I had to fend for myself from a young age, I spend much of my early years entertaining myself, besides my eldest sister, I didn't really interact with many others. I guess you could call me a bit of a loner. Which was the result of many different factors in my life, that i don't need to get into now. I felt more connected with nature and animals. Both of which never let me down. It was the neighbour's dogs, that shown me what unconditional love was, as they followed me, when ever I went wandering. Until my family took in a dog and then, he was always by my side.
It's not surprising then, that I strived for independence as I got older, because it was the way that was already carved out for me and I knew that the only person i could only really rely on was myself. I wanted to go out into the world and make my own way, create my own reality, to be authentically myself. As I got older and I began to have a clearer understanding of how the world operated, I realised that being independent, being self sufficient, was how I would thrive in life.
It has always been in me to go against the tide, to question everything and follow my own path. To actually find out what it means to be independent in this day and age, when so much of our freedoms are being taken away and surveillance is on the rise. I would love to live completely outside of the system, but it's not that easy. Yes I grow some of my own food and medicine. I have not used any health services in over 16 years and both me and my girls are not registered anywhere. I work within my community, get paid cash in hand and have been lucky enough to make ends meet as a solo parent.
I have a healthy distrust of the government and all there governmental bodies, which has made it easy for me to step away and live more on the edges of society. It's important to me, that I know, not only how to survive, but thrive without being dependent on any of their services. Yet, I do sometimes go to the local supermarket to get some supplies, but mostly I like to get my food from local growers or the weekly market, by paying cash or trading. Which is very popular in the area I live in.
That's why I love where I live, I can trade for food and services, in the past one of my daughters got sewing lessons in exchange for fruit we were growing. I have also helped out in the local free school, in exchange for my daughters attendance. Most of the people here are open to the exchange of goods or services, rather than monetary exchange. Which has allowed me to attend both Ecstatic dance events and BioDanza.
All of which allow me to live a life that is inline with my values. Which is really what drives me in life, it's what i am most passionate about.
This is my response to the following question from the latest Ladies Of Hive Community challenge ........
Do you see yourself as more motivated by passion, profit, or independence?
All the photos used in this post are my own.
