Lifestyle change

Our family is beginning a new journey in a couple weeks that goes against the grain. The lifestyle we desire isn’t cookie cutter or what most people would agree with or even desire, but we hope that in our explorations we can educate others and show that life can be lived differently.

How do you survive in a society that values all of the “things” that mean nothing to you? It’s been a long haul and it has definitely been an adjustment to the way I’d been raised, but slowly I started changing. Material “stuff” started having less and less meaning and I started to change the way I lived. I realized everything that I do has a consequence and leaves a footprint and I wanted my footprint to be as light as possible. Life is more conscious for me now. I try to be aware of EVERYTHING that I do…I know about the food I put into and on my body to the clothing I choose to wear. I recycle, re-use, reduce, conserve, read EVERY label, make healthy choices, waste little, use local and organic products etc. I do not want to poison myself or my earth. It is, after all, the only planet we have and it’s part of me. If I don’t take care of it then I don’t take care of myself or the younger generations.

I wish that everyone could see that everyone and everything is connected. Whether you call it GOD or GODDESS, Buddha, Enlightenment, love, peace…it’s all the same. We are all part of the same and we are all connected.

So what are we doing to make a change?
We’ve decided that we’d finally chuck the current way of living and live and travel in an R.V. We start our first workamping job in Oregon in a few weeks. We will be living in a campground, running a campsite. Rent and utilities are included and we get a salary. We aren’t going to make it big and become millionaires, but we will have each other and our animal friends and we will make enough to be comfortable. We will be close to nature and have a very simple way of life. No deadlines or meetings, running here or there…No ulcers or stress headaches….we will be free to enjoy life at a slower pace. Now we can do what most people wait to do…camp, hike, sit in a hammock allll day, fish, horseback ride, cook and eat slow without being rