Most people who grew up in the country would like to leave and join high-fast society. And most people who grew up in the high-fast society would like to leave and live a simple life. But the interesting part is when most experience both worlds, they revert back to the simple life. When you have shelter, food, family and friends around you, the fresh air, the warm sun >>> what else is there to a happy life? As one great philosopher phrased it >>> "The ignorant pursuit of more."
Thank you for this message, Peter. For the past 5 years I have been dreaming of a simpler life. So I left the big city and moved to a small town in rural South Africa. Whilst I have not forsaken money completely, I have cut out materialism completely, I have cut out nightlife and clubs completely. I am living a humble, frugal life..and I am much happier for it!
Nice video. It confirms for me the road I'm on... pursue wealth, not riches. My papa said it well "Even if you win the rat race, you're still just a rat."
Read the books by this guy. I find him honest and grounding. I wish I could find his 'Around the world in 80 faiths' I enjoyed it on tv. I think it was destined to be a book, but it didn't happen. His extreme pilgrim vid was inspiring, and I don't get inspired often. Years in law enforcement has given me a jaded view of people and now I'm disabled, well don't get me started. It would be good to have a beer with this guy. M.A.R.
Yes he is a great bloke to have the beer with we had many together in the Rose Tavern in Wisbech many years ago . If I remember rightly he was a curate at the time
It's funny, while watching this video, my stress levels went down. I'm endeavoring to live this kind of life, this isn't just something Francis of Assisi said, Christ said it way before he did.
After four years watching this series pretty regularly it still manages to convey the same message and warmth that made me sit up and notice in the first place. Considering everything that's happened since COVID this kind of content,and this wonderful gentleman,are more relevant than ever. So,peace and quiet to all of you out there and especially to Pete himself. Keep doing your thing and congrats on the new book, beautiful stuff
Peter Owen Jones .. You gave me much to think about . After watching you video .Made me very much to . About when you said Less is More . Yet we always want more . Living in Harmony with people nature and with God . Knowing ego , pride and greed I feel are are 3 worst enemies You gave me much happiness and some laughs too . Now I clean some of the clutter out of my life . I love your videos .Thank you kindly for sharing them May God Bless and watch over you where ever you go hugs and smiles
"Less is more" is actually a Buddhist aphorism. He is exploring a well trodden path - this is far from original. His comments such as 'feudal' on current farming is far from the truth. This is NOT how most landowners treat tenant farmers (I know this as I am married into a farming family). He likes the sound of his own voice to much.
This is truly inspiring, thank you. I was especially interested in the importance you gave to the example of St Francis. I am not a Catholic but I have always felt that there is something very special about him.
St Francis has inspired many people of all faiths and none. Sometimes people seem to think he was some hippy character but he was very Catholic in his beliefs. He with his followers walked barefoot from Assisi to Rome to seek the Pope's blessing and approval for the early friars way of life but it's wonderful that so many have found him inspirational. Rev Peter himself isn't a Catholic. Bless you.
Rev. Jones, my compliments on your idealism along with the lovely community that you live in. Viewed from where I'm at in Los Angeles where roots tend to be shallow and the cultural diverse, your Sussex seems to be a very settled and almost story-book like place. I don't know how representative this is of the rest of England, but I think credit needs to be given to your neighbors and parishioners who made your adventure possible. Qualities such as civility, tolerance, compassion, trust are what make societies function and civilization possible and should not be taken for granted. I enjoyed your show and wish the best to you.
Hi there to you in the U.S. Your comments are well founded and insightful. It’s a strange truth that this idealistic England does exist but is increasingly hard to find. I live in a part of England not far from where the pilgrim fathers embarked from Plymouth Rock and this beautiful, pastoral existence is here one minute and gone the next. The values this wonderful man is trying to regrasp are always simmering below any conceived surface but we must constantly try to prevent them slipping. Glad that another soul out there sees the value in the message being conveyed here by this remarkable man. Blessings and love to you across the pond from here in old Blighty
At the beginning when he was shrimping and thinking that it was costing more to do that, in time and money, than it would to buy the same thing at the super market he was not factoring in the sheer enjoyment of getting the food that way, of the time spent out there on the seashore, and the deep satisfaction of that relationship with the land. I grew up in the 50s and 60s and blackberrying was something we did every year, and whinberrying too. Such satisfaction to collect ones food that way, not to mention that it is real food and tastes so much better than those poor genetically modified, chemically poisoned fruits and veges they palm off on us as food these days.
