It was always going to happen. There was always going to be a point where I started to miss our little house in the tiny country town. I mean, in hindsight, it was always going to happen. And now it's happening.
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| The sun dial moved house with us; I think it needs pride of place in our small backyard now. |
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about where we're at now. It's just so very different, is all. There is the buzz of town life here; people, cars, shops, people, people, people. The energy is in the air. It's more difficult to create the calm and the quiet that we're used to. In some ways, the buzz is good for us. But I need to be very mindful of it's existence.
Town life is busy. Cars and people zip here and zip there. The pace is faster. We are used to the pace of sheep in paddocks and farmers slowly driving their utes around, and ducking across to get milk at the general store that takes way longer than it needs to because you have to chat to the shopkeeper. I realise now how much I grew to like the country pace.
Last time I lived in this town I thought it was pretty quiet. Ha! Now I fully understand what a quiet life is. Simply that - quiet. Without the noise, the buzz, the blur of people and all the energy they carry. For now, I will strive to create the quiet in our house. By decluttering, by creating calm space, by being mindful of what we bring into here.
I think the first thing we need to do is put some prayer flags up around the house. Somehow, they always instill in me a sense of calm and peace. So that when we walk through the front door gate, we can leave the buzz of town busyness behind and step into our quiet life once again. I cannot even fathom what it would be like to live in a city again.
I saw a quote a few weeks ago that is coming to the front of my mind right now: the grass is always greener where you water it [not sure where it came from, somewhere on the internet]. I like this. I am not pining for what we had, but thinking about how to create what we need, where we are now. But I realise now how much I miss our little house on the dusty country road.
I understand that squeeze completely; Over the last 20 years we moved from the bush (see nobody for days) to a small country town (one or two visitors a day and maybe 10 people walking by) to the suburbs (four or five visitors a day and a stream of cars and pedestrians) and finally to the inner city (a constant barrage of humanity), then we reversed the process. I am happy with the solitude.
ReplyDeletePrayer flags are a great idea, I love them too. How about some guardian statues for the front gate? Maybe a lion, or a dog (chicken?) anything really, the important thing is that you know it is there to keep the negative aspects out.
So sorry you are feeling the effects of the small town. I moved from 180 acres of bush to a big town with waist high fences on the block, no peace, no privacy, no friends....very hard for the first year, but I joined the local quilt group and I soon had friends and an awesome new hobby, I still missed the peace and quiet and the horses but that was years ago.
ReplyDeleteA good idea for something nice on a verandah is a fish or water plant pot, big enough for a "pond" (see Rhonda's blog) if you fit a small fountain pump the "tinkling" sound of the water will help block out any outside noises and create a peaceful atmosphere, you could even have a small fountain inside.
I love that quote. I saw it somewhere recently - just yesterday I think - too, but I can't think where. But it is very true. The grass *is* greener when you show it some love and attention. Always worth remembering.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can find your way to some peace and quiet in your new space soon.
Oh, this is such a sweet post. It sounds like you learned a lot from your time in the country about what you want. I hope that you can bring some of your favorite things about the country to the city.
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