How do I live a life of peace, beauty and serenity, sustainably?

One thing that I did that made a huge difference was to switch to a job that had a much shorter commute. I weighted location/commute time heavily in my job search. I knew it would help, but I didn't realize how much of an improvement it would make. I have more time and less stress.

An interesting website (that I first heard about here) , http://mrmoneymustache.com focuses on adjusting your lifestyle and expenses so you don't need nearly as much money to feel like you have what you need in life (with a focus on saving the rest so you can retire early.)

You've heard it a thousand times (and maybe you do it already), and I used to roll my eyes too, but regular exercise really does make a world of difference when it comes to your mood and your energy levels. It's one of those paradoxes - giving up an hour of my day to exercise ended up allowing me to get way more personal stuff done in my non-work hours, simply because I felt fresher and more energetic. And when it comes to being close to nature, it's kinda hard to beat a jog in the park or a hike in the woods.

The happiest I've ever been was living and working on a farm. You definitely get the simplicity, peace, serenity, and closeness to nature that you say you love and need in your life. For me, the peace came from an overwhelming sense of purpose, and gratification in the hard work that was being done. But there was also plenty of time to think, reflect, daydream, goof off, make up silly songs, etc. while carrying out very meaningful work. Carrying out this meaningful work with others can create a strong sense of community. Of course, buying land and starting a business both cost money, which can definitely prove to be prohibitive, but interning or apprenticing on a farm is a great way to find some of the things you seem to be looking for. Usually a small stipend, room/board - and valuable education- are given in exchange for your work. Seriously, I'd suggest this to anyone I meet. You could get a taste for it by volunteering at a local farm during your time off - spring is a busy time getting things going and they would probably love the help! Good luck on your search! Lots of people work miserable jobs their whole lives because they think there's no other option. I think it's awesome that you're realizing that it's not working for you and trying to make a change at such a young age!

It's great that you have seen both sides at a relatively young age, and that you want to get more balance. Waaaay back when I was 28 I had changed careers three times, and was generally trying to figure out where my aptitude, experience (skill), and passion all intersect. (I saw a graphic that illustrated this yesterday but alas I can't remember the source.) So during my second stint at post-graduate education, I read and worked through the exercises of http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1607743620/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ classic book. Rearranging the parts I discovered what I liked doing, did well, and could turn into a component of my future work-life. Fast-forward some 20 years later, a friend recommended that I take http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/159562015X/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ (it's really an online survey with a book to accompany its interpretation) and I discovered it did help in the self-awareness of what skills / interests / aptitudes had grown over that time. In today's crazy-competitive workplace you know first-hand that 'work-life balance' really doesn't exist. Here's an interesting thought from an older HBR.org blog post: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/02/embrace-work-life-imbalan/. A lot has been written about it, a lot of different perspectives, and I think in many ways leveraging technology can actually aid in achieving that careful balance (i.e. flexible work schedules, telecommuting etc.) I'm thinking about http://ask.metafilter.com/257352/what-do-you-wish-you-did-in-your-thirties about advice to a 30-year old self, and how much of it revolves around physical, financial and emotional/spiritual health. You really want to make sure these areas are 'covered' in addition to working hard in the earlier years so that later in life your circumstances improve.

Is there a reason you can't "just do it" and move back to your village? I did... I moved from NYC to my small hometown in rural Minnesota, for about 18 months. Ultimately I decided I actually hated living the simple life and rejoined the rat race.

In short, although I'm struggling to phrase it clearly, I want to optimise my life for happiness and peace, rather than my current lifestyle which is way too far on the 'work' side of the work-life balance. I want to be happy and fulfilled rather than rich and surrounded by 'stuff' and I want to be around others who feel the same. I feel like I'm perhaps being a little too idealistic, but this sort of thing must be achievable - life can't just be a cycle of getting a slightly better job, increasing your financial obligations to match, and then needing another better job 'til you retire, can it? There are things you can do to maximize your available time for your personal life, (such as a shorter commute as noted above), and I empathize with many if not most of your goals, as fundamentally, I share them with you. The issue I have found is that peace and serenity are places I can visit, but never live. Perhaps it's just me, but I went through a spate of about 6 consecutive months, about 4 years ago, where I honestly hit my head to the pillow thinking "I wouldn't have changed anything about today!" I was working a decent paying entry level job, with a paid off car, a ton of free time and really enjoying a lot of new, peaceful (read: free) things. However, after 6 months of that, I needed more. The bird songs weren't as bright, the lakeside sit-downs weren't as calming... I think I was getting used to all the peace and serenity, building a tolerance as it were. I changed things up, started driving farther to new locales, and seeing new things, but it became harder and harder to find that spark. I still wanted something different. It's really difficult to achieve more peace and more serenity, and it's far easier when searching for something more to go out and buy something expensive (and have payments), and find a romantic interest (with ensuing personality conflicts, life changes), and so on. I did all of the above, and I don't regret any of it, but one thing I've learned is that anything I want has a price. Whether it be time, energy, money, or spirit, there's a cost for everything. I don't think I would've been happy pursuing total serenity, and honestly, I wouldn't know how to go about doing that short of becoming a monk or something. By no means do I think I speak for you (or anyone else), or that you should abandon your quest for peace and serenity. I think it's something that I folded into my life, and sometimes it is drowned out by worldly clamors, but now that I've found it, I'll always have a piece of it.

...Simple things like being able to open the doors and feel the sunshine coming in, and listen to the birdsong, make me feel so happy, and human. I've been able to cook properly, more slowly, fresher food, rather than just throwing stuff in the oven and setting the timer. I just feel so much better in myself - part of it is the anxiety treatment, I am sure, but a big part of it is just being, at home, in my beautiful little village, with myself and my thoughts and my community... I really resonate with this and your feelings in general so I wanted to say thank you for your question because it is nice to know there are others out there who desire nothing more than to eschew the working culture we toil in. As someone who spent my twenties working insane hours in a sector of the tv / film industry I sought the same thing: A simpler, measured life...preferably with lots of free time. I eventually found some of what I needed by embracing a freelance life. In the last few years I would work extremely hard for a few weeks or a month...then take a few weeks or a month off. Sometimes the time in between contracts was a little longer than I would have liked...and all in all I made much less money...but boy did I love the time off. My touch-and-go approach has certainly dampened career opportunities...but they are opportunities that would only lead to less of a balance. Knowing that I would soon get to spend a few weeks free from clock-time just hanging around my apartment, going backpacking, taking a road-trip, sitting in a coffee shop in the middle of a tuesday, exploring parts of the city I was too busy to ever see...or simply visiting friends - made me able to tolerate the periods of intense grinding work that I would deal with when picking up a contract. Force your balance...because I don't believe a job exists today that actually affords one. My solution was to force one via freelance. Ironically I am currently working at a staff job as of the beginning of this year....but am already saving to take a full year off in the next two years after quitting my current job once i've had enough. Also, as a practical measure...savings help a lot. Build up a buffer, and when you do work...save as much as you can to use for your periods of full-living. You'll never keep up with the Joneses...but having free time to look forward to more than makes up for it...

Have you read http://www.amazon.com/The-Simple-Living-Guide-Sourcebook/dp/0553067966 or Your Life or Your Money? I would start there! Close your eyes...think of something that brings you the most joy, happiness, excitement , peace. and go towards that- do you love children, being creative, traveling, music, art? start with your mission, what you love, that connect that will connect you with "what you do". also random- mac n cheese productions a life of YES out of Chicago-google it :)