So happy to find this. It seemed to me that one of the most important messages here was that of being grateful. I think we tend to forget to be thankful. Seeing this came at a good time for me as I had just watched a version of Dickens - A Christmas Carol, and what really struck me was the vast chasm between the haves and the have nots, and that in all the years since Dickens wrote that tale, mankind hasn't learned a thing. I hope your sharing of this experience will cause some to have a change of heart. Bless you.
"says the man with a Porsche and the Lady with a Jag", says it all really, as they are watching Peter grafting like a dog for literally chicken feed! "Take what you can, give nothing back" is the attitude of so many these days.
peter owen jones,you made me laugh,cry,smile,happy and most of all made me think,what a lovely man,Im from sussex originally,thankyou so much,bless you xxx
thanks Peter....very entertaining way of asking us to consider our values...we live in the system that exists.....start with small changes i guess and see where it takes us
Fasting and humility is the greatest act of charity one can give back to the world. Nothing is wrong with money, the problem comes when we live for money instead of living for a purpose no matter the amount of money we receive.
I remember when this documentary was on the "box". Excellent series by POJ! I could have given him half his weight in Jerusalem artichokes last winter if he was begging for food.
If you strive for time instead of money, you'll be much more content. Time is pretty much priceless, too many people are forced to sell theirs way too cheaply, meaning they have less time, because they have to work so many hours to make ends meet.
I couldn't agree more. I strived for a lavish lifestyle for many years, being concerned what others thought of me. Now, I have time for my children, dog, cat, rabbits, ducks, doves, fish, home and garden. I'm the happiest I have ever been. We barely make ends meet. We dont have holidays, but it's free to go to the park or beach. We dont eat out, or hardly ever go out, but none of us mind.
Aloha, Love this series. I only have a comment about Self Sufficiency being seen as poverty. Because it's not glamorous and blingy, it's not valued as a lifestyle worth choosing, but a bottom lifestyle. And that is not the case. It's a choice to live consciously, which I understand is your point. But Poverty is not appropriate to use in the same discussion of self sufficiency. We are wealthier than the richest of the rich because we are connected to the essence of true life and understand our purpose. Mahalo for this great video series.
Breathing Aloha I’ve been there, done that. I found it way too hard and expensive to try to be self suficiente here in Canada... I found it much easier to go to work(which for me is fulfilling bc I love my job as a nurse) and just try to live more basically and simply... still not easy with society breathing down our necks ... I am sick and tired of all the expectations from what I am supposed to wear, drive, the house I live in....
@@lamoabird Ignore those expectations, don't let the false value system dominate your life. It helps to have nothing to do with mainstream media, lol, it being saturated with these false values.
This experiment only works because of who Peter is & it’s on the telly. I tried it & folks thought I was mad & plenty told me to sod off when it came to bartering
Not easy for a man to be simple! "...the perfect man and the child both have the underlying qualities of simplicity and sincerity - the child through the power of weakness and the man through the power of strength." - Baha'i Thought
Thank you Rockdog60. That's exactly what I needed. I'm really interested in his living a simple life, and I wanted to ask him some more questions. Thanks again.
and its sad that most people are everyday trying to fill a void with material things and never stop wanting more and more and consuming more beyond what they actually need most people need to observe a 3rd world country and see how they live with less and are happy.
To workwith people just for that experience and to produce something good and useful. To share time and beauty and appreciate your own talents and those of others. I'm not quite sure what Peter was out to prove as he had a home and a place in a community along with wife and family. All in a lovely spot close to nature with a mild climate. How many could be so blessed?
this is great - so my question is - this documentary will have been paid for; vicars earn money and they have houses provided...it's very easy to live simply when there is an easy get-out.
Peter as a vicar you will learn we all pass over to another dimension when our body die, we either qualify for perpetual life or eventually reincarnate and begin another life cycle as an unborn baby with a new set of emotions, which determine the part we play in the theatre of life; socially minded or otherwise.
Happy New Year Peter 🥳. Hope we all have a peaceful.. happy..and healthy new year 🕊❤️🕊🥳. May all your dreams and wishes come true in 2020 😋 😊🥰 Love and hugs 😊
This is a very Theravada Buddhist way of living. No touching money, no food after noon (to avoid gluttony), no killing of anything alive, no alcohol, no sexual conduct, etc, etc. The monks without full ordination are allowed to do more physical work like working land, but the fully ordained are not (in case by shoveling they kill some ants or worms). In the case of Buddhism the community provides physical goods, and the monks offer spiritual goods.
Its easier to live off the 'waste' of a high end community. What they throw out is normally good and fit for purpose. You don't have to feel deprived of quality material things!
