Say hello

I just finished watching yet another movie outlining the end of everything as we know it... I'm sick of the message getting ground into my skull from so many different sources. I get to a certain point where I understand the message and realize that there's not much I can do as an individual to make any difference. That being said, I am ready to move on. I don't want to just keep re-hashing the same information over and over again from every different angle.

I understand completely that peak oil is here and yet the majority of people will continue to buy bigger and bigger trucks and sport utility vehicles that need some kind of energy that could be better used elsewhere. I understand that 5% of the population is in control of most of the wealth and therefore most of the power for change. I am not one of them. I understand that we're poisoning the environment and changing the climate. I understand that we're fat, undernourished, greedy, selfish, animals that think that we're separate, special or own the planet instead of just being part of it... I understand that my daughters will have a much harder life than I ever had and that in my lifetime there will most likely be a die off of billions of people on this planet from either war, famine, disease, resource depletion, loss of habitat - likely a combination of everything put together as each is so intertwined. I understand that many others are arming themselves to either take or defend what they want for themselves. I understand that my choice not to arm myself will probably mean than I am one of the many that will end up as fertilizer for my very own back yard.

I am doing what I can as an individual to remove myself as a cause of the problem. Waiting for government or some elected group of people to start solving the problem is akin to putting my head in the sand. I am doing the things I have always dreamed of doing and at the same time removing my footprint from the earth. I make all of my decisions now based on the things I understand and do my best not to compound the problem. I am looking many generations ahead and trying my best to live by example instead of being just another voice trying to yell over the top of the noise of daily life. With some dumb luck perhaps I will see at least my children's children benefit from my decisions now.

Becky and I are looking for a permanent home. A piece of land somewhere where we can grow our own food. I have always enjoyed gardening, building, creating and discovering. I am planning to get rid of both our truck and minivan and trade them for a really good bicycles or maybe a fully electric vehicle that I can recharge from the sun. I am working my way back to a natural habitat - not in the middle of the desert or the middle of the frozen north, but somewhere where the environment is made for me. I am going to build a passive solar home with all of my power coming from the sun. I will make use of the water that falls from the sky, a well or a creek/river that flows nearby. I will eat fresh organic foods from my garden, eggs and meat from my own chickens and have no bills other than the taxes that give me the right to live on my own land. I will be free...

I've learned a lot the past few years. Some about human nature, some about consumerism, lots about true freedom... I learned that you don't have to work in a cubicle or live in a huge house to be happy. I've learned that having the time to cook healthy foods, be with my children and really meet people is more valuable that any amount of money I could make with that same time. I've learned that I am creative, passionate, energetic, loving, patient & above all else a healer. All of which are not immediately or truly valued by our current capital driven society. I've learned that the best things in life are not things. I've learned that wherever I am and whatever I am doing there are people around me that see me and are changed in some way. They see that I don't have the look on my face that says "I am too tired to deal with you today - maybe tomorrow". How many times do we meet people and not say hello because we don't have the time to sincerely listen? I have that time now. I have the time to talk and hear a life story. I have the time to learn and create. I have the time to feel pain, sorrow, happiness or fear. I don't have to push those feelings aside anymore and tell myself to keep going or lose a day at work. I can stop and listen and understand - even myself. Not that I am all that good at it yet. I've only been truly alive again these past few years - I should have had a lifetime of practice at this point. At least I get to start now.

So, find me. Take the time to say hello. I will say hello back and listen. I will take the time to get to know you for who you are if you take the time to tell me who you are - which always takes longer these days since we hardly get the time to think about who we really are...