BY KELLY SKINNER
Ever feel like you need a change of pace and a new view?
Last weekend, I made my husband take us on a day trip to Arthur, Ill.
It’s kind of a running joke between us. We’ve lived in this area for 12 years and I’ve always wanted to visit, but we’ve never gone. Even though it’s close by, there always seemed to be other things that grabbed our attention. But we saw a chance to take advantage of the great weather, and we packed up the car and drove south.
The Village of Arthur is about an hour drive down I-57 from Champaign-Urbana. It’s the home of the largest and oldest Amish community in Illinois.
People from this area may know Arthur as the place where you can find Beachy’s Bulk Food, a delightful store with bulk food at discount prices, as well as baked goods and local meat, cheese, and produce. Others may know Arthur as the best spot to buy handcrafted wood cabinets or furniture.
Besides shopping, what I really wanted to do in Arthur was to learn more about the Amish culture. Arthur is the country’s fourth largest Amish settlement, with a population of about 4,000. The community spreads outward from the small village of Arthur through Douglas and Moultrie Counties about a half-dozen miles in each direction.
In getting ready for the trip, we discovered that ACM Tours offered a self-guided audio tour of the area. We stopped by The Wood Loft on the main strip in downtown Arthur and picked up a map and an audio CD, which we played in the car. It provided turn-by-turn directions and narration of different points of interest in the area, like farms, schools, businesses, country shops, and a cemetery, while sharing information about Amish customs, lifestyle, and history.
We took a few hours to leisurely drive through the country and followed the audio tour. We stopped at different shops along the way and drove slowly through the country roads. Whenever we encountered a member of the Amish community, they always smiled and waved hello.
Besides a trunk filled with bulk spices and a cooler with homemade cheese, butter, and baked goods, I ended my trip with a few important observations about Amish life and lessons I could implement in my own life.
Slow it down. The Amish live without electricity, without cars or other motorized vehicles, and without much of the technology that we have in our everyday world. Driving on the rural roads, I felt a sense of peace and calm that I don’t get driving around my own town.
We were encouraged to drive slowly on the roads for safety, but there was also no urgency to get from point A to point B. The Amish travel in horse-drawn carriages, bikes, or just walk where they need to go. It was a nice change of pace to slow it down, and a nice reminder to me about how important and life-giving taking things a little slower can be.
Community is everything. When learning a bit about the Amish lifestyle, one thing that jumped out for me was how they live and support each other as a group. Farms have three to four houses on them so extended families with grandparents, newlyweds, and couples with young children can live close by one another and help out.
Church is celebrated in homes and services rotate among members. When it’s someone’s turn to host, everyone helps with cooking and hospitality. When someone from the community dies, they have a funeral service that involves hundreds of people. No one family has enough cooking equipment, tables and chairs, or dishes to hosts all those people, so wagons come with communal supplies to help out. My own community is made up of friends, neighbors, and family. I thought about how we can share the load and regularly support each other more.
Keep it simple. There were just so many times when I was reminded of the excesses of my everyday life as compared to the simplicity of Amish life. Their houses and clothing and way of life is very plain, mostly connected to their religious beliefs and humility. It made me consider where in my life I could reduce, be more grateful for what I have, and figure out how to reach to others to get help if I have a need.
I thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist in my own town and finally getting the chance to drive south and visit Arthur. What started out as a trip to visit some shops, buy baked goods, and stock up on bulk food turned into an unexpected life lesson. Slow it down, keep it simple, community is everything … these little observations reinforce some big changes I’m trying to make in my life and my work.
I’m trying not to rush about so much, but learning how to incorporate times for rest, renewal, and reflection. It’s in these times that I can appreciate the abundance my family and I have, but also think about how to live a little simpler. Whether it’s lending out our lawnmower (because not everyone on the cul-de-sac needs their own) or checking up on an elderly neighbor, nurturing community and supporting those in it are what makes it all worth it.
Small changes for sure, but sometimes not easy in the action-packed lives we’ve created for ourselves. I’ll keep my electric lights, my cell phone, and my Hyundai, but I want to see where I can incorporate some of what I learned on my visit to Arthur.
About the Author
On the path of her own spiritual journey, Kelly Skinner opened Soul Care in August of 2019. Soul Care is an spiritual wellness center in the heart of Urbana serving people across east central Illinois. Their mission is to help people incorporate spiritual wellness in their everyday life by providing mindfully-designed experiences and sacred space to inspire meaningful connection with self, others, and the divine. They are a robust, heart-centered community of spiritual practitioners and seekers who are living with intention into our most authentic selves. They welcome people of all genders, ages, life experiences, and backgrounds. Soul Care is not associated with a specific religion or faith community, and we aspire to be a safe, inclusive space for everyone, regardless of belief.
