In this post I will update you on what it’s like to live in a Lithuanian village.

As you may know, I’ve recently purchased a plot of land in a rural place in Lithuania. The plot has a tiny hut, and when I purchased it, it was totally overgrown with grass, because previous owners neglected it.

What water I use and how it changed my appearance

Apart from electricity, the land has no conveniences whatsoever. I even have to collect rain water or take water from the nearby pond when it doesn’t rain.

There is also a common well, which was a life saver when I just moved to this place and hadn’t yet figured out how to collect rain water. Now, however, I enjoy drinking boiled rain water, and I bathe with pond or rain water (depending on how much it rains).

These practices made my skin and hair much softer than they were, and I assume it’s benefiting me internally too.

Physical work in a village and how it affected my body

Life in a village requires a lot of physical work.

At first, it was quite overwhelming, because I was not used to doing so much physical labor.

But my body adjusted very fast, and now daily physical work is no longer a chore but something that I’m looking forward to.

Daily demanding physical work made my body gain a new level of fitness and energy levels increased.

The body has been placed in its natural environment, and it has started functioning much better. It’s an enjoyment to cycle five miles to the nearest bigger village to buy necessities, crossing thick forests and enjoying winding village roads.

The pure air of the village fills me with so much happiness. My body deeply enjoys staying in these natural surroundings. It enjoys natural water, air, trees, everything! It has gained a sort of new life, and I think it’s because it exchanges energy with everything of nature.

Although I work from morning till around ten at night, the body stays energetic. I thought it would tire and would require days of rest, but it’s not the case. It gets refreshed after a short break, and in the morning it’s ready to work again.

How I insulated my wooden hut

And the work is plenty!

I’ve already insulated my tiny wooden hut.

I’ve insulated it from inside, because I was hoping that due to its size it would be enough to keep me warm in winter.

I took the advice of my neighbor who used to be a builder, and insulated the property as best as I could.

I think I did a good job because nights are now comfortably warm, whilst before the insulation it would get really chilly.

The advantage of a small space is that if you securely insulate it, it keeps the heat much better, of course, than big properties, because of the size. And I already bought an oil heater, which I hope will keep me warm in the freezing winter time of Lithuania.

I will also need to buy an alternative heating source, such as a heater running on gas, as a back-up option (as Lithuanian winters are no joke, the temperature sometimes even getting thirty degrees Celsius below zero – 22 Farehnheit).

Although the hut is small, the insulation work was difficult, because it was the first time I did such a work. I had to insulate the floor, the walls, as well as the entire shed. So I had to remove the existing flooring and wall tiles, insulate the hut, and then put the covering back on.

It all took a lot of effort, and it was difficult because I would make mistakes and then had to do things all over again. But now I learnt how to insulate, so if I needed to do such a work again, it would be much easier.

How I learnt to trim grass

As the land was neglected, it was totally overgrown with tall grass, in some places reaching the waist and above.

My dear neighbor I already told you about cuts lawns for a living (he’s reaching retirement age, so he no longer builds houses).

I paid him to cut my overgrown lawn.

He did a great job and advised me how to manage it myself, so that I would no longer need to hire people to take care of it.

I bought a trimmer (though he advised me to go for a lawn mower) which he eventually approved of, seeing that I would be able to manage working with it:)

It took a little time to understand how to change the string.

My right hand hurt a lot for a few days as a result of the power it takes to start the trimmer engine.

But now my body has adjusted to its use, and I can trim the lawn without any difficulty.

The funniest thing about it are the looks of awe I get from my neighbors who have never seen a female operating such a machine!

The demanding work and the energy exchange with nature

The physical work is plentiful in this place.

Covering ten miles with a bicycle almost every day, trimming the lawn, house work such as cooking, making an evening fire to repel mosquitoes, raking fallen apples and cut grass, digging (preparing land for planting; I also dug out a mini pond for rain collection), collecting apples and picking berries…

As I said, the body is able to manage all this and still has plenty of energy. It must be the energy exchange with nature – I cannot find any other valid explanation for this.

Spiritual benefits of living a natural life

So I covered the physical aspect of things, and now let’s look into the spiritual.

Life here is peaceful. It’s almost always dead quiet with the exception of chirping birds or some buzzing bee passing by.

I’m surrounded by greenery, and living in a wooden hut feels like even at home I’m still in touch with nature.

My meditations in this place are deep. At first, because of the amount of work, the body found it difficult to relax into meditation.

That’s also because it was stressed due to the drastic change of circumstances (I’ve never lived in such a place, neither did so much work).

But now, as it’s getting used to the place and the amount of work, it finds it easier to relax in the evening for meditation.

The best meditation that I experience in this place is not inside my hut but outside, when I sit on the lawn near some tree. I feel my body getting connected with the energy of the earth and the sky, and I become a sort of conduit for their energy exchange. The experience is supernatural.

I feel that this is how a human being should live.

Do physical work outside, and then do spiritual work as the soul must be fed as well.

This creates perfect balance.

City-dwellers tend to get ungrounded as a result of doing spiritual work because they’re not in touch with the land. But when you firmly stand on the ground and do spiritual work, this is very powerful. You can then quickly spiritually progress without any fear of “losing it”.

So I find this new way of life interesting and fulfilling, as well as spiritually healthy. Both aspects of life are taken care of – the spiritual, as well as the physical.

I feel perfectly balanced and at peace. I’m also learning many new things, which is good for the mind too. My right brain hemisphere is overworked, so now it’s good to learn left-brain activities such as shed building, how engines work, etc.

Due to the amount of work that this place demands, at first I found it difficult to find time to make videos and write posts.

But thankfully, now I’m getting into the habit of writing and making videos when I wake up, and only when I finish do I begin the demanding work of the land.

Now my routine is to wake up and write or make videos, then do all the land work with awareness, finding some time for meditation during breaks, and finish my day with long meditation.

I love this kind of schedule as it keeps me balanced and happy.

Finally…

This is the first part of my sustaining eco life in a village diary. I hope to keep updating you about my new life in a Lithuanian village, in case you too are thinking of living in such a way and thus get the feel of what it’s like to live such a life.

Or maybe you already live in such a way and want to compare experiences and learn or get ideas from a fellow nature dweller:)