Speaking as someone who grew up in a 3rd world country (the Philippines), I can say that people can, have been just as charitable. We did not have much, but there was always something to share. In some ways poor people are more generous (although I am speaking from my own experience). I grew up in the slums and I knew what it was like to not have the things I wanted. It's easy for us to empahtize with people in need because at least at one point i our lives, we needed other people's help.
Like Francis of Assisi, the vicar's has a privileged background that follows him wherever he goes. Education, charisma and social standing makes simple living a fun adventure.
If you think Francis of Assisi's life was "a fun adventure", you are woefully uninformed, I would humbly suggest. As to the Vicar, meh, he's making a point more than anything else. No one is suggesting that he's actually living out in the wilderness by himself from now on, now are they? It's more of a lesson and a think piece, if you're open to it.
your family is safe n secure after 3 mths you will be there are no worries you live in a beautiful community they will all help you please please do the same in a place where no one knows you i ain a more raw waym going to do this it is inspiring but
questions: isnt Jesus a better model to follow than st francis? Is being a vicar a job or a calling? isnt it better to give than to receive. isnt poverty part of a curse?
That could be verticillium wilt. Do not top water tomatoes. Water in the morning so plants can dry. I am a self-described organic tomato gardener, and it's sooooo simple (growing tomatoes.) :-))
Peter where do you put your head each night, where do you prepare your greens and protein. Other than exchanging money for a battering system this is not the simple life. Only the bushmen graft for food and build their homes from what is available. All those that I have met and spoken too no matter where they come from or how simple their life they are dependent on money. Nothing wrong with money just the love of it. A simpler way of life starts with assessing our needs and leaving the wants to necessity the mother of all (supplies) ;) Cheers for the interesting video.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees some problems with this man's ideas. Living hand-to-mouth is Not a "simple life." It's more "self-sufficiency" - a term which he does use. Some aspects of the experiment are admirable, like learning how to do all these old rural tasks, and living with less "stuff". But his focus is so entirely upon himself and his survival that he seems to be completely ignoring his calling, which is to take care of his parishioners. And I noticed that his family have left him, which seems a great shame. Is he so focused on his journeys/TV shows that he can't meet their needs? Even though he repeatedly said his pride took a beating, this man just seems so.....self-absorbed.
Nobody is perfect, and so much is wrong with our society . I find it heart warming to watch things like this and reflect on how so many of us are unsatisfied with this construct that’s been created largely by those that serve only themselves. We are all or have been significantly self absorbed at one or many points in life and perhaps will be again, but what are we doing about it ? Challenging ourselves and asking questions isn’t enough on its own. Since this film was made society had become even more consumerist and look at the state of Britain in 2022….. do we return to less and thereby more , or do we continue consumption spending and living this sick life making rich people even richer and the rest of us destitute slaves to the illusion of money.
One thing that always interests me about these kind of attempts is that the proposers are usually fairly young so health may not be too much of a worry, but is he giving up on the NHS?
Sadly whilst I agree with the ideology it's just not that simple! Ask yourself this simple question: How much did Peter Owen get paid for this documentary?
It would have been a tidy sum as he is classed as an experienced TV presenter now, added to which he has a (very nice thank you) full time job in media broadcasting during the week..... the Priest work is only part-time. Make no mistake dear Peter is quite comfortably off by anyone's standards so don't let the raggy hippy outfits fool you to thinking otherwise....He reminds me of Hugh Fearnly Whittingstal the TV celeb chef, who started on TV as a hippy in a battered Landrover living off the land, now has morphed into 'Mr. Corporate' with his own lovely Dorset Farm and restaurant, plus catering business, and regular media work....... these folks love projecting an 'in harmony with the earth, living simply' lifestyle, but, large TV cheques arriving regularly and lucrative media income from other sources always wins them over........
Simple living does not mean asceticism. It means to not be consumed by consumerism. End up being a material in an ever materialistic society. Simple living does not mean to do away with shampoos, conditioners, soaps and technology, and other modern living utilities, but to not be overconsumed by needing to overconsume. Simple living means to be conservative and productive. To not just throw things out without trying to see if you can fix them first. Living out in a farm is not simple living. With all that stated though, simple living can mean whatever you want it to mean.
the problem is that there exists a hierarchy based on wealth, if your poor your at the bottom of that hierarchy and those with wealth are at the top and dictate to those who are poor. Those who are on top will do everything in their power to protect their position as their greatest fear is to become poor and be dictated to by the wealthy.
