A Book of Simple Living: Brief Notes from the Hills

by Ruskin Bond

I think I have learnt something of the value of stillness. I don’t fret so much; I laugh at myself more often; I don’t laugh at others. I live life at my own pace. Like a banyan tree. Is this wisdom, or is it just old age?

I need some water, says the red geranium. Summer is just around the corner. So, I water all the geraniums. And the nasturtiums. And the pea which is flaunting a little white flower at me. The steps leading up from the road to our flat need repairing. But there are daisies growing in the cracks, so I shall let them finish flowering before doing anything about the steps.

Money often costs too much. —Ralph Waldo Emerson If you owe nothing, you are rich. Money doesn’t make people happy. But neither does poverty. The secret, then, is to have as much as you need—or maybe a little more, and then share what you have. ‘I enjoy life,’ said Seneca, ‘because I am ready to leave it.’ If we can disencumber ourselves of nine-tenths of our worldly goods, it should not be difficult to leave the rest behind.

‘Friendship, of itself a holy tie,’ wrote Dryden. All my life has been the making of friends, and I have been luckier in this than most. I’ve been my own person, doing my own thing, and often stubborn. But, for the most part, I haven’t lacked companionship. The trick, I think, is to trust people and not be suspicious of strangers—the people who become our friends are all strangers before they do. The ancient Hebrew sage Hillel has been my guide: If I am not for myself, Who will be for me? And if I am not for others, What am I? And if not now, when?

But you do not have to turn your back on the world at large in order to find true solitude. A solitary spirit can move around with the crowd while still holding on to his innate reserve of solitude. Some people choose to sail around the world in small boats. Others remain in their own small patch, yet see the world in a grain of sand.

Homely sounds, though we don’t often think about them, are the ones we miss most when they are gone. A kettle on the boil. A door that creaks on its hinges. Old sofa springs. Familiar voices lighting up the dark. Ducks quacking in the rain. Sounds that make a house a home.

I have fallen in love many times. I still keep falling in love! As a youth, loneliness always went hand in hand with a powerful pull or attraction towards another person, be it boy or girl—and very often without that individual being aware of it. I think I expressed this feeling in a short poem, ‘Passing By’, which I wrote many years ego: Enough for me that you are beautiful: Beauty possessed diminishes. Better a dream of love Than love’s dream broken; Better a look exchanged Than love’s word spoken. Enough for me that you walk past, A firefly flashing in the dark. It was probably written as a result of unrequited love. For whenever I pursued a loved one, that person proved elusive. On the other hand, the most lasting relationships have been those that have grown slowly, without fret or frenzy. Declarations of passionate love or undying friendship are fine in their own way, and perhaps necessary; but the important thing is to feel comfortable with someone, and not have to keep proving yourself in one way or another. In moments of rare intimacy two people are of one mind and one body, speaking only in thoughts, brilliantly aware of each other. I have known such moments—and who knows, I may know them again!

If a hundred per cent is not possible, let us attempt the ninety-five per cent that is. In other words, we can’t be perfect, but it is good to aim for perfection. Which is never easy. It takes time, concentration, commitment, sacrifice. You have to give up things, certain pleasures, in order to give all your attention to the one thing that really matters—a cure for a disease, a scientific discovery, the near-perfect singing voice, mastery over a musical instrument, skill at a particular game, the completion of a literary masterpiece that people will actually read, the tilling of a field, the weaving of cloth. In the effort lies the achievement; but only if the effort is true and made with all your heart.

Be like water, taught Lao-Tzu, philosopher and founder of Taoism. Soft and limpid, it finds its way through, over or under any obstacle, sometimes travelling underground for great distances before emerging into the open. It does not quarrel; it simply moves on.