Aktive Direkt Hilfe e.V.

When was the last time you walked in the fields, no houses or people, no cars and streets in sight? Just walking, looking at the fields, the trees, maybe some horses, and the beautiful skies, clouds, and the sun spreading its beautiful colors.

I like walking in the fields whenever I get a chance. At the end of summer, when our little family visits the grandparents in their countryside house, I like to take some bags and roam the fields, seeking fruits. When our teenage daughter saw me going out like this, she said: “Daddy is going into the fields like an 18th century man.”

In the eyes of a young teen, growing up with smartphones, TikTok, Instagram, etc., seeing me, living without these gadgets, preferring to walk in nature, I look like an 18th century man!

She doesn’t have to go back that far in history. During my grade school years in the last century, my favorite activity in the summer holidays was visiting close family friends at their farm. They basically lived self-sufficiently. They had a little farm, chickens running around freely, some pigs and cows, giving fresh unpolluted eggs, milk and meat, with their own organic vegetables and fruits. Life on the farm, near God’s creation, kept me busy. I didn’t need television or fancy plastic toys, much less modern electronics, social media and all the entertainment and advertisements of today.

Anyway, back to the 21st century. I like to take some bags and go into the fields, picking apples, plums, pears, walnuts, and potatoes – whatever God provides and is of course something I can pick freely. For example, after the potato harvest, there are plenty of potatoes left on the field, which we are free to pick up, and they even last longer than the ones from the shop! And trees out there have all kinds of yummy fruits – all organic.

After I pick those fruits, we make good use of them. We eat them fresh and make yummy strudels, cakes, and apple puree. I cut up the apples while listening to podcasts during our devotions. Then I bring them to a short boil, blend them and freeze them – without any sugar or other additives. I eat it with my healthy muesli every morning.

Some family friends who are elderly and know about this habit let us pick their fruits and nuts. So, we end up with enough applesauce for the whole year.

We can learn a lot from the good ol’ days, our forefathers and mothers, who lived closer to nature and had more faith in God than people have today. They knew a few things we lost in this modern techno world.