It is awful to see how much food is wasted in our society when many go hungry. We must get to the point where we take only what we need. As they say 'If you don't want the berries dont shake the bush '
Lovely programme, but.....regarding Peter's comments about living 'simply' with reference to avoiding supermarkets as they are 'part of the problem', is, to be bluntly truthful, an arrogant nonsense. He is so lucky to know the 'right people' and be able to rent a gorgeous large walled-garden entirely at his disposal for what is in reality a tiny pittance, in order to play at 'self-sufficiency' and grow his own food, something the rest of us simply will never have the opportunity to do! I tried and tried very hard indeed to find somewhere to grow my own food, but failed miserably. Farmers and Landowners are loathe to rent out even small plots as they fear they will be abused or end up having caravans put on them. Allotments are hugely oversubscribed I have discovered with waiting lists years long in my area, added to which in many sites vacant lots are not being let to new tenants as the Local Councils are deliberately running them down to sell the valuable land for housing developments....Supermarkets Peter are a God send to the poor or struggling families in England who depend on low prices to feed themselves, plus they give valuable employment to so many. I have no issues with you doing this and indeed admire your trying, but please do not even for one moment imagine that the average person up and down the land can follow your example, the reality which exists outside your Sussex rural idyll renders 'self-sufficiency' for many many families a dream and no more.
the secret of a simpler life is buy less stuff, use up what you have, have less children and spend more time with friends and family. this old fashioned approach about growing your own, etc. doesn't make much difference in the grand scale of things, it just makes you feel better for a while. farming is serious hard graft, nothing simple about it...
Juno Doran God requires vicars and preachers to adhere to a strict standard of living that often takes them outside of the realm everybody else lives in so that they may be physically able to endure the spiritual onslaught they often experience. If one truly depends on God for sustenance then the lie that is society, wealth, and privilege becomes meaningless.
Anne M he is depending on God to provide for him so that he can focus on his calling to be a vicar. The man is struggling within himself which we all should do to walk the righteous path.
@@israelphoenix Er.....not quite....he works in radio broadcasting during the week along with giving paid for lectures and newspaper interviews, and, not forgetting his pay cheques from his travel programs which the BBC pay him well for...., his priestly duties are only at weekends and evenings, but, that gets him a free comfortable roomy house in the country, with only minor bills to pay for....quite why he runs a clapped out Vauxhall car when he could easily afford a decent reliable one on his salary is a question worthy of asking....
How could one get in touch with this very interesting gentleman? I'd love to be able to write him, maybe to make his life less lonely, and just to have some friends across the see that are interested in what he has to say and living a simple life just like him.
I think you could write to him care of the Firle Church. Firle is his village. I can appreciate your interest, I too would love to go there to just walk. I love walking, love that area, and there's no lovely place to walk here, and it wouldn't be safe for a woman anyway.
You need to be fairly well off to live "simply " it's an indulgent thing to do, and all the rage at the moment. What has disappointed me is that this man could have honoured Jesus. Spoken about his life and given God glory. But he's surrounded by church goers and there is no point living a simple life unless you live a Spiritual one. Only Jesus died to save you from paying for your own sins, and God raised him from the dead showing payment has been made in full. St Francis knew this, and knowing this changed his life. Living a simple life is a small achievement , unless it's lived for God L
He's still hauling around in a car. Good luck being poor and keeping up with gas and insurance and repairs. He needs a good cargo bicycle or tricycle, though I doubt that he could haul much chicken wire in one. I manage to get a week or two's groceries on one, but that's about its limit. As a vicar, of course people are willing to spot him a beer or some food. That wouldn't get the rest of us very far. What's needed is the means to support oneself sustainably, with one's own land. Grow your own grain, brew your own beer, and then spot your neighbors for a homebrew instead. :) St. Francis' poverty was inextricably linked to his evangelism and also an imitation of the suffering of Christ, to actually invite suffering. I can't imagine many people today signing up for that. If his goal is to be sustainable and to limit needless consumption, he'd be far better off to get a small farm and a bicycle. ;)
Yep. A multimillionaire recently made a video claiming to have gone "minimalist". But he did not give up his millions. That's closer to going camping than it is to being homeless or truly minimalist. If you can just play around with money so much that none of it matters, that's clearly not 'minimalism", even if for a short time just for a gimmick you live without it. And they even get something social/financial out of doing it in the first place, so even the "living minimal" is about ego and materialism at its root. The millionare guy made tens of thousands off that video of "i'm a minimalist now!" There is an epidemic of fake spirituality and fake "down to earth living". There's actually a whole group of people who fake living as hippie "van life" people on YT and Instagram. They actually have homes or stay in hotels, but pretend to be nomads. Several of them have been exposed by others as not even living that lifestyle part time, much less full time. Sad that this is what society and we as people have come to. So far removed from the human experience, that we want to take the suffering things and play with them as toys, because our life full of toys has proven to be unfulfilling....
