Yearning for simple

My grandmother (second from the left in this picture) grew up on a ranch in Nebraska. She and her twin (on the right) were the last born, babies nine and 10.

They grew up in the land of Black Elk. In fact, when I opened the cover of Black Elk Speaks and saw the map of his land, I called my grandmother right away– I recognized the names of several of the landmarks. I mean they grew up in Black Elk’s ‘hood. They’re the “white man”. Of course, they didn’t know that.

Their mother, my great-grandmother, was married at 15 to a man in his 30s. They homesteaded in Nebraska and began their life on the prairie in a sod house. He was an immigrant from Germany, she was an orphan from Wales.

They worked hard to build a life and family and ranch. They lost a lot– two sons drown, one son became a paraplegic after a farm accident. They did their best.

They weren’t worried about owning the latest gadget. Case in point, in this picture Cousin Beth (pictured between the twins) was showing off the 4-H outfit she made when the girls decided it would be fun to take a picture with outfits from super long to super short. (Cousin Lila is on the left, by the way.)

Sounds dorky, right? It is.

But, how many teenagers do you know of today who could amuse themselves by sewing clothes and posing for goofy pictures?

Life just isn’t simple anymore. We killed that time then poured gasoline on it and set it ablaze.

Black Elk, the famous Lakota (Sioux) medicine man, was right to fight for his land and mourn the loss of his people’s way of life. He was right to feel humiliated by the spectacle his life became. (He was a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.)

What have we done? Look at what we have done over the past 100-150 years. We are better off, yes; but are we really better off?

Look around yourself and think about it: What don’t you need?

Let’s learn to make do with less, let’s re-learn simplicity.