Monday, June 05, 2006

Synchro-Density

The fellow mentioned in that previous post, the one I used to work with pre-kids? I ran into him the other day. It must have been at least five years since I last saw him. There are no coincidences although this is one of those things that says, pay attention lest you miss something here.

It took us awhile to catch up, of course. How old are the kids now, what sorts of things have we been doing, what's the spouse up to, that sort of thing. But the first question from him to me was, "Where are you and what are you doing?" to which my answer was, "Same as always."

And I've thought about that. Is it the same as always? There are lots of things that could seem different. But we're pretty gosh darn stable here. Horses and music have been major interests for our whole lifetimes. Getting out of the rat race, walking lightly upon the earth, being masters of our own destinies (or as my mind prefers, densities).

I think that is why we've been able to get so far -- we haven't changed courses every few years. We've adjusted our course, naturally. The children are older, I've gotten a horse (and other animals), the shop is up and going, we're in the house, our gardens are expanded and enriched, about the only engines we still have on the place are the vehicle and the mower.

And the reasons we do what we do have not changed but they have deepened. I mean, at first, it was about being able to do the things we enjoyed and being independent and such. But we've found it is also about our bodily health, our mental health, our spiritual health. And further and more profoundly, the health of the planet. It is about what we do and what we don't do on the farm, not about what someone else does, or does not do, or should (or should not) do. And even when we thought it was about independence, gosh, we didn't even know what independence was! This is so much more profound. Ditto on the other things.

One thing I have found. Like in that last post on economics, often enough I cannot see my way from here to there. But if I can get quiet enough, still enough, allow it to happen enough, then I can see it, or it manages to happen, or I realize it was all an illusion anyway, but somehow, in every moment, it is possible to be exactly who and what I am in the here and now in the world of integrity and cooperation that is life on the farm.

(just in case I need to point it out, that is as opposed to the world of compromise and competition that is the unbrokenly bleak landscape that is the rest of the world)

2 comments:

Cookie..... said...

Hey Contrary...this here is Cookie and I'd like t'welcome y'all to the Hillbilly Ecosystem....

Stopped by a couple a times today and I enjoy readin yur posts. BTW...been to Bristol a few times fer the races and you certainly do live in a beautiful part of this here United States (I'm assuming y'all live somewhere within spittin distance of Bristol).

Agin, welcome aboard and keep those down home post's a comin....Cookie...

Oh...almost furgot...if'n ya got any good recipee's ya don't mind sharin...E-mail em on over to the Cook Shack and I'll post em and tell the folks a little about ya....

CG said...

ur a hoot cookie!