Pondering....

I read an interesting post this morning on Jenna's blog over at Cold Antler Farm...and I have to say, it was very thought provoking.   Ever since we moved out to our little 10 acres in the country, I have had this urge to be more self-sufficient, even though I wasn't exactly sure where it was coming from. 

I was born in a city; raised in the suburbs; lived in the suburbs when I moved out of my parents house; moved to a larger city; moved to an even larger city; and then moved out to the country (which, by the way, is the LAST TIME I will move!).  It's not like I spent a lot of time on a farm or even in the rural countryside.  When we were growing up, there was a farm about a mile from our subdivision - Ben Heckman's farm.  He must surely have passed by now - God rest his soul.  But we would get on our bikes, peddle to his farm to buy eggs, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and the like.  That was pretty much the limit to my farm exposure as a kid.

But in Jenna's post, she talks about how society is changing so rapidly that innovation seems to be pushing us in the wrong direction.  Now I get it!  That is what has been niggling at the back corners of my brain since we moved here 2-1/2 years ago....people are too stressed and rude, traffic is a nightmare, we spend so much of our time trying to be here and do that, which necessitates the need for more technology...PDAs, smart phones, iThis, iThats, laptops, etc.  We have become slaves to technology - and not for our benefit, as most people would like to think.  People are so "me oriented" they no longer know what it feels like to hold a door open for the next person, nope - they have to go!  Now!  There is somewhere else they have to be!  REALLY??  You couldn't wait for 5 more seconds so you didn't let the door slam into the face of a mother trying to figure out how she was going to get her child in their stroller through the heavy glass door that is flying into her?

My grandparents would reach out from their graves to slap me if I did that...I was raised by the Golden Rule.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  How would they like to have that door slammed on them while they were carrying their groceries?  Not too good, I would imagine.  I was raised to say "please" and "thank you" in abundance...if you are in line at the grocery store with a cart full of groceries, and the person behind you has 3 things, let them ahead of you.  When someone is trying to merge onto the highway next to you, slow down to let them in or better yet, move to the left lane - don't run them off the road (as I have had done to me COUNTLESS times on my 140 mile commute to work)...Ask for help - don't demand it.  You know why?  It is called manKIND.  We need to get back to our values...they got lost in the technology somewhere...I guess people think they can blame the cell phone call for them tripping into a fountain in the mall...and not take the blame themselves.  We need accountability - no more passing the buck.  If you make a mistake, own it.  Do your best to correct the wrong if you can.

I would love nothing better than to sequester myself here on our land and not deal with society except on a limited basis (going to town for supplies, etc.).  At least until society decides they have strayed too far down the wrong path and will work to get back to the basics...back to being manKIND...

I know we all can fall victim to being sucked into the moment...but realize that moment, when you are being rude and self-obsessed, there is a beautiful sunset going on that you are missing...

or a new flower in your garden has bloomed and you are missing out on it...

or your pet has finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep and you are missing it...

You tell me - is it really worth it?