'Sea Change: Australians in pursuit of the good life'
Cindy Dowling 2004

By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventuallly get to be boss and work twelve hours a day
- Robert Frost

Just skim read this to return to the library by the due date. Quite liked it.
An overview of trends about work modes in Australia (rise in part-time positions) and social scene-setting, followed by a bunch of case studies about 'downshifting ' (sounds a little like a nightclub in haymarket?) / 'downsizing' (sounds like cosmetic surgery?) and 'voluntary simplicity' movement/s. These case studies were nice - shortish summaries of the why, where and how of major life change that working Australians had taken - often with partner and family - to reduce stress, increase self-sufficiency, increase satisfaction, increase health and reduce impacts on the planet by changing the way they live. The case studies showed a diversity of approaches to this change - different cottage industries and part time work, intentional communities, working from home, volunteer work, growing their own food, learning to mend things, and 'portfolio careers' (bits and pieces of paid and unpaid activities to suit people's interests).

Examples of thoughts from the case studies:
'I would encourage people to follow their dream, for they will not fail. It may take many twists and turns but there is no failure in life, just the journey and the adventure of living. Do no harm to any and walk a moral ground and have respect for your walk and yourself. Like who you are and do not apologise for your dreams.'
(Catherine Johns, left teaching in the city to live off the land and run a pagan retreat for women)

What he avoids is work that he feels is of no benefit to the community or that will dominate his time at the expense of other pursuits..
(About Bob Rich, featured in another case study)

An overarching theme amongst the different stories was learning to live better with less - valuing lifestyle over income. A lot of the people interviewed felt that they were doing something positive not only for themselves and their relationships but also modelling a better life and instilling a better set of values (than had they stayed in full time work in the city) for their children. In that way the movement rejects the notion that self-less people work as hard as they can and make as much money as they can and that selfish, self indulgant, lazy types work less. I am of course especially interested in this from my own perspective of choosing part-time paid work this year. Interesting to look at the costs of full time employment on our bodies, relationships, families and communities versus the benefits we offer through having time available to share with other endeavours.

None of this is new thinking, of course, people have been reflecting on these issues in the west for decades, many people have chosen non-conventional working lives and opted for more sustainable lives. Nonetheless for many of us the currents of convention pulling our attentions and concerns into career and earning potential is quite strong - it takes courage to withstand this and reaffirm different values. The book was a nice reminder of the many different ways we can live out those values.