After the event though, she quickly reconnects with the land.
“Being constantly outside, in the nature, it’s difficult not to feel alive. No roads, no supermarkets… only rice paddies, a lake and a forest. We eat what we produce, with no intermediaries, transformations, plastics, cashiers. Time flows differently. We wake up early, and unchanging steps punctuate the days: breakfast, lunch, diner. We nap when it becomes too hot, and we go to bed early. A natural ease of life constant, simple and adaptating to the prevailing natural elements.“
This sobriety comes with beautiful human moments that make her realise that real happiness comes sharing, such as in the daily routine of working in the garden with her colleague Doan: “everyday for 1h30 and after the nap, we would go to the patio and learn French for 45 minutes, then Vietnamese for 45 minutes. It’s a rich exchange that will always make me smile when remembering these moments!”
Time flies and Charlène inevitably has to return to her urban life… But after such an experience, how to go back to a life that seems so hard to apprehend the meaning? Back home, Charlène is faced with the contrast between a happy slow natural pace and hectic consumerism, the sense of community and individualism, simple desires and the endless and often superficial ones… And it seems impossible to bridge the gap between these extremes.
Yet, facing this disturbing situation, she draws strength from a freedom now anchored deep inside of her, and which will help her plant in her daily life the seeds of simple wisdom gathered at LaVieVuLinh. |
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