# A Simple Life

## Metadata
- Author: [[Mary-Jane Houlton]]
- Full Title: A Simple Life
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- Halfway along the scale is a partial off-grid system. The main difference here is the use of batteries, wind or solar systems to provide power. There may be a water connection, or there may be a septic tank rather than a composting toilet, but the house itself will still be operating under its own systems, quite separate from the national grid. Food may still be provided from livestock and a vegetable bed, but a visit to the local supermarket isn’t considered the ultimate sin. ([Location 228](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=228))
- If you have a large enough budget you can live off-grid and yet still have all the normal possessions that somewhere along the line seem to have become necessary to life: fridge-freezers, large-screen TVs, washing machines, tumble dryers, coffee machines and toasters, a plethora of phones, tablets, laptops and countless other gadgets. However, to my mind, off-grid life isn’t just about replicating what you already have. It is about changing how you live and requires a different attitude, a different perspective. ([Location 236](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=236))
- The grid surrounds us, both physically and mentally, and most of us would feel deeply uneasy if it were to suddenly disappear. I walked along a pavement and realised that, hidden beneath my feet, there might be gas pipelines or electric cabling that kept our homes warm, our appliances working, our lives comfortable and secure; that allowed our offices, shops, warehouses and factories to function; there would be one network of pipes providing our clean water and another to take away our sewage and grey water. Above ground level there were electricity pylons, phone lines, mobile phone towers, solar panel farms and wind turbines. And finally, casting my eyes skyward on a clear night, I would be able to see the new frontier, a sky becoming ever more populated by satellites. ([Location 257](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=257))
- Over a relatively short space of time, the human race has built an intricate, incredibly complex grid that provides us with so much more than our basic needs. For most people, particularly in the western world, the thought of returning to a life without this grid is not just incomprehensible, but terrifying. ([Location 267](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=267))
- For many people there is a sense that something is missing in modern life, a constant question mark over why we have to live at such a pace, on constant full throttle despite the fact that we can see how it drains and exhausts us. ([Location 280](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=280))
- Change is a good thing; it makes you question what you’ve done and what you’re going to do next and that night my question came from the words of the song. What exactly are the bare necessities of life? ([Location 413](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=413))
- food, water, warmth, safety, sleep, health and, lastly, companionship. ([Location 418](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=418))
- If I was to write down a list of the various components that add up to my idea of the perfect place to live it would have the following words in it: mountains or hills, rivers, lakes or sea, beaches, woods and forests, wildlife, rural, unspoilt, peaceful, away from the crowds, good for walking and cycling, small villages and towns to explore rather than big cities. ([Location 541](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=541))
- Sometimes I wish I could be different, as it doesn’t always make for an easy life, but we are who we are and I no longer waste my energy fighting it. ([Location 850](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=850))
- If only we could learn to be part of the system instead of having to dominate it. ([Location 914](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B094VMBX9J&location=914))