illustrated by Milo Winter
How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!
MATTHEW 7:14 DOUAY-RHEIMS
Mrs. Peasant and I strive to live what I call the "quiet life." From the outside looking in, we live boring lives centered around prayer and work. On the inside looking out, we desperately want to live at peace in a world of chaos, sin, and destruction. What is boring for others is tranquility for us. As I am fond of saying, life is 90% boredom punctuated by periods of intense crisis.
When I met Mrs. Peasant before she was Mrs. Peasant, I told her that I would give her a good life. It would be the life she always wanted. She would be happy but with one caveat. No one would envy her. No one would wish to trade places with her. She is temperamentally suited to this lifestyle. Everyone else is unsuited to this lifestyle.
The Peasants are Sunday driving in the slow lane as the rest of the world whizzes by in the fast lane. Mrs. Peasant has always been like this, but Mr. Peasant gave her the reasons and philosophical underpinning to embrace this life without apology. It has always been the dictum of saints, sages, and philosophers from different ages and places that one should live a peaceful and quiet life minding one's own business. The fact that our Lord Jesus Christ spent the first thirty years of his life living this lifestyle of obscurity is all you need to know about why you should choose it for yourself. When our Lady asked Him to change the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana, they gave up their lives of peace and tranquility. And they knew it. Nothing would be the same after that.
We enjoy our lives very much. We watch one movie per week and one old TV show at a time. Right now, that show is Perry Mason. Before that, it was Columbo and The Andy Griffith Show. Mrs. Peasant loves to curl up with her Christmas books that she peruses all year long. Mr. Peasant likes to walk or listen to the news on his Walkman in a dark room with his eyes closed. He reads books at the speed of one chapter per day. We do not go out to eat. We do not go to parties. We do not take lavish vacations to Las Vegas or go on cruises in the Caribbean. We are not drinkers but prefer strong coffee to beer, wine, and whiskey.
Socially, our lives revolve around our parish and attending Mass. We pray the Rosary each night for various intentions. We read the Bible and the writings of the saints and doctors of the Church. We like to watch classic episodes of the Mother Angelica show.
By this point, the Gentle Reader has checked out. This is all too boring. Mr. Peasant is making remarks on what amounts to an unremarkable lifestyle. The Gentle Reader would be correct. We cultivate boredom with our country living.
I have experienced enough crisis in my life to fully appreciate the boredom. I don't need to seek out excitement because I know it will find me even if I don't want it. Life has enough trouble of its own without adding to it. I wish you all a quiet and happy life. Thank you for reading.
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| Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, Love’s Young Dream, 1887 |
