/lit/ - Literature

>>22825609
You might be interested in monasticism and intentional Christian communities. I have one such community of about 20 families near me. They run farms and a small market and eschew most technology. They aren't Amish though, and grew up with technology. They use some batteries and solar power at time; it's really more about keeping things simple.

Also near me is a Trappist Abbey. There they run a farm and sell food. Now that most of the monks are older, I am not sure if they still do all the manual labor for the farm, I only saw two novices last time I was there and a few guys under 50.

But they live in community and want for nothing because they aren't trying to horde up wealth. Farming leaves you plenty of time, medieval peasants, even with their poor technology and less developed crop lines still worked significantly fewer hours than people today at a 9:5, like 1,200-1,400 hours versus 2,080 as the standard without why overtime. So they also write and make art, or crafts.

They keep to the Liturgy of the Hours, so they meet to sing hymns, chant the Psalms, and pray the traditional seven times a day.

What you come to see in these communities is that setting aside desires that only make us miserable leads to greater happiness. No longer striving, we can focus on the truly important. The Amish around me live almost a decade longer, staying fit enough to take care of themselves far longer, despite getting little medical care. They also have significantly higher networths despite using little technology and having to raise far more children simply because they aren't constantly consuming, etc.

I do think they are too closed off from the world though. The monks tend to get more right, they invite all people in and let them stay with them, and there are other orders that are even a good deal more active in their communities, running schools, shelters, and hospitals, etc.