I clearly remember as a child that life was very uncomplicated. My siblings and I played outside whenever we could, running, exploring, climbing trees, riding bikes, picking blackberries at the river, and meeting up with friends in a park. We walked to school and spent recess and lunch catching grasshoppers mid-jump on the oval, chasies around the school grounds, or delighting in the delicate art of hanging from our knees off the monkey bars. If it happened to be raining when at home we played inside, building forts with lounge cushions, building roads with wooden blocks, playing hide and seek, and if we’d really run out of things to do, we’d get out the board games or a book. Truth be told, though, unless it was a torrential downpour with rain heavy enough to give you mild concussion, there was a decent chance we were out there in it making mud pies and doing whatever it is kids do in the rain.
Was life perfect? Hardly. Inevitably we’d squabble, take sides, get in a huff, bother our parents with disputes, we’d scratch our knees, skin our toes, get blisters, splinters and ant bites, fall off fences, fall out of trees and crash our bikes. Repeatedly. Yet what we were learning was priceless. We were discovering our physical boundaries, developing strength and courage and communication skills, and how to live in a community made up of individuals ranging in physical and mental capabilities. Life was very uncomplicated. Simple – and I have no doubt many of us had this kind of childhood.
It’s no wonder then that after decades of moving away from simplicity, a mind-shift is happening among families and individuals who have made a conscious decision to uncomplicate their lives and simplify.
Here at Glengarry this is exactly the kind of lifestyle we are offering the students. Days are filled with learning, physical activity, skill development, environmental awareness development, social development, free play and eating and sleeping. Simple stuff. And the hidden gem in all of this is that they are learning to interact with one another on a level most teens don’t have the opportunity to do anymore. They are learning how to be a part of a small community, within the greater community of a beautiful town far from the busy lives they have at home.
Each Thursday this term, a group of boys, {different each week,} are beginning the process of rejuvenating the vegetable beds. They have become overgrown and neglected and it’s taking a great deal of simple, good old fashion ‘get down and grubby’ toil to bring them back up to productiveness. The overall outcome is to have a thriving vege-patch, herb gardens, flourishing composts and a healthy and productive chicken run. The boys are weeding gardens and tilling soil. They will rebuild broken garden beds, fix reticulation, dig in new reticulation, clear out and reorganise the greenhouse and build barriers around the beds so the chickens don’t scratch at the seedlings. They’ll plant, nurture and eventually harvest the produce and discover the pleasure of eating the fruit of their labours. It’s simple and uncomplicated work and they’re loving it. Funnily enough, picking up a chicken for the first time in their lives brings a wide smile to their faces.
As Albert Einstein once said, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
Another group of boys are interacting with the community through the simple activity of playing. Thursday afternoons a small delegation travels into KV to help run the Kids Club program at the Good Shepherd Anglican Church. From 3:30-4:30 the boys facilitate games, contribute to the bible study discussion and get involved with the craft sessions. This week they helped the children make kites. The hour is enjoyed by everyone and each week the Glengarry team come away with a sense of genuine pleasure that derives from engaging in the simple activity of being ‘big brothers’.
It’s the simple things, right? The small moments that calm our minds and drain stress from our thoughts. It’s in the ability to gently peel away the unnecessarily stressful and take time to enjoy ‘down time’: a quiet cuppa, a half hour to read, a bike ride, a kayak up the river, working peacefully in the garden, baking a favourite meal or treat…
Go on, give it a go. Be delighted by the simple things again. And be blessed.
