A Journey

I have been thinking a lot about what I want. What do I want my future to look like.

The only way I can sum it up is that I want to live a fully sustainable existence of mind, body and soul.

Not too much to ask, right?

I want to live in a place with enough land and inspiration to sustain the growth of a family for (and this I have no control over as I am sure my kids will want the exact opposite) generations.

I want to make what I eat. I want to be healthy because I know what I am putting in my body, because I grew it not because it has a natural or organic label on it that costs me a premium.

I want to sleep with a fulfilled soul, because I eat good food, work till I am tired, and make decisions based on the needs of my family and land and animals.

I think as much as you own your home, your land, your pets and your livestock, they also own you. They rely on you and you on them, I think that is the most beautiful and rewarding relationship.

I don't think about sustainability like most of my contemporaries. I don't want to build a house out of fully biodegradable products that will have to be replaced in 5 years. I am attracted to the houses that were built to last beyond the families that built them. The brick structures that could use more insulation but are as structurally sound as they individual products that make them up.

I don't want to toss toxic sludge in the water I drink. Instead of leaving no imprint on the land I call my own, the land that owns me, why not leave it better than I found it? If I could.

So today I live in an apartment with a small backyard and a garden plot with my boyfriend of 4 years, our wonderful roommate and a huge lab mutt named Dubs. I weigh 220 pounds and work in a local restaurant.

I want 7 kids, 1 milk cow, 3 pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, 5 dogs and enough food to never need to go to the supermarket. I want a life guided by the needs of my belly and my soul.

I start today.