Monday 3 September 2012

Country vs. City

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ― Mae West

When contemplating life and what it means to live, one can only hope that they can live their life out in the best possible way that they can. In doing this, they would consider their life a success. So this brings me to the theme of this blog; living a simple life. I still often wonder how to do this, and this blog is going to document my quest, and yours too I hope, in finding out the way to live a simple life and to live out our lives as best as we possibly can. Let me start by saying that living simply is not a strange concept to me. I live in the suburbs, go to school, run every morning and just do the regular, normal, day to day things that most people do. However, what inspired me to start this blog was to take a trip to Prince Edward Island in Canada over the summer. Being a regular city girl, going to that island completely blew my mind...in a good way. This is what I saw when I was driving through the island


Horses Grazing in the fields...


A lighthouse in the Northumberland area...
And pretty much all the houses looked like this...
This got me thinking about how the people's day-to-day life was. Did they watch the same t.v shows we did? Worry about the same things? Have the same problems? And this also got me to thinking that our lifestyles have got to be both different and the same also. For one thing, coming from the city, I doubt that they'd have to worry about rush hour traffic, or shootings and other crime, or pollution. However, they do need to worry about the weather, if the roads would be ploughed after a major snowfall or if they're crop is going to be a good one this year.

Coming from the city, i noticed a huge change in the people that were there. They just seemed so much more politer, so much more accepting of others, and just plain nice. Something about them made me feel that they really didn't care who you were, where you came from, what kind of clothes you had, and how you looked; they were just ready to be your friend and talk to you. There also was a very generous quality about them. A guy we met on the beach was clam digging and we helped him out. After, he offered us some, but we politely refused. We went to a restaurant that had just closed, but they still made us our lobster supper to-go. These tiny acts of kindness puts miles of differences between the people in the big city and those in P.E.I.

In the city, people are just generally less friendly from my experience. They are more reserved and concerned about themselves, rather than the community as a whole. On the island, people really have to come together as a community, rather than dwelling as an individual entity. Being codependent is the only way they can be truly successful.Here in the city, it is more individualized. People don't take the time to come out and be with the community. They are more reluctant to talk to a stranger or welcome someone into their city. And this is completely understandable.

The city is larger and there are a lot more people. Secondly, crime hasn't exactly been low in the city. With all the shootings, homicides and theft lately, its perfectly justified that people are reluctant to talk to people around their community. In the city, certain precautions need to be taken.

This brings me to question how we forgot to be a good member of the community. I would love to be a part of a neighbourhood where we had block parties, and soccer games at the park with all the neighbourhood kids or had community fundraising events. I really wish we could all get together as a community and bring these things back. Our childhoods are completely different from the childhoods of our parents. My dad's memories are filled with daily romps through his neighbourhood with all his friends and brothers, and mine are filled with being in the house most of the time, going to school and coming home. I have made it my goal to improve the situation for my sisters. Living in Canada, this is hard, as the winter months force everybody into isolation. Yet, as soon as the weather is better I make sure I take them outside for bike rides, daily walks and to the park. This might be hard to do every time at first, but soon, it becomes a normal everyday way of life. You begin to crave the outdoors and that evening walk with your family. Not only does it unite everybody in the family, but you also connect with your neighbours.

As careful as we need to be, we can't forget the fact that we share the city with many different people and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get out there and make some acquaintances with your neighbours! A simple 'hey.how are you', will suffice quiet nicely!

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