Could I Live the Simple Life?

In response to the story I posted yesterday, a sharp and inquisitive friend of mine responded by asking me whether or not I could be content living the life of a simple fisherman? My response became prolific before long and now I share it with you:

"Do I think I could be content with the simple life of a fisherman? I think not, but I think this may be because I have already been corrupted, in a way. I don't use that word, corrupted, to necessarily mean anything evil. What I mean is that human kind, when raised closely with the land, will develop a deep and profound sense that you are a part of the land. In my project this summer I have interviewed a great number of people who are living this life. I am interviewing anybody who is involved in agriculture here on Mo'orea; from the government subsidized large scale "modern" farmer, all the way down to small groups and individuals who live in the valleys, without income, subsisting off the land and the sea. It is in these subsistence farmers that I see and feel this closeness with their environment. For them, the modern world holds no sway over their imaginations. Remember in "Ishi" when the anthropologists bring him to San Francisco? Ishi is unamazed, stating that the earth has built larger mountains than the buildings he sees before him. For myself, I feel I am somewhere in between. Alone in nature, I feel all that hippy peaceful stuff, but there is more. I feel alert and alive. I feel like a hunter; my body electrified and my senses keen. In these moments I know that I am tapping into that connection with the land that the farmers of the valley feel every moment of everyday. Alas, the feeling is fleeting, and it is difficult to conjure when I am 3 floors below the earth in the middle of the night, studying for midterms, in a room lit by florescent lighting. In these moments I am a perfectly modern man and I know that my connection with the land has indeed been corrupted. So to answer your question from a slightly different angle: I think that, only those people who's connection to the land has not been corrupted can thrive and be contented with such a simple life. Others, like myself, will come back to, and be drawn by, our memories of the modern world. We are as comfortable in that world as the farmers are in their valleys. We understand the value and the beauty of intensive human production (for all it's faults) whether it be in a bustling market, mind bending works of art, or advanced communication technologies. Unfortunantly for us the subsistence farmers win big time on the sustainability front, but this does not change who we are or will ultimately make us happy. Word?"

So what do you think? Could you be content? Why, why not? Leave responses of epic proportions below :)

Peace,
C

While checking out the website of a popular Polynesian news magazine , Tahiti Pacifique, I came across this wonderful little story that I thought should be shared with you all.

"Business in Paradise"

In a small village, on a small atoll in French Polynesia, a vacationing businessman walks on the beach along the lagoon. A fisherman in an outrigger canoe returns from the ocean through the pass and pulls the canoe on the beach. Several big tunas are lying inside the boat. The foreigner admires the size and the freshness of the fish and compliments the Polynesian fisherman, asking him how long it took to catch them.
-" Not very long ", answers the fisherman.
-" But then, why didn't you stay out there to catch more ?" the tourist asks.

The Polynesian replies that these few fishes will be sufficient to feed his family.
The visitor then asks:
- " But what then do you do the rest of the day? "
- " I sleep late, I fish a little, I play with my children, I take a nap with my wife. In the evening I go to the village to see my friends. We drink a little beer and play the guitar. I have a simple but well filled life. "

The "Popa'a" (foreigner) interrupts him :
- " Listen! I hold a Harvard MBA, I even studied a year at Yale. I am an educated man. I can help you. You should begin with fishing much longer and sell the fish you don't need. With these profits, you can then buy a bigger boat. With the money which this boat will earn for you, you'll be able to buy a second boat, and so on, until you possess a whole fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to wholesalers, you could directly negotiate with the cannery, better still, build your own factory. You could then leave your small village and move to Papeete, then maybe on to Paris, where you would run your business from. "

The Polynesian thinks things over, then asks:
- " How long would it take to do all this?
- " 15 - 20 years " answers the businessman.
- " And after that, what do I do? "
- " After that ? But this is where things really get interesting ", announces the expert, beaming: "you will then be able to sell shares of your business on the stock exchange and this is how will earn you millions, hundreds of millions! "
- " Yes ? Hundreds of millions !!!? But then, what do I do with these millions? "
- " Then, let's see. You will be able to retire, to go and live quietly in a small village on some small island, on the shore of a nice lagoon. You can then sleep late, play with your grandchildren, go fishing a little, take a nap with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and playing the guitar with the few friends you'll still have.
You'll be able to do what the whole world dreams about! "

-Alex W. du PREL