I've had many things I've wanted to write about thes past few weeks. Months, really. But life gets in the way of getting them down, and so they sit in the back of my mind waiting for their turn. Some wilt and come back to life when watered by research or rain from outside sources. Some do eventually die, if only because of my own inability to accept that their message is something someone else out there needs or wants to hear. And some sit there, glowing in their own source of divine energy.
This post is one of those last. This topic was sent to me over and over by divine source. Call it a message from God, if you like. While I use the word God to describe such a source sometimes, I tend to use Spirit more. It feels more universal, and not in a human belief way. Universal in an all-encompassing way.
But I digress. . .
I'm here today to write about something that has been glowing in its own light at the back of my mind for several years. It started before Covid, but the pandemic served to amplify it. And watching how people reacted to the pandemic and the aftermath we are currently experiencing solidified it.
Some will read this message and say I've slipped into "survival mode." I accept that. But it's more than that. There is more substance here than mere survival. This pull I am feeling has roots that run deep into our Mother Earth. It only seeks to be able to break through the surface and sprout forth to grow into the full glory I see in my mind. And yes, in my meditative journeys.
There is a reason this pull has been tugging at my core and my heart for these past years. There's a reason it's gotten exponentially stronger since Covid hit. And while I know parts of it are born out of fear, the self-work I have been doing over the past two and a half years has taught me that the pull is stronger because it's my purpose.
Without getting into my very BIG dream for life, I'm talking about self-sufficiency here today. Specifically, growing and storing our own food, and sourcing what you can't (or won't) grow from ethically and sustainably sourced markets.
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| 1/2 a cow in the freezer means clean, helathy, delicious meat for a year. |
But this pull I'm feeling--that my husband also feels--is about being able to support ourselves with food we grow or source from other local growers. And therein lies the message. . . You don't have to be able to grow everything yourself. Supporting your community by buying from other local growers is also part of self-sustainablity.
This video from msnbc gives a rundown of how buying locally supports your community in a bigger way. One fact that really drives me is:
"$1 out of every $100 spent online goes back into the community. Fifteen times that from the big box retailers. And up to $45 of every $100 spent in indepndent stores."
I recently watched a video by a homesteader I've been following for a a few years. More honesty forces me to admit that I had stopped watching her because she triggered me. Fiercely. I made excuses to myself for not watching her content. I told myself she doesn't teach things, just puts her life online for the world to see. But if you know how to watch things like that, you can learn from other people's lives. Even when it triggers you.
So I watched the video she posted on March 27 of this year entitled "The Urgency to Grow Food (and Audacious Hope)." I didn't know what to expect, but the 36-minute runtime had me at this better be good. My time is precious, especially my TV time, so I don't want it taken up by something that doesn't hold value for me.
Let me caveat this by explaining why this woman's content triggers me. She is living my dream. Sure the details may be different, but essentially she is livin gthe life I want to live. She has connections to the kinds of people I want to be connected to. She is taking college courses in the same subject area I want to take courses in. And her future dreams are much like my own.
As I write this, I understand that this woman has the very real potential to be an expander for me, and that is something I need to explore. Especially since she feels so out of reach.
But this video. . . Without going into the current political climate, she talks about her views on the predicted food crisis in the US. Shortages of staple items. Drastically increased prices. And there is, of course, always the issue of cleanliness, health value, and ethical sourcing. She tells her story of coming from living scant paycheck to scant paycheck and having date nights at the book store cafe so she and her husband could read the books and put them back.
And it was at one of those date nights, as she was reading a book about homesteading, that she felt the call. The urgency of needing to prepare. I know that call. I was in tears as she told this story. I felt the urgency bubble up again.
But she goes on to talk about the difference between preparing out of fear and coming from a place of faith and trust. Faith and trust allow you to learn as you grow. To take lessons from your failures as much as your successes.
I believe that my inner journey has allowed me to approach this subject from a place of peace. While I feel the urgency to beat the inflation of food prices, I am not afraid. Oh, I used to be afraid. Without a doubt, I was afraid of the potential of not being able to get food. But I realized that approaching this at a sustainable and calm pace is so much healthier.
We are eating cleaner by purchasing local dairy and meat, and by growing and preserving our own vegetables. And of course we have our flock to provide us eggs. I would love to help the people in my community do the same.
This took longer to write than I wanted, and as such, it became a bit scattered. I hope you stayed with me.
I have BIG dreams. And while it may take time, I will get there because I am meant to get there.
Don't ever give up on your dreams.
