I was nine-years-old when mid-70s BBC hit comedy 'The Good Life" first hit the British TV screen with its brilliant depiction of the early urban farm movement.
On his 40th birthday, lead character Tom Good decided that he'd had his fill of the rat race and that he and wife Barbara would become self-sufficient in the city.
The pair converted their garden into a farm, brought in the pigs and chickens, grew their own crops and on one particularly entertaining occasion, attempted to dye their own wool with nettles (sound familiar, Mouse in the Pantry?!).
Tom and Barbara would have been considered off their trolleys (as we liked to say in England), a classic pair of eccentrics were it not for their amiable friendship with middle class on-screen neighbors, henpecked Jerry Leadbetter and his social climber of a wife Margot.
Though preoccupation with money and possessions of the past half century have come crashing down in vast regions of the Western world, there is still a tendency to snicker at the concept of adopting a new "Good Life" - one that takes personal contentment, family time, spirituality and the general health of the planet (and those who live on it) into primary focus as we figure out the best way forward from a world-wide economic crisis.
Aren't we all a little guilty of putting on the blinkers when it comes to ignoring increasingly widespread prescriptions for more thoughtful consumerism and living well and responsibly, on less?
After chatting over coffee recently about finding the beauty in ordinary aspects of life, friend of the family, John J loaned me his hardback copy of The New Good Life - Living Better than Ever in an Age of Less' by author of the bestselling classic, Diet for a New America, John Robbins.
I must admit, I'd started the book before my summer travels, shelving it for a few weeks in favor of a novel or two. But once back in the domestic realm, Robbins (social activist, and humanitarian, recipient of the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award, and Green America's Lifetime Achievement Award) illuminating voice called for more immediate attention.
Robbins' life journey is intriguing and ultimately captivating in itself. A crusader for planet-friendly food and lifestyle choices, he walked away from his inheritance as heir to the vast Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire, made his own way in the world only to lose it to the infamous Madoff investment scam.
By reassessing his own life and values, Robbins is a powerful living proof that where the old view of success was measured by cash, stocks and luxury lifestyles, the new view emerging today is guided by financial restraint and a new awareness of what truly matters.
Robbins, who has rebounded with incredible finesse, covers the gamut of mental health and fitness, diet, economic planning, lowering living and transportation costs and how to find high joy, low cost solutions in a time of fear and uncertainty.
Practical chapters range from raising strong, happy and creative children who fully comprehend the value of money, to communication and even safe, clean and natural household products. Some of his Vegetarian recipes were a little over-the-top for my taste, but Robbins' take on reducing our meat intake (keep thinking local, sustainable, fresh) did spark a reminder to get back on track with my family's commitment to Meat-free Mondays and Fridays.
Looking for a life with less worry, more love, less of a struggle and more joy, less delusion and more wisdom? Robbins' The New Good Life is a great pointer in the right direction and appeals to readers of all sorts of backgrounds and religious or non-religious beliefs. It's not a cult-type order of 'you must do this', or 'you must do that' - more a gentle reminder that we've rampaged sufficiently through recent history to stand back and take a look at the bigger picture.
Before you are tempted to rototill your entire backyard, however, I'll leave you with a little bit of the original TV Good Life. Make time for a laugh!
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