Amish Peace
October 4th, 2009. Filed under: This & That.
Amish Wisdom for Modern Life: Author shares the real-life stories of the Amish,
with insights to find lasting peace in our lives.
Take a look around you. Everyone is rushing around with endless to-do lists and back-to-back deadlines, barely able to catch a breath. Everyone, that is, except the Amish. Living on the outskirts of modernity, the Amish are icons for a simpler life and a slower pace. It’s this allure—something of a sanctuary, suspended in time—that draws millions of tourists to travel to Amish country every year.
“The Amish are the only people I have ever known who seem to have a handle on inner peace,” says Suzanne Woods Fisher. Fisher recently published Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, in which she explores the tranquility that marks their lives.
“It’s easy to get distracted by the buggies and beards and bonnets,” she says. “From the outside, the Amish can seem quaint and old-fashioned. But there’s much we can learn from them.” She would know because she’s spent most of her life alongside these people: Her relatives are members of the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church, which shares similar values to the Amish.
Interviewing dozens of Amish for her book to gain a deeper understanding of their steadfast peace, Fisher got a closer look into the daily struggles and triumphs of the Amish. She shares these touching, real-life stories in the pages of Amish Peace.
For example, she got to know some of the Amish families who lost children in the West Nickel Mines School shooting. Even in the face of that kind of tragedy, she saw how the Amish community found calm by trusting in God’s sovereignty. “We just have to keep going on,” remarked one Amish woman whose family members were among the victims. “People think we’re perfect, but we’re not. Yet we can’t dwell on what happened. We have to leave it in God’s hands.” That fundamental belief also enabled them to extend incredible, almost immediate forgiveness to the gunman and his family.
Through her conversations and interactions with the Amish, she looks at how their enduring peace is rooted in their appreciation for five key elements: simplicity, time, community, forgiveness and their faith. Whether it’s living with only necessities, spending time with family or learning that the world is larger than our feeble understanding, those attitudes provide the framework that allows them to find solace in spite of life’s unpredictable circumstances.
“We don’t have to ‘go Amish’ to find true peace,” Fisher says. “Instead, we can learn from the example they’ve set and incorporate some of their lessons into our own lives. That’s what Amish Peace is all about—being inspired by the best of the Amish way of life.”
Suzanne Woods Fisher
ISLAND BREEZES
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the Amish and other Plain People. It makes me yearn for the simple living and contentment which comes from that. I know that I could never “go Amish.” I would find it difficult to give up my computer. I’m certain that there are other things I would miss for awhile, but I could easily dump the television, phone and many other modern conveniences that can be so time consuming.
Suzanne Woods Fisher tells us how the Amish achieve the peace of living the simple life.
Interspersed in this book are Amish proverbs and information about Plain Living. One in particular that I like is “He who has no money is poor; he who has nothing but money is even poorer.” Another Amish proverb that has been following me around most of my life is “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” That was hanging on the wall of our breakfast room. Staring me in the face. It was still true last week. If I get in a hurry, I often spend more time trying to straighten out the mess I’ve created. I can actually get something done faster if I slow down and not make mistakes in the first place.
I’ve found that so many “labor saving” devices aren’t. Labor saving, that is. They take up space and sometimes take more time than if I just did things the plain and simple way. Also, they all have to be dusted, cleaned, etc. I’ve made my children inherit a lot of things early, but I didn’t give away nearly enough. I’m itching to get busy decluttering and giving away much more. Yes, some are keepsakes because of the memories. Well, I can take a picture of those if I want to look at my memories. At the same time, I create more space and less work. I also plan to incorporate more Amish proverbs in my life.
Do any of you have Amish proverbs in your life? Are you ready to replace stuff with peace? Grab a copy of this book for help and inspiration. Less truly is more.