Following Your Passion Through Thick & Thin
Through thick and thin. Sticking to your values and choices.
Homesteading Failures and Successes
The past few days have been a high on the homestead as we dig and distribute many of the awesome perennials we've written about in previous posts.
We are planting new varieties of berries and bare root apples and pears. The whole process feels aligned and beautiful. But it doesn't always feel this way...
There are times when I question why I live this life. There are days when I wonder what I got myself into.
There are days we look at each other and ask What the hell are we doing...?
Other times, like today, we look at each other with a knowing smile and know exactly why we are doing this lifestyle. We give thanks and feel elated at the fruit of our labors, hands dirty, fingernails grimy, yet souls full.
Thornless blackberry trellis put up today
I truly believe life is a mix of this.
Nothing will be 100% perfect-- and how could it be? Life is an ever moving, constantly forming experiment where we connect with the present moment and either feel a deep ease in relationship with it or seek to shift it.
We hope to never paint an untrue picture where it seems like everything is always hunky dory or that homesteading life is simple or easy. It's hard work and it often pushes us to our edges. Yet we have deeply chosen it and are completely in this lifestyle. For now there is no ducking out -- and we're happy with that decision.
various roots and tubers: sunroot, comfrey, blackberry
As we get to know the land that we're on and dig into our soil, tending and amending it each year, we feel an increasingly abundant satisfaction at the work of our hands.
Lingonberry planted near the pond. We’re excited about this new homestead addition!
Today I dug up a Skirret plant, what was once a popular carrotesque staple crop in Europe, separated out the clumps into dozens of baby plants and moved them around the land. As I sunk the shovel into the soil, I felt the work of our past selves. Our tending has paid off and you can see that in the piles of rocks that line the edges of our land. Yet when I sink the shovel in and hit no resistance, a perfect home for a root crop, we know our hard work is paying off.
Thornless Blackberry “Chester” variety dug up and ready to be shipped out! For sale in the shop!
While this life may not be easy, it sure is satisfying.
Digging up thornless blackberry rooted tip layers (which we have for sale on the @homesteaderscoop, be sure to check them out!), Jerusalem Artichokes, Skirret, Comfrey, Nettle, Walking Onions and so many other plants, I know I am not only providing food for my future self, but taking part in a perennial vision that is not ours alone, but that has been shared by humanity for eons.
Comfrey Root dug up and moved all over the property
We are blessed and grateful to take part in this vision.
When we see the current agricultural model which is not abundant and which doesn't always make sense or seem "good", we feel a calling to make better action and to literally put our hands to making a difference. Every meal we eat that is mostly from our land is a step toward empowerment.
Each time we provide for our own needs or the needs of our community, we are taking our power and sustenance into our own hands -- and no one can take that from us. No government can control it and, in fact, it never even touches a government record. While being under the radar is sort of an inadvertent goal of ours, the way we are able to reap this abundance is worth its weight in gold.
Hugelkultur mound full of logs and sticks from around the property.
The core message we've heard in our own lives and from relationships with others is to follow the passion. Whatever lights you up inside is what you're meant to focus on. There will be stress and struggle (welcome to life!), but the moments that feed the soul are what get us through the hard times.
Homesteading is not for everyone, but everyone has a passion, even if it’s a dormant and undiscovered one. Passion is what directs actions and connects us to the WHOLE of life. The path may not always be clear and certainly isn't always easy, but following the inner voice that says YES is a recipe for a fulfilled life.
Through thick and thin we have committed to this life style, and we believe whole heartedly in what we are doing. Energy and moods wax and wane, but the passion keeps steadily building. This is what keeps us going.
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Thanks for your awesome post and the very important message to all of us! To follow the passion is our determination. When we do what we should do our soul will be fulfill. Keep on doing your great homesteading work! I really appreciate your way and your attitude.
yes! full soul is a good way to stay on one's path! we are only here for a short time, after all. thanks so much, much love
I think it is amazing that you live like this and that you accept the things you don't have for the things you have. You are examplary for living consciously and I love your energy. You are doing some powerful work and what you do resonates abck to the entire fractal of the universe. So keep it up and help to raise mankinds frequency.
yes. we cannot sit and just focus on what we do not yet have. it's a long term vision lived out day by day and the sweet things which our souls relish come to the fore and we give thanks... it sustains and motivates us. thank you for your insightful, encouraging and kind comment flauwy. it is much appreciated!
Love your dedication. I could feel your passion as you walked us through the events around your place. I know that feeling when you have produced or harvested what you are eating and knowing what ever happens you will be able to survive because of your previous efforts. To me that gives a very secure feeling going into the future. Thanks for sharing that bit of your life.
adknowledging the pros and cons is important. I'm happy to see all of your roots you're tending there and I believe in your work. Keep on keeping on.
thanks dear, moved more around today, including some blackberry lilies, such cool roots kinda a similar color to goldenseal, an interesting chinese medicinal
Nothing worthwhile in life never comes easy; if it was handed to us on a silver platter it would not be as sweet... easy, but not sweet.
Enjoy these years of hard work, before long you will be sitting recalling the days when working from morning till night was all you wanted to do and were happy to do... as before you know it, it will be time to sit back and rest and admire the results of that work which will sustain itself and you.
so so true. that hard work lets us know when the sweet times come. thanks so much for your kind and encouraging (and true!) words
Gorgeous cat picture at the end. Its great that you are sharing your perennials, a very concrete way of spreading your vision.
thanks, i'll let wilder know you like her looks. yes, a very grounded way to share the vision eh ;)
There's the good and the bad, the easy bits and the back breaking hard bits. But it's never boring... :))
hehe certainly not!
In your video you said "these are the moments that feed our souls" and I was thinking and today while I was in traffic and waiting in govt. lines "these are the moments that suck life out of my soul.
Anyways it was interesting to see the contrast.
that contrast allows us to know differentiate the moments which do feed our souls... without them we may not be able to taste the sweetness!
I agree with you! That was a quote that hit home for me as well.
Ren
I love how you guys are so completely in the present, being with every moment, good and bad. That is the ultimate survival tool, being able to be present and real, looking at reality for what it is and not kidding yourselves or getting down and desperate when shit hits the fan. I admire this so much!
You guys teach me a lot about homesteading, but it's things like this that really resonate to my soul. Thanks for sharing bits of your lives here, it's so appreciated!
Xx ToL
your comment goes straight to the heart. thanks so much!
You two are so awesome. You explained how life can be. I do appreciate that you are sharing the good with the bad. Thank you.
thanks so much sweet heart