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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Transition Lifestyles: Satisfaction

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  • From: Emery Mitchamore <emitch@att.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Transition Lifestyles: Satisfaction
  • Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 08:43:14 -0500

It may be parsing a bit, but the opposite - separation from the things that
matter degrades our whole being. I imagine everyone on this list can relate
to the daily pain of leaving home and family every morning.

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.net



On Sep 5, 2010, at 9:22 PM, Tradingpost wrote:

>
> Then a more "grounded" lifestyle can mean working to produce the food we
> eat, procure the clothes we wear, build or rework our shelter and so forth
> - all work that contributes directly to our own needs and wellbeing -
> instead of working for just money to pay someone else to provide those
> things for us. There is such a profound satisfaction to find the confidence
> to do for ourselves. You folks know this in your very being.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
> --Henry David Thoreau
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 9/5/2010 at 6:25 AM pbunch@cox.net wrote:
>
>> Thank you so much for the responses so far, I hope there are more to
>> come. Work as an integral part of life seems to be a thread which ties
>> together all of these responses. If this is generalizable it is very
>> significant. It really is not surprising in that many psychologists have
>> worked on the problem of alienation and compartmentalization of "modern"
>> life and found them to be harmful.
>>
>> One of the issues I have come across in the transition literature is the
>> need to educate people to prosper with fewer material goods. The sense of
>> satisfaction in life is one of the fundamental components of this kind of
>> prosperity. Surviving would hardly be worthwhile if it meant living with a
>> sense of constant drudgery and boredom.
>>
>> A related issue that may be worth chatting about is well-being and how we
>> communicate it. It gets into the use of status symbols which of course
>> will never go away but will change in a low consumption society. How do we
>> tell people non-verbally who we are and that we are doing just fine, thank
>> you? Smiles and facial expressions reflecting well-being are usually part
>> of the package but we also generally use clothing, jewelry and other
>> symbols that say I am this or that and have the power to own this or that.
>>
>> This group derives status as members of the living on the land listserve
>> and through contributions to the list. We respect those that contribute
>> useful information and their status increases as they help others. This
>> appears to me to be a very healthy kind of prosperity. Membership in the
>> group also provides the benefits of being recognized as a valued part of a
>> community, sharing the benefits of knowledge, reaffirmation of beliefs,
>> and other non-tangibles.
>>
>> An example of a symbol in the community where we are becoming integrated
>> is rubber boots. People who work in this rather damp climate generally
>> ware rubber boots as their work shoes. They are just a practical
>> adaptation to the the realities of life. They do however immediately
>> scream out " here is a campesino or at least a person who works outside
>> and understands the realities of the countryside. As an unknown person I
>> am immediately accepted on a different level when I'm walking down the
>> trail in rubber boots. The greeting is likely to be "hello neighbor"
>> rather than just "hello" or perhaps some non-verbal indication that I am
>> being accepted as something other than a tourist (the most common kind of
>> "outsider" in the area.)
>>
>>
>>
>
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