We never quite know when that rare moment of clarity is going to come.
The one when everything starts to fall into place and makes sense to us - our lives, priorities, and things that make us deliriously happy and content. That epiphany moment of some kind. Ours happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You see, before this revelation, we were stuck in a cycle of the daily grind. Our lives revolved around instant gratification, constant busyness, status-chasing, and rushing through life. I could go on with this list ad infinitum, but I think you already got the idea.
Four months into the pandemic, we felt a strong itch, a pretty odd, nasty feeling that was closing in on us, and no amount of home cooking and gardening was enough to bring the familiar excitement back into our daily lives. We were asking ourselves: Is this all there is? Then it happened - our awakening.
One typical movie Friday evening, like a slideshow, we saw our future selves in the Kiseki no Ringo (Miracle Apples), a heart warmer and tearjerker Japanese film that came out in 2013. The story is based on the decade-long quest of an Aomori farmer, Akinori Kimura, to grow apples without chemical fertilizers and pesticides (his spouse was having bad allergic reactions to the chemical used). If you haven’t seen it yet, three words to describe this movie – Watch it now!
Suddenly, something clicked: we realized what we wanted to create, how we wanted to live our remaining years. One that is not based on mindless consumerism that comes with a massive carbon footprint, but finding fulfillment in the simplest and smallest of things. We knew we had to turn over a new leaf from our years-ago-less-than-desirable selves from that moment on.
We started to educate ourselves, quickly discovering terms such as food forest, permaculture, sustainable living, circular economy. Soon after, we began collecting tons of great resources and experiences that clearly show one thing – there is something more out there, far beyond we can imagine. Something even better, if only we are willing to take it.
Let's be straight up honest here. We know there is no quick fix to making a move to living sustainably, not without making significant changes, even if they are just baby steps, in the way we work, spend and think about our everyday lives and the future.
You may ask: Are you thinking of selling your worldly possessions and moving to a log cabin in the middle of nowhere without the modern conveniences?
While the idea sounds appealing, exciting, and quite exotic, we acknowledge that there are other practical and not so drastic ways to go about it without ultimately going off the grid (but who knows, we may have to try it too).
Our plans are still evolving, but this will include slowing down and building a simpler, better, and slower-paced life to pray, eat, and love (😊😊😊). A place to escape from the complexities of modern life and the usual filling-every-waking-moment-with-work part of our lives. Where we could utilize our strengths and live our values every day. To focus on what really matters – doing what we love (permaculture farm included!), and with the people who make it all worth it.
When I wrote "Living the self-sufficiency dream, one step at a time," way back in July 2020, that lifelong dream still felt so out of reach and ever-distant and far removed from the scenario we are currently living. Now I can taste it. Every word makes my heart race, and we cannot wait anymore.
I can see it like I’m watching it unfolds before me. The lush green food forest teeming with wildflowers, foliage, and fruiting trees, and the array of butterflies and birds fluttering around them. Dom and I are growing all our food needs and a pantry overflowing with sauces, pickles, and ferments made from scratch. We are composting all our waste into energy to light up our home and feed the garden vegetables. Farm animals are freely roaming the fields. Most days spent disconnected from the world, enjoying clean air, sunlight, and getting grounded in nature. We are lying down in a soft green carpet of grass gazing at the starry skies at night.
Let me savor this dreamlike moment a tad longer, please. Of course, this may not be an option for everyone (and I am NOT suggesting you to just pack up and live in a bunker). But for those who have the "luxury" of living a scaled-down lifestyle in one form or another, is this even possible? I wonder – would we be any healthier, happier, and resilient? I say, big YES!
Because it all boils down to choices – choosing to stop trashing the planet we live in. To have more time to spend together as a family and to the things we care about. To live each day to the fullest.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
I’m not going to lie to you. We don’t know what is going to happen when we finally take the leap to a self-sufficient life. We have been dependent on the comforts of the modern world for so long that getting out of it feels like a herculean task. But isn’t that what real life and living is all about?
Our dream is still many, many periods of sleep away but we can’t wait to get down to work, create it one day, one checklist at a time to get there.
What about you? What specific changes do you intend to make for the better as you emerge from quarantine and stumble your way back to a new normal?
Comentários