Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Mar 28, 2008, at 7:28 PM, tom wrote:

> I'll second the 'getting it down in writing' part of figuring out
> what you want.  I'm almost through a PDC while also reading Jacke's
> Edible Forest Gardening

Good for you, Tom, on both counts. Forest gardening will take time to  
become widely accepted but it is a wonderful concept.

> as we evolve our development plans for our
> place and the importance of goals articulation has really been driven
> home.  Not only is it important to get things in writing, but go a
> step further and phrase it in the present tense in an active voice.
> Don't write out a list of "this is what I want."  Write out a first
> person description of your life as you want it.

Excellent advice. Mind if I steal it?

>  Sounds goofy, but
> the perspective shift can be critical.  It was fascinating (and
> crucial) when my wife and I recently wrote out our 'goals'
> independently then sat down to read each others' statements.  On the
> whole our goals were very much the same, though the prioritization
> was different- it helped us both understand each other better and
> align our goals more effectively.

Of all the reasons why people screw up their lives by moving to the  
wrong place, spousal discord is most obvious. It ranks right up there  
with moving to the wrong community, where one's social values are in  
conflict with natives.