by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: January 31, 2010   Last Updated: February 01, 2010

If you live somewhere where there is congestion and pressure it is hard to stay calm and peaceful.  If home is a tranquil place stress is less likely to tighten it’s bands around you or it can be managed more easily. 

The place which is perfect for each of us will vary because of our personality and needs.  If we need the buzz of the town we can be lost in the country and if we crave the space of the country, town is better in small doses.  

Other things impinge on how we are. The cultural attitudes of neighbors and how they interact plays a part in how we react to them.  In places where there is time to greet each other and spend a few moments talking before getting down to business, the pressure of daily living is reduced.  The job gets done but with less hassle.  For those of us who want everything completed yesterday this can be a hard lesson to learn.  In whatever activity, a small amount of time spent saying ‘hello’ means that everyone is acknowledged and seen.  Being human we need the respect of others to feel good. When you feel good you work better.  When you live in an area where the culture is polite, and not only on the surface, it comes as a shock to find that in other places the culture is sharp retorts and cursory acknowledgement.  The tension rises immediately with a feeling of pressure. Yet some people need this to feel alive.

The pace of life has an effect also.  Attitudes to time vary.  Town people rush.  Country people don’t.  For town people who have opted to live in the country is can be startling to watch the pace of how things are done. There seems to be an attitude which is in tune with the natural world which, only slowly if you watch carefully, is revealed.

There is a poem by Dorothy Law Holbe called ‘Children Learn’.  It starts with ‘If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn’.  There is a truth in this poem which is suitable for adults as well.  Where we are affects our responses and attitudes to life. What we need individually varies.  

Where we live has to to satisfy cultural needs, space requirements, time management, aspects of self worth, closeness of family and friends, and all the myriad of often unidentifiable things which go to make us who we are. Each of these elements has an impact of who we become.

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