A few years ago, while living in New York City, I asked God if He could let me live a more peaceful life. A life with less worries and stressors that come while living in an urban city.
See, I love the urban scene. I love the culture of the inner-city. I love the diversity of the people. Let’s just say we have a love-hate relationship.
Ideally, I would love living in a beautiful and relaxing place where I can still contribute to the greater good. A place where I would feel appreciated. I would truly be content with a lower salary, if it meant I were happy and stress free.
Why should I wait until retirement for this kind of life?
I don’t understand why people wait their entire lives seeking this life, and wait until retirement for that to actually happen.
Why would I want to wait until I’m 65 years old to live this life?
Life should not be filled with stress, anxiety, depression, etc., because God says it in His word. God wants us to have joy in our everyday, not until we are 65 years old.
I am part of this new generation that doesn’t like to settle. Whether it’s for a job, city to live in or husband to marry.
I choose to believe my life will be filled with joy, every single day. I can’t say that that is the case right now but I’m a work in process.
Now let’s fast forward to today.
I am currently living in a small rural beach town next to the Indian Ocean in South Africa. It’s beautiful & relaxing here. They have two small restaurants, 3 small supermarkets, street vendors selling live chickens, enormous green mountains; all less than 5 minutes from our house.
Opposite of what I’m used to.
The transition from an urban city to simple living hasn’t been hard but it’s been interesting to experience on a day to day basis. I will say that the slow pace here is my kinda living! The punctuality though, now that’s a different story lol.
The things we take for granted in America are limited here. For instance, we have to boil hot water to take warm bucket showers. There are no faucets so we have to fill up buckets with water to wash dishes. We have to wash all of our clothes by hand. We walk everywhere because everything is close by. We have to go to restaurants and pay for wifi to access the Internet. Chickens and monkeys chill in your backyard like nothing.
With that said, I’ve learned that we have to be careful what we ask for because God will fulfill your desires.
I am not saying this life is not for me. Maybe it is.
It just puts things into perspective. Accessibility to basic resources is not so common around the world and it’s helping me appreciate what I do have in America.
So yes, I still want to live a peaceful and joyous life, that is still my heart’s desire. However, lacking basic resources was definitely not in my thoughts or plans.
Wouldn’t that be an added stressor in my life?
Could this be a stressor of the people in this town?
What makes me think that living in a small town doesn’t have stressors of its own?
Nonetheless, finding joy in my every day will take time.
It’ll be a journey, I know.
I can’t wait to get closer to finding it.
