A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity (2016) - Free Full Documentary

It's been 5 years since I've first watched this video and I'm now officially living off grid with my family to pursue a different path ❤

On my way to Hawaii to start a 100% off-grid permaculture fruit farm on my 3 acres. I'm 50 and disabled, but want a new life and a new way!

Who is watching this now during the corona virus pandemic??

The pandemic really pushed me into realizing I need a more self sufficient life. I've stepped out of the nursing field to go back to writing novels (Gina Holmes) and even started a youtube channel teaching self sufficiency. I'm so content!

As a 68year old seeing what you are doing is so inspiring and we are living simply too. We were bought up very poor and saw it as a great benefit and bought our girls up the same way. We have always seen that there is a terrible culture of spending and consuming that’s terribly toxic. Covid is a stepping back and assessment time for the world apart from the terrible reality of inequality in sharing our resources from, us, the wealthy countries…We have elephants dancing in the room that we are not addressing. You are wonderful, more power to you all…♥️

I woke up at around 3am and somehow ended up watching this, completely guided here, and I've been crying happy tears all the way through. It's hard to express so briefly but there is so much resonance and what I've been imagining for my own life for so long...this just reaffirms everything and inspires my intentions even more. Thank you to this collective, beautiful Soul family. 🙏🌱🌻

Mahatma Ghandhi- "God made the world for mankind to sustain his needs, not to sustain his greed".

"I want my life to be a gesture to a more sustainable and loving world"

I think it's an important realisation that we ought not focus too much on the packaging, rather than all strive toward this model, simply recognise we can achieve exactly the same outcome by building communities based upon these principals within the burbs, urban farming, sharing and let go of the concept of competition, individual over collective. We don't need to dismantle the existing in order to refocus, repurpose and recalibrate/adjust our perceptions. While this is an inspirational documentary and I admire their resolve, to all run off in a belief we must abandon what's already around us, we simply don't. We need to change our way of life within the existing infrastructure. Imagine how abundantly adequate our existing road network could be for decades if most vehicles were simply no longer used in the current way. Streetscapes can be repurposed as collective zones for multiple uses. WE need to adjust and an end to debt slavery is imo the key. We also would benefit from demanding less and in that sense this remains intact as a wonderful example. Thinking I must overhaul my life and walk away simply discards the invested energy within that investment, passing it all onto the next sucker is more Ponzi. At some point we either won't or can't continue to work to pay the man and will no longer want the myriad consumer crap that's killing the planet and all entities upon it. The endless investment driven race to the top limits our creativity, too afraid to be judged or diminish based upon perceptions of desirability/resale/values, etc. We very much can do this and it's coming, not nearly soon enough for many if not all.

Rastafarians community all over the Caribbean have embraced this lifestyle forever. Glad to see it's being caught on more and more in Western world.

I live in the middle of a small city in central Florida. I have been living "a simpler life" for the past seven years. Becoming less and less dependent on government and "stuff". At 59 years of age I have decided to stay where I am and incorporate many of these lessons into my life.

I'm 19 and excited for the future. Exciting to learn from generations older than mine and growing our own little forests. My life goal is to create a food forest to pass onto my children. 🌸💕🍊

Wow...I'd be curious how many people would sign up to live like this for a year?? I know I would in a heart beat! But I think this is the real travesty as 99% of us will not be given the opportunity to experience this way of living. We are all - so controlled, in so many ways, and that's very sad. But yet if we all could sign up, who wanted to, and then be able to experience this way of living...Just how much would that change the world!? Thank you so much for sharing this documentary and for all the kind people who shared their story's and journey.

I feel the root of much unhappiness is our disconnect from nature and being forced to confront the rat race in a never ending battle of paying bills and taxes. And the wages these days are insufficient

How can there be any dislikes ?... Anyways, my actual comment was going to be : If there is one sentence to remember... "We can't wait for authorities and government to do something about it, we just have to do things. It has to be from the bottom up." This is sadly the truth, but we have to trust in our future, we have the power the change things, it's a question of general awerness. This is an international issue. I'm french and I just watched this great documentary, thank you !

I give these people much credit. It takes courage to step off the hamster wheel that is this modern day life and seek a different life. To detoxify yourself from mindless consumption , endless stress, and increasing dissatisfaction with fleeting happiness is difficult. That's why most people are still chasing the dream. We may not all go live in a community like this but we can still begin to free ourselves from destructive behaviors. It just takes courage to make a start and a good plan.

Thank you for all the hard work that went in to this. Especially to those who went against the modern paradigm of individualism, and offered their lives (or one year of it!) to live with others, for others, in a way that is now considered abnormal. Humankind has to change if we are to survive what is coming, and projects like this offer not only ideas, but hope. Ted Trainer is an amazing person - my thanks also go to him for daring to write about and live consistently with his beliefs. You are all an inspiration!

My life is not usually simple and sometimes it is. I lived yesterday afternoon in a local park. I felt the warm sunshine pierce through the cool breeze. I heard the birds sing joy. I watched the cherry blossoms gently fall to ground. All I needed was a small container of water. Perhaps if we are grateful for our short periods of simplicity they will expand. I love your movie.

"Food is your connection to the land". ❤❤❤