Me trying out the beds the Native Americans used to sleep on...ouch!
Today our family visited an ancient Native American village and archaeological site. Even though our 12-year-old foster son complained the whole time because he wanted to go home and sit in front of a tv or computer screen, my husband and I had a good time.
While we were there, it really hit home how lazy and spoiled some of us have become. The settlement was only 800 years old, but back then, they grew their own crops, hunted their own game, made their own clothing, built their own homes, raised their own children (no daycares) and even buried their own dead.
Life was hard back then, there is no doubt about that. About 50% of the children never lived to the age of six and most adults died by the age of 40 due to infectious diseases and untreated chronic health conditions. Most of their homes were bare one room huts where 8-10 people lived. Their beds were nothing more than sticks tied to the wall with a few deerskin blankets. I laid down on one of those beds today, and let me tell you, they are UNCOMFORTABLE!!!
Although I certainly wouldn’t really want to give up my comfy life to go live in a hut and grow my own corn, the trip today did get me thinking about how lazy, spoiled and anti-social Americans have become. How would our kids today who absolutely have to have a cell phone and the latest jeans deal if our society was suddenly thrown back into an agricultural, hand-to-mouth living situation?
Some cultures of the world still live like that ancient village, in some ways I wonder if they aren’t living lives that are more fulfilling. Which is more rewarding? Watching tv for hours a day or creating something worthwhile, something that will last?
These are the questions I ask too and I realize that our civilization has lifted many burdens. At age 14, we moved to the Philippines. An earthquake caused damage to the water tower so for a week, I washed clothes by hand. The experiences I’ve had overseas are thought of as I live my day to day life here in the USA. We have more time for education and an outside job but like you, I wonder about the social/emotional aspects of the way we live.