Free-Range Living

'Fast Flow----  '

The geese flew away two/three weeks after they came here at the organic eco micro-holding (small smallholding) in the UK midlands , just a staging post then to - where? - be interesting to know where they ended up for the winter. Seems quiet without them, and yet pleasant - peace and quiet reigns again ---- The micro-holding season's more or less over, with most autumn maintenance jobs such as hedging, lopping, sawing, now completed, and a less active more restive couple of months to look forward to - feels a bit like semi-hibernating and the pace of life definitely slows a little, not that it's too hectic anyway.

Good to see now the winter landscapes, also in 'shutdown', and giving another take on the countryside vistas hereabouts. It isn't what might be called a 'pretty, pretty' area, just solidly pleasant 'green and pleasant land', with the extra benefits of being diverse as a multi-diverse farming area, and with the blessing of plenty of

trees. The line of sizeable trees just up the lane have been particularly splendid, having this year taken their time to change leaf colour then shed them,  continuing to be a strong and steady presence ---

'Non mainstream - ?'

  Even though 'eco living''s image isn't quite as eccentric as it used to be seen not that long ago, it's probably still a minority activity - it may well be that many living in more urban locations may have anyway more limited opportunity eco-wise in that living circumstances there don't particularly lend themselves to the job. It's said that 'the clock's ticking', and that basically time's running out, if man wants to practise 'good husbandry' resource-wise and help poor ol' struggling Mother Earth out ( not a bad idea to remember now and again that even in 'techno-world', without basic elements - eg.s water, sunshine - game over - ?) Surely people can't  really want to be part of  a generation seen to be responsible for 'planet degradation' - ? Sun worshippers of old, written off so often as 'pagans' or even 'savages', may have just had a bit more 'savvy' than given credit for - ?  What with a preponderance of heavy, gas-guzzling 'tank' cars, seemingly ever-expanding air travel and a leader elected of the most powerful country on earth who is an upfront climate degrading denier, the signs for hope may not be, well, hopeful --- ?

The sticking point could be consumer consumption, or rather, over-consumption - one scientist calculated that in terms of current consumption rates, a planet five times the size of earth will be needed for the future. Everyone may well then have of necessity to consume less - and be maybe physically fitter and mentally stronger for it - ? Living simply - frugally even - can  be beneficial in that the mind is then engaged creatively to find economic solutions for life's needs, with the odd 'want' thrown in, all of which can 'de-flab' the brainbox and some of which can 'de-flab' the body too, all to good avail ---- It's maybe the 'normed' heavy consumption style of living that can seemingly 'hit': ---  the wallet ----, the fitnesss ---- , the independent spirit ----, the inventiveness ------ , the 'making and mending' skills ------ , the longer-term and deeper human values --- ----  - the list could go on -----?

'Backwater living ---- '

Doing a micro-bit of eco living, as here on the micro-holding, is of course the proverbial 'drop in the ocean' compared to the totality of 'good earth husbandry' measures that seem likely to be needed, (some scientists are suggesting active geo-physical measures are now needed), but it is at the level the individual(s) can manage to do, and if lots of individuals managed to do it -------- . One of the barriers to overcome would seem to be just this - the individual writing off any individual effort as 'meaningless' in the face of 'the big task' ( Michael Foley, in his book The Age of Absurdity, for instance, also talks about a fast on-going momentum created by 'large-ist' commercial cultures, against which individuals feel unempowered and powerless).

People will say too,  about, say, growing their own food - 'no point - easier to pop down the supermarket, and grab it off the shelves'. Easier it may be, but look at the 'costs' : - no 'creative satisfactions' from planting and producing, no physical exercise from digging and hoeing, no gaining that unique and individual frissonce of 'independence', no feeling of good neighbourliness being able to pass on spare plants and produce, no meeting of 'those twin imposters, triumph and disaster' , no satisfying feeling that 'one's doing one's bit', and last but not least, no exquisitely tasting produce, having been picked just before use -----  . And however micro-small the efforts of one small individual, what about the satisfaction, at individual level, that care, longer-term husbandry  and self-responsibility are being gained and exercised - ? Maybe the individual and her/his needs/ feelings /satisfactions have been too easily discounted and readily written off in 'large-ist' modern cultures ----- ? And/or, because the individual is micro small and the prevailing culture can  appear to be that of 'big is best', might is right', then individual needs get somewhat scant and meagre  attention and respect --- ? A message on the computer screen a day or two back illustrates : 'It's Black Friday, act accordingly!' Another commercial message, this time via the phone, kept shouting out the instruction 'contact NOW!'. Crikey- wonder how come they think they're ok to start ordering people about -?

'Dam, and blast ----- '

So, given that the mainstream 'fast flow' could be stronger than ever and therefore the power to 'sweep people along' greater than ever, it may be important for the ('freeranger') individual to do what he/she can to retain some independence and personal values - their own personal 'anchor', as it were. against the 'fast flow' of the cultural mainstream - ? Many have done so before - witness the 'downsizing' trend awhile back - people eschewing the money treadmill, then often living with fewer finances, but, from a more multi-dimensioned angle, leading saner and more fulfilling lives. Sawing and chopping wood, as here on the micro-holding, is then not just about the physical aspect of providing fuel, but also about nurturing independent self-reliant spirit to better able 'survive and thrive' longer-term in a fast-paced and seemingly increasingly 'normed' world (eg. the globalisation movement), and to give the good ol' freeranger self a bit of a blast ----