclusions he ultimately drew from the trials and tribulations of his life.
Hufnagel himself liked to tell stories from his wealth of experience. For example, he once lived in a commune on Elba for a while. He looked at life as a dropout quite soberly: “We were only able to lead this free and simple life because many others kept the wheels turning. And the simple life can sometimes be quite strenuous.” The “Mafwe” in Namibia, who we met on our trip to Africa this year, lead a deliberately simple and isolated, but entirely happy life. However, they have to buy the iron that they need to make their simple tools from the “outside world” - and for that they need money. Being a “living museum” is the necessary compromise for this life. And even this simple life doesn't work without “hard work” - and producing the things they need for a daily living (e.g. their clothes) requires a lot of work.
Our highly developed societies are organized with an extreme division of labor - but that is also what makes us so successful as a species, because everyone concentrates on what they like or are good at. We are intertwined and everyone has their function and importance in the clockwork - no matter how small the cogwheel may be. But this also makes us extremely vulnerable. If this mechanism is massively disrupted (such as during the Corona epidemic), then we notice it. And above all: Are we as individuals still able to survive? Today we learn many things that are necessary for living in this clockwork, but we have forgotten the basic things for surviving in nature using primitive means alone.
Furthermore: Technical development in our societies is advancing at breakneck speed and is often too fast for some people. The work we do today is often monotonous and meaningless. This gives rise to a longing for a “simple and decelerated life”. And that brings me back to Hufnagel’s statement: If too many people flee into this “simple life”, then at some point the clockwork might even break down. The “Mafwe” would certainly miss the iron of the “outside world” because it would also make their lives more complicated. But what do many of us do who have never learned how to survive alone in nature? Are we even able to feed the masses of people with simple means? At some point we decided to follow a certain path - and are perhaps doomed to continue on it against better knowledge. Maybe this is our karma?
It has been almost 34 years ago since I asked myself many questions about my future after a trip to Brevik, Sweden. I got a taste of this free and simple life for a while. It was like a dream. I went back to my old life - armed with insight. I think that I have made the best of it for myself - without having the claim that my path is the only “golden path”. Every person is too different.
-Simplicius Simplicissimus
