Having lived around the Amish, I've taken some inspiration from them in various aspects of life. I feel they have a lot to teach us in regards to living a content life. Being here now, I obviously don't subscribe to their philosophy wholesale, but I do sometimes ask myself what the Amish might do in certain situations.<p>Just one example: If I can accomplish a task with unpowered hand tools, I'll do so, even if it's less "efficient" than buying/renting an internal combustion engine or electric powered device that would do the same. I've built many things this way and have taken greater satisfaction from not just the end result, but the creation process. Other healthy side effects are increased independence from external industry, skills development, less cost to the environment, and sometimes free exercise.
I believe this should link to <a href="https://kk.org/thetechnium/neoamish-drop-o/" rel="nofollow">https://kk.org/thetechnium/neoamish-drop-o/</a><p>(2008)
The last paragraph sums it up real well:<p>I know about the traditional Amish; they don’t count because they have never been wired. I’m most interested in Neo-Amish drop outs. (There’s a Neo-Amish MeetUp group, which I think is self-disqualifying.)