The Simple Life: Lessons from Thailand

The Simple LifeA lot of people are being forced to live simpler lives out of necessity or need. But the realizations that a simple life can be better than a more complicated life with more money seem to be out of grasp of most Americans. Most Americans seem so eager to teach the rest of the world what we have to offer (which is considerable) that we forget that we have lessons to learn from other cultures less rich than our own.

I spent much of the last ten years in Asia, primarily in Korea and Thailand. And, while I found that Koreans work much more hours than most Americans in a typical workweek, with the corresponding stress levels, I found a different work ethic altogether in Southern Thailand. The people in Thailand in many respects have a lot less than their American counterparts in terms of things and money, but more in terms of rewarding familial relationships and a better sense of the value of leisure time than most Americans I know.

Thais, for example, really take care of their extended families. While this creates more work, it also has many benefits. Child care is not so much of problem as it in the United States as there is always an aunt, mother, grandmother, or uncle to take care of the baby. The stress is taken off of the parents shoulders and the children are given a multitude of role models as all parents are not created equally. In public places, children are passed around from person to person without the fear you see reflected in many of the American mothers around. While Americans are finally starting to revive the sense of community from their past, Thais have been living with their relatives in close contact for longer periods of time. When a friend's relative got sick in Thailand, the Thais around in many ways took better care of her than her American family and could not understand the gap in levels of responsibility.

The feeling of Thais in terms of their work ethic isn't so much as a way of life for Americans. Thais have a tendency to work very hard, but to also enjoy their leisure time while they are working. They take more cigarette breaks, relax in the hammock more than your typical American, but also enjoy a high standard of living at work that escapes most Americans. Most Americans judge their quality of life by the standards of living they enjoy in their homes: is there house big enough? Do they drive a nice enough car? Many forget that they spend much of their time at work in stressful conditions. Why doesn't work time factor into the quality life here? 

By American standards, the Thai people often live in houses that we couldn't live in. A major problem with the American lifestyle is that we must be constantly consuming to "help the economy" and constantly upgrading our appliances, cars and even homes. Part of happiness is learning to accept and be happy with what you have.