LET YOUR LIFE BE THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION

Guest Post by Hardscrabble Farmer

Spent my entire Sunday moving big bales for the cattle this winter. Spent all of last week putting a new steel roof on a 100′ long barn. Gardened, read books, kept date night with my wife on Saturday night in our kitchen, shelled enough peas to last through till next year, sold some piglets, helped some local millennials with their new farm stand venture, cleaned totes, scraped and repainted the front of the milk house, cut hay with scythe for the chickens for winter, slaughtered and processed 100 meat birds for the freezer, made coffee from the beans our family sent from Hawaii, repaired a piece of equipment, york raked a neighbor’s driveway, weeded, planted second crop of greens, slept. My total work hours last week (if you include shelling peas on the bed @10pm work) was just over 75. My body is stiff when I wake up, my arms are sore most of the time I’m not moving but I can say the following-

We spent $0 on healthcare. We spent $0 on electricity. We spent $0 on groceries- that’s a lie, my wife bought Italian ices for us yesterday as a treat, I think she took $6 out of my wallet. All week I enjoyed myself, improved our homestead, had a great date with my wife that lasted until we went to bed, spoke with old friends on the phone Sunday evening, helped neighbors and acquaintances locally, fed ourselves delicious meals, provided for our Winter, earned enough off farm doing something I enjoy to pay six months worth of property taxes, composted waste, put up animal fodder, repaired our own property and belongings, built soils and created an environment where one of our customers who was leaving the state for good had to stop by and see it “one more time so I never forget”.

I know that most people do not want to labor physically, would prefer to watch some TV, enjoy sports more than gardening, care about the car they drive or shopping for a new handbag/suit/plasma screen. I understand the excitement of urban living and having a choice of a thousand restaurants to choose from at a moment’s notice. We became aware of all the things that Jim has written about in his articles almost a decade ago and sat ourselves down to discuss, for quite some time and with deep deliberation, what we wanted from our lives. I didn’t want to spend the best years of my life away from the people I loved the most for 50 or more hours a week just to earn the kind of income it took to pay for all the things I couldn’t get to because I was off at a job- our food, our energy, our children’s education, someone to mow the lawn or fix the sink or paint the fence.

We decided that it was worth trading our established life with all of its conveniences and ease for one that was deliberately ours, one where we called our own shots, planned for our own future, filled our own days and years with the kinds of tasks and activities that best benefited us as a family. We’ve grown healthier by far, more confident, more resilient, closer and more loving, open to others and willing to help those who need it. We’re less dependent on others for the kinds of things most people can do for themselves but do not. We do not fear the future whatever may happen, but look forward to whatever it brings. Our children are growing into solid, honorable and decent human beings who we enjoy immensely. Our marriage is rock solid, our health superb and our spiritual outlook positive.

All of this has come about not because we are exceptional, but because we were intentional. A lot of people point to the troubles of our time, the falsehoods that define us, the decay and corruption that attend the decline and say “but what can I do about it?”

There is nothing you can do about it. What you can do is change yourself. Change your frame, expand your vision, take the actions required to make you and your family into high functioning husbands and wives and fathers and mothers. Be a good neighbor, do for yourselves, think further out than payday, expect nothing from anyone and be grateful when you get it. Feed yourself from your own labor, lay up stores for the day when there is no plenty, pay attention to the beauty in each moment, every experience, do your best even when no one will ever see it, stay positive, be honest but not cruel, avoid being drawn into the drama of things that have nothing to do with you and create a peaceful environment wherever you happen to be.

It is your life, not theirs. What you do with it is your choice and how you live it determines who you are.

Let your life be the beginning of the revolution.