When I was 18 graduating from High School and set to play D-1 soccer & study Religion at a nearby University, I would have laughed at you if you would have told me what I would be doing 14 years from now. What is that? I would have said. What kind of life is that?
I don't think I would have had any context then - or for the next few years, until I worked on an organic farm in Colorado and got a taste for fresh food that would be the driving force of my early path into Permaculture. Still, I think "what we are about" is out of context for most people in North America. My neighbor who grew up poor with a hole in the wall that snow would come in during winter in his childhood home couldn't understand why we would choose to live this way.
Hell, sometimes I even question why I've chosen to live this way. No one else I know from my early years lives this way, though I did start to meet many likeminded people as I journeyed. It is a lifestyle best geared for those who love the outdoors more than being inside- I can say that much succinctly. If given an option, I would do it all over again.
It's humorous to me because I often think about how our upbringings influence us and how our early experiences drive us toward this or that. My neighbor, for instance, has prioritized social security, a warm roof over his head, and now likes to fix up old classy cars. Did the snow that fell on him as a boy set him toward making sure that never happened to him again? I'd bet so.
The Planless Path
When I set off to play soccer and study religion in college, I didn't really have a plan. I think the majority of students enter college in this way- a rough idea about their interests, and suddenly they're pushed into choosing a life path, one that will not only hopefully engage their interests, but also put food on the table, a roof over their head and then some. It's a tall order in a culture that no longer can guarantee people with undergraduate degrees jobs out of College. It's a tall order in a culture wherein the youth can often get lost.
While I spent some time feeling lost, thankfully I do feel I was always at least in a roundabout way on my path. In fact, sometimes when I look back the things I studied, the choices I made, the places I visited or the people I learned from come together to form a miraculously woven tapestry of experiences which has come together to equip me to live this life.
This Guy is definitely a part of the tapestry.
Sometimes I call what I do Homesteading - that certainly isn't listed on Tax forms, where I usually put Farmer. While the earth-based lifestyle I live is still common in many parts of the world, it is out of context in this technologically advanced continent with dozens of brands of robotic vacuums. Ini and I were talking today about the early explorers, humans who travelled across the oceans to find places with different weather, plants and people groups with unique art & customs. We marveled at what it might have been like for someone from China to meet those indigenous to North America. We wondered at the similarities they likely found and also at what they were able to share with one another. Somehow we started talking about plastics and the fact that goods like nylon have only been developed in the past hundred years or so. Combining this with a factoid @eco-alex shared this morning about color television being less than 50 years old and we can see just how quickly our culture has evolved.
No Coincidences
We are really moving at a much faster speed than previous cultures and it makes me consider why I have chosen to come to earth in this specific place and time. I don't think it's any coincidence. While Elon Musk talks about colonizing Mars, Ini and I are patiently building soil at Mountain Jewel. For us there is no escape plan. We are firmly Placed and it is in this place that we have chosen to make our lives. While most "drop down forms" or my 18 year old self may not have a context for what we're doing, ours is an ancient way of life mingling with the present.
As evidenced by this article, we don't eschew technology; we aren't Luddites.
While we seek to minimize our footprint for sustainability's sake, we aren't hardcore purists. I believe we've come into this rampantly developing time to take part in & share a very earth-connected lifestyle in order to Remind others. We use the power of the interwebs to do this and Steem blockchain is a perfect example of how we are getting our message out to thousands of people who live around the world. While this lifestyle isn't for everyone, the earth is. Our connection with the earth matters. In fact, it's the foundation of literal matter and, as such, is the essential building block for any civilizations.
Instead of looking to the Elon Musks of this world to provide a vision for our future, one that takes us away from what we have, look to those who are humbly embracing what we already have. Development for development's sake leads us down a very familiar path as humans - in fact, we see that most civilizations have burned themselves out from resource exploitation. We do have a choice to continue down that road, or not.
When I was 18, though I thought hemp necklaces were cool and liked to ride my bike wherever possible, I didn't understand the realities of the Carrying Capacity of Planet Earth or even how my actions or voice could make an impact. I had to grow into that.
I think my 18 year old self would look at what I'm about as a sort of extended adventure, one that's fairly hardcore, definitely challenging and a little out-there. 32 year old me nods to that girl and my 18 year old self blushes. I'm glad I've found home.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.ozarkmountainjewel.com/2018/11/10/my-18-year-old-self-asks-what-kind-of-life-is-that/