An Amish Man: A rare, nuanced glimpse into modern Amish life shows deep faith, simplicity and, increasingly, compromise.

As the Executive Producer of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, I’m always looking for video inspiration—especially when a video highlights something “boring” in a captivating way.

The other day, Waylon showed me a simple video about an Amish man. At first I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but 9 minutes later, I had chills and was considering moving in with an Amish family.

Not only was the video beautiful to watch, but it was also rich in content. The story made me think about how I could simplify my own life, strengthen my community and lower my impact on the environment. It helped me appreciate the enlightened aspects of Amish culture.

While I was watching the Amish man in the video, I kept pressing pause to write down his inspiring words. Here are a few of his quotes that I jotted down:

“Everybody’s got the desire to have more convenience. That’s just human nature. If we stay away from more of these conveniences, we stay in tact with the environment more, and try to grow things more off the land.”

“Trying to find balance in this world is a tough one. It’s tough to find balance, even in [Amish] society.”

“The less earthly possessions we cling to, the better off we are.”

“I enjoy [Amish community] because of the simple lifestyle and because of the togetherness we can have with each other.”

“As far as growing bigger, if I’m making a living as I am, why make more headaches?”

May this video be of benefit:

Some viewer comments:

“Now I would like to see a short film entitled “an amish woman.” I admire the Amish a great deal for their philosophy of living in the world while maintaining adherence to rational simplicity. Yet I also know that (at least in the communities I have known) women have a limited role and limited choices. Those who leave cease to exist for their families, male or female, but worse for women because they have fewer skills.”

“That was grand. Never thought I would hear an amish man ask, ‘Why create more headaches?’ regarding work life. Really puts things into perspective. All of our greatest opportunities so far have come from word of mouth. It’s easy to worry about future projects, when you should really focus on the tasks at hand and make them the best you possibly can. Great doc Philip.”

“Having watched and enjoyed quite a few films about the Amish in recent years, yours takes a refreshingly different angle and shows how you don’t always need to see someones face to tell their story.”

“A nicely spoken philosophy of making, having enough, but not needing more, not needing to expand, taking pride and pleasure in his work, and family. The filmmaker carefully kept his promise not to fully expose the features of this man in an interesting manner, letting him speak clearly and with quiet passion. Thank you.”

 

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Author: Rachel Nussbaum

Photo: Video Still