The story of a a woman, Hannah, living a solitary life in Yorkshire county away from all civilisation for sixty or so years made her a celebrity with TV programmes to depict her life style. This book was another tribute to the dedication of a woman to live close to nature denying all the comforts and conveniences that people were used to at that time!
What held my attention while reading through this book, although in a hurry, was the sense of thrill that one can feel about this adventure of living!
Life is conditioned by all the conveniences in modern times and we cannot live without them! It is common for us to have no electricity or internet connection at home unannounced, because we live in a remote village! When we have to put up with it for few hours or one or two days, Anna and I feel terribly inconvenienced.
But reading the story of Hannah was a great help to view life through the optic of joy of living even when daily chores seemed to look demanding and time consuming! There is an inner dimension to our life, which is nurtured by our attitude!
If our lives are crowded by material things and our source of happiness is drawn from acquiring and possessing 'things' then we are likely to be driven by having more of them. But instead if our source of joy of living springs from a sense of call, relationships, and mission in life, then 'things' do not matter so much.
During a conversation with a group of students this became even more clear. There are students who have created all the comforts that hey can have in their hostel rooms. But they are lonely and living has become burdensome, because of which some of them have become addicted to substance abuse.
But there are some other students who share their resources. Between three of them, they have one computer and they spend time together in doing things together. They even have combined study. times. They go for their shopping together and watch news in the TV room together and discuss their thoughts and impressions.
There is another way of living than being surrounded by material possessions! That was evident in Hannah's life- live with the contentment of inner joy springing from making life a mission! Life can become a celebration even when material comforts are not available! Hannah's life is a testimony to this!
M.C.Mathew (text and poto)
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