Every Day, A Little Closer

A great American once said "Go back to simple food, simple clothes, simple pleasures. Pray hard, work hard, sleep hard, and play hard. Do it all courageously and cheerfully." Herbert Hoover was that great American. 70 years ago, he saw that America was in a tight spot, heading in the wrong direction even then. He saw the decay of families, waste, and the insatiable desire for commercial goods and immediate gratification. He watched as America forgot it's roots, forgot the old ways, the old paths and the wisdom that came from walking those paths. He stood by and watched helplessly as our nation forgot how to care for ourselves.

The 1940's are naught but a distant memory now, a time most of us have only read about in books and watched in movies. 70 years later, America is still on the decline, more rapidly now than ever. Gone are safe food and water supplies, hardy DIY, 'make do' attitudes. We're living lives of quiet desperation, filling the voids in our hearts with objects; the newest toys, the shiniest cars, the trendiest clothes. We've been tricked into believing that 'things' are the way to true happiness. And the more 'things' we buy, the more debt we rack up, the more we *need* to buy to squash those nagging, unhappy little voices.

Maybe it was the birth of my darling children, or turning 30 years old, but something triggered me to reexamine my life and changed the course of the path of my life. After long talks with my Beloved, we chose to change our paths. No more 'quiet desperation', no more consumption to fill the voids we both felt. We decided that if we were to live truly happy lives and be our authentic selves, our paths would need to stray from what modern society deems as 'normal'. It's been a long walk, and we're still walking.

It's been nearly a year since we began our path to greater self-sufficiency. Over the course of the past 12 months, we've began to unplug, both literally and figuratively. We're turning off the TV, dumbing down the cable, enjoying home instead of trying to escape it. We're beginning to see that leading a simple life with simple pleasures can and is more gratifying than trying to keep up with the Joneses, or even worse, trying to be the Joneses. And better yet, I feel like we're beginning to relearn all that has been lost in the past 100 years. I never imagined the security I'd feel in a pantry stocked to overflowing with freshly-canned homegrown food. I never dreamed the enjoyment that I'd receive watching a flock of hens run around the yard. And the pride I feel in the knowledge that my family has gained is beyond words.

Every day as we're doing our chores, working on home improvement projects or even playing outside with the kids, I keep one thought in mind; 'Is this leading me to greater self-sufficiency and independence?' as if it were a destination. As if you could Google or Mapquest 'Independence' and find simple and accurate directions....Exit the highway, drive 2 blocks and turn left at Main and High Sts. Recently it's occurred to me that we're not in this for the destination, but for the journey and all our efforts bring us, every day, a little closer.