CELEBRATING LIVING THE GOOD SIMPLE LIFE IN A SMALL TOWN IN THE COUNTRY
Why we live in this high mountain valley near a small town where we share a simple life focused on the truly important things
THE DAWNING LIGHT Volume 7, Issue Number 427
Saturday, August 6, 2023
Still Mountain Chronicles Section Number 28
Photos Credit: Pixabay
FOR US, LIVING IN THE COUNTRY IS THE BEST
I have long felt that the real nitty gritty best life is still available in our small towns where neighbors know each other, no one is looked down on and salt of the earth people treat each other with love and respect.
Folks here wave as they pass by and are genuinely interested in each other because we all know we are reaching for having the best life we can, even when times are tough and the rest of the world seems to be getting crazier by the day.
HOW I DISCOVERED THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY
I know when I was going through the crushing heartbreak of divorce years ago in which I lost everything and everyone I loved, including my children, that I would not have survived had I been living in a heartless and harried big city.
It was in going through that time of the greatest loss and suffering of my life that I discovered the power and meaning of being part of this community, of being loved and cared about and accepted wherever I went in this little town.
It wasn’t as if anyone came to my rescue or called me daily to see how I was doing or took the time to stand by my side as I was suffering such intense grief that was so hard to bear.
It was more like simply being known for who I am, of being recognized as a neighbor and the hearty welcomes I received wherever I went, of being known by face and name as one of those who lives here, as if I were family.
That kind of support probably saved my life, for I was not just a nameless, faceless stranger to this community…I was accepted and known as a long standing member of this place we all call home.
Photo CredIt: Pixabay
OUR LITTLE TOWN HAS ONLY GOTTEN BETTER
The beautiful thing is that our little town has only gotten better as folks here care about our shared place and strive to contribute—like the lady who owned a little natural foods store who chose to go into debt to build us a world class new store that is now a treasure for all of us…or the folks who launched a local radio station, community theatre, farmer’s market and so many other things that has made life richer for all of us.
EVERYONE NEEDS A SENSE OF BELONGING
I have read of studies seeking to understand why so many people are unhappy in life—so many that the Surgeon General refers to it as “an epidemic of loneliness”.
What these studies found in every case is that the happiest people who have the longest lives all have an invincible sense of belonging, of being a loved and vital part of the communities in which they live, a sense that they make a difference in the world because those around them love and value them.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
WHY I LIVED FOR YEARS IN THE CITY
I have lived in big cities for many years when I had a purpose that was important enough to stay there. Even with a higher purpose, the intensity and stress of living there was always rough on me and something I did my best to mitigate through frequent escapes to the country.
I remember being a young man who had grown up in the country and had never been to a big city. When I drove into Boston as the first big city I was going to live in, the tough intense energies of the place overwhelmed me.
I was so upset that I grew ill and was soon retching and feeling feverish. I eventually adapted, but living there was like taking an energetic and visual beating everyday.
HOW I MET KALU RINPOCHE
I chose to live in San Francisco for many years because that is where I could be with Kalu Rinpoche and be part of creating his Dharma Center there and participate of it’s rigorous daily meditation practice and dharma training.
It was also where I could meet and train with most of the older generation of meditation masters, such as the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche who had escaped from Tibet and came through to teach, as well as train with Zen masters, such as Baker Roshi, and other great teachers with Kalu Rinpoche’s encouragement.
I would have missed all these great opportunities if I had decided to stay on the ideal homestead deep in the country where we were living the good life when I got the inner call to leave and go down to the City, even though I did not know why at the time.
It was only because I did listen to the inner guidance to pack up everything and head south on a particular day and to a specific place that I got to meet and become Kalu Rinpoche’s disciple on the first evening when he was giving his first program ever in the San Francisco Bay Area.
But, that was over fifty years ago.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
WHERE I LIVE WE ARE NEIGHBORS
Nowadays, there is nothing that could entice me to live in even the most beautiful cities because I would be a stranger in a strange land…and because I am absolutely clear that here on Still Mountain, far from any city, is where I need and am meant to be to fulfill my own dharma practice and service to the world.
I love it here, and have remained here because it truly is one of the most beautiful and pleasing places I have ever been.
From 1987 to 2011, I went on my great guru Amma’s summer US Tour which spanned nearly every part of our amazing diverse and beautiful country, but I was always grateful to return to this high mountain valley. She did programs in many delightful places, which all had their enticing qualities, but Still Mountain is where I feel completely at home.
I once lived in Marin County for many years which is one of the wealthiest counties in the country, that is mostly bustling small towns surrounded by idyllic open country.
I ONCE LIVED IN ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST COUNTIES
Yes, it was nice, but the local culture was that of wealth and privilege, high fashion, big fancy houses and luxury cars. It was surrounded by mega cities, but so expensive that only the elite could afford to live there.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
I was there on a mission and with a purpose, and at the time, had an abundant cash flow.
I founded and ran a Dharma center, with Kalu Rinpoche’s approval and guidance , that was very “successful” until various circumstances led to my moving to the original Still Mountain Retreat, faraway and deep in the country.
I didn’t miss it when I left because my life there lacked that sense of belonging and I was still a country boy living a simple life, which meant I was looked down on and judged by the elite “upper crust.”
I grew tired of the always backed up freeways, and always full streets and parking lots and stores where I had to push through crowds to shop.
It was a stressful way of life…and I am grateful to be living the complete opposite now.
BACK IN THE COUNTRY WHERE I BELONG
It is wonderful to live life at a slower pace, in a place where folks are accepted and respected for being who they are, whether you have the latest BMW sedan and wear fancy clothes or you have just come down from the hills in your battered old dust covered pick up truck.
As the band “Country Joe and The Fish” sang long ago…
“It’s a shame and a pity/that you grew up in the city/and don’t know nothin’ about country ways.”
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Calligraphy by Chinmayan
Image Credit: Still Mountain Meditation Center
Thank you for being here with us today!
If you’d like to explore any of our other published “Dawning Light” poems and stories, you can access our wonderful homepage and library anytime at:
If you loved this transformational story or poetry, please click on the little heart so we and all our readers know you did…
If you know anyone who would love this work or be helped by it, please feel feel free to share this or any other issue…
We would love to hear your responses to our writings, so please leave us a comment and reach out to our Dawning Light Community…
We encourage you to download the Substack Reader below because it is a much better way to get your issues of “The Dawning Light”…It is easier to read, won’t get lost in a sea of emails, will archive all issues in a neat library, will put a notice up on your screen when each new issue is published…and to read any past or new issue, you just open the Reader…plus, the Reader has all kinds of cool features and makes exploring Substack for other great newsletters an adventure of discovery. Just click on the App Link at the very bottom of the page!
“Your greatest service to humanity is to attain your own Self Realization!” Ramana Maharshi
“When you change the way you think about things, and the things you think about change”
—Wayne Dwyer
“I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” —Ram Das