That's very easy to say when you visualize a utopia like the one you describe. The problem is when you wake up and see the trees, the grass, the life, you also feel the discomfort, the hunger, and the fear of nature. Try living six months off game and wild berries. Try finding methods to keep your kill from going rotten, or another wild animal from stealing your food. Do it all without falling back on civilization as a safety net.

Nature is a great retreat from civilization. But it sure as hell isn't a good replacement.

Living in the Botanical Gardens would be great.... but the comforts of home are greater... Some are fortunate enough to have their homes close enough to a retreat so they can get away whenever they want to. In the absence of that, try to build your 'retreat' from within... a place you can go to to find peace and solitude... we all need that, especially us city dwellers.

You have to see urban areas for what they are, big consumer engines that regulate the economy as a whole. Without them you wouldn't have the computer you are sitting at or, frankly, the electricity it runs on.

I think all the back to nature folks are great, but the soul-less part is unfair. I don't think anyone could go to some place like New York and call it soul-less. You have millions of people charging it with soul eveyr minute of every day, and the what is built and advertised and undertaken is just the exression of those souls.

So, not less, but different. I prefer rural culture, too. I grew up as a hilbilly in the mountains and to this day I see it as a superiour lifestyle, but down deep I know it isn't. In reality were we to all adopt it we'd immediately revert to 18th century squallor, and no one would be all that happy. It's the "soul-less" urban areas that give us the leisure to enjoy simplicity.

I love the city. To wake up in the morning and taste the breath of millions. To walk down a street crowded with life. To live where everything you could ever want is probably no more than an hour's trainride away.

Sure a city is artificial, but so are people. I read, I write, I like to stay up at night. Those are all artificial things for humans to do, and yet I'd much rather do them from the comfort of the city's glass and steel-lined cages than in the middle of wilderness being attacked by insects.

It's also a place of constant stimulation, constant change. If Oscar Wilde is right, and the purpose of humanity is to become increasingly highly organised, then what better place for us to do it than the city?

Add to that the fact it's practically impossible to get decent alcohol in the sticks and I think it's clear which side I go for.

But that's okay. After all, part of being modern hippies is wearing dreads and doing too much drugs, and you can do that in both city and bush. So no wuckers eh!

While I love being "in the wilds" and have spent sometimes several months at a stretch primitive camping, reality is far from that idealized longing for a simpler and more primitive lifestyle.

I think most modern "civilzed" peoples have yearnings for a less busy, simpler way of life. But realistically it isn't all it's cracked up to be. The hardships can far outweigh the advatages at times.

BS, thankyou for your insight and calm response. Thankyou all for your opinions. I agree to disagree.

I think most modern "civilzed" peoples have yearnings for a less busy, simpler way of life. But realistically it isn't all it's cracked up to be

I think most people who currently live in cities had ancestors who yearned for a more industrialised lifestyle, but realistically it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

you also feel the discomfort, the hunger, and the fear of nature

I didn't see any of that in Kanaky. It's there in some parts, but only the parts in which Western culture has penetrated more heavily.

You have to see urban areas for what they are, big consumer engines that regulate the economy as a whole. Without them you wouldn't have the computer you are sitting at or, frankly, the electricity it runs on.

I think that was my point. Call me hypocritical if you like, but I really think that for the most part this computer has only made my life worse. I'm addicted to it, but I am very slowly weaning myself off it.

Sure a city is artificial, but so are people.

City people are. I've never felt that way in Canberra.

it's practically impossible to get decent alcohol in the sticks

Alcohol provides my favourite pasttime in the city, but when I was in Kanaky, I didn't need it.

If Oscar Wilde is right

I don't think he was. That's just what we city people tell ourselves.

I love the city.

You're all welcome to it.

I like the city when I want its amenities, and the country the rest of the time.

I can't stand to live where I can hear traffic. We spend way too much time outside to listen to the non-stop hum of a highway....it would drive me nuts.

There are multi-million dollar homes built here in Ohio directly on the freeway!! I don't understand that. Why would you want your backyard on a 4 or 6 lane highway? Obviously, if you can afford to live there you can afford to live in a more quiet setting.

you also feel the discomfort, the hunger, and the fear of nature I didn't see any of that in Kanaky. It's there in some parts, but only the parts in which Western culture has penetrated more heavily.

Well, I was a young teenage boy who spent most of his young life in America, forced to live off nature for months at a time while being on the lookout for ZANU killers, and trying to avoid hyenas, lions, elephants, and black mambas on the veld. When you have to live in nature for survival, as opposed to doing so for recreation, or a political/ideological statement you'll see how different it is.

been to Africa lately?

Nope, so I can't comment on them. I've only been to white man's cities. Oh hang on, not true, I've been to yellow man's cities too, but I was too young to contemplate such philosophical issues so I can't tell you if they're soulless. However, most of the elements of city life that I hate came from our cultures. White man's cities seem soulless to me. You tell me about black man's cities.

trying to avoid hyenas, lions, elephants, and black mambas on the veld

I'd never try to say it's idyllic (even if I didn't talk about this stuff in the article). Of course there are challenges. As Malcolm Fraser said, "life wasn't meant to be easy". But I do think it was meant to be soulful and happy. I don't believe we are living as we are supposed to.

By the way you all have a lot of anger considering this was just a little reflection on a nice walk through the gardens. It's not meant to be a threat to your way of life or nothing.

To me, it's not soul-less so much as perhaps impersonal.

And that's only when you're an outsider looking in.

Cities are filled with people, culture, magic, ambition, and life. It's a mass of people working in concert to create an environment where creativity and comfort flourish.

Within the cities are all these communities...not just skyscrapers...quirky homes with tacky paint jobs, slick museums filled with wonders, unique restaurants with special menu items that people a thousand miles away have read about in magazines, and great big schools with unruly children scampering across the playgrounds.

All these little communities where people regularly cross paths at the grocery store or the doctor's office make up these big cities. There's still that human interaction and creativity...that "soul."

Where I live, I can sit in my backyard and watch the cool Hawaiian trade winds ruffle the green of the trees. I can look out my bedroom window and marvel at the lush, lumbering mountains in the distance. I can make a 15 minute drive out to where the turquoise ocean tumbles onto the shore and squish the buttery soft sand between my toes. These natural things make life seem more pure and more simple.

However, they could never replace the safety or comfort of my home. I am happy to be able to raise my children with access to nature AND modern technology. It's a nice balance.

Interesting article, nonetheless.

Interesting article, nonetheless.

Thanks Tex. The same goes for your reply.

quirky homes with tacky paint jobs, slick museums filled with wonders, unique restaurants with special menu items that people a thousand miles away have read about in magazines, and great big schools with unruly children scampering across the playgrounds.

Actually I really like the point you raise here. I am reading a book called "A Month of Sundays" by James O'Loghlin at the moment and it too is restoring some of my faith in Western-style cities by pointing out some of the same things you do here. It's a great read...very funny.

All these little communities where people regularly cross paths at the grocery store or the doctor's office

That don't happen here I'm afraid.

I can make a 15 minute drive out to where the turquoise ocean tumbles onto the shore and squish the buttery soft sand between my toes.

I think your city and my city are wee bit different. I am so jealous.

Mate, if you're talking about Canberra, I couldn't agree more (even though most of my family still live there). I was born and raised in the country but consider myself a city dweller. I think I have a better appreciation for nature and 'the land' than someone born in the city but that doesn't necessarily mean I think I'm any better. I believe it is a matter of what the individual prefers.

My wife and I agree that living in the country would be fantastic, but we'd miss the variety of theatres, live venues, art galleries, pubs, clubs and restaurants only a city can provide. I think this is why we choose to live near the coast, where rents are more expensive, because it sort of does give us the best of both worlds.

Still, your perspective is just as valid as mine, although I don't necessarily think the 'soul-less' tag applies to all cities. Sydney definately has a soul (although don't ask me to describe it). I can just feel it in the air.

I'd never try to say it's idyllic (even if I didn't talk about this stuff in the article). Of course there are challenges. As Malcolm Fraser said, "life wasn't meant to be easy". But I do think it was meant to be soulful and happy. I don't believe we are living as we are supposed to.

I firmly believe the way we're supposed to live is the way that allows us to thrive. Man is built to take a lot of abuse. But man does not thrive under abuse. I once had a cactus growing as a houseplant. At a bare minimum, it could survive on a tablespoon of water a month at room temperature. But when I left it outside during the summer months and it got good summer soakings, it would get fat, flower, and grow rapidly.

By the way you all have a lot of anger considering this was just a little reflection on a nice walk through the gardens. It's not meant to be a threat to your way of life or nothing.

I'm not angry at all, CS, not about this. I'm not sure how you arrived at that interpretation. But your romantic vision about peace with Gaia are a little naive. I'll re-emphasize my point: Nature is a wonderful retreat from civilization. But it's wholly inadequate as a substitute. This passage your wrote is what I'm taking aim at:

If I'd always lived in a society where we woke up every morning and saw trees and leaves and grass and LIFE, I would be happy. I would be happy with what I had. And I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t seek out progress. I wouldn’t seek out technological advances. I wouldn’t seek out how to make buildings. I’d just be. I’d find out where the nearest food was and then I’d sit back, relax and marvel at the surrounds. I’d chat and laugh with my friends. I’d go for a swim in the nearby watering hole. I think that’s why I feel an affinity for Aboriginal culture more than the white man’s culture. I’m still addicted to white man’s culture, but I am slowly breaking that habit.

You've got some really nasty snakes in Australia mate. Be happy there aren't predatory mammals like f'n hyenas.

Cities are built by all races of men, and there's nothing about a predominantly "white" city that makes it any more soul-less than any other.

That's true - Singapore is commonly called soulless by those who associate high-tech and no real cultural identity of its own with being soulless.

In my experience though western cities tend to be pretty sterile - at least compared to the cacophany and endless chance for death and misadventure in an Indonesian city.

So maybe that's what Champas meant when he said 'white man's city', although I think it was more because aboriginals don't build cities, ergo the contrast (as you are undoubtably aware, there's a tendency amongst certain circles in the aboriginal population of Australia to refer to cities as white man's places - a neat little cross-reference, don't you agree?)

"But I do think it was meant to be soulful and happy. I don't believe we are living as we are supposed to."

meant by... who? Are you claiming that "life" was somehow purposefully constructed to favor one set of values over another? Odd coming from you. What great architect made these rules? Are the soul-less cities earning the displeasure of this architect, or is it some esoteric set of universal rules we are breaking?

"By the way you all have a lot of anger considering this was just a little reflection on a nice walk through the gardens. It's not meant to be a threat to your way of life or nothing."

Oh, I'm sure no one considered being told their way of life was soulless was an insult or anything... lol... Sorry, if there was ever a holier-than-thou kind of blog, this is it.

If you want to live in such cultures, fine, but relish it while you can. Life expectancy drops significantly in your soulful pre-industrial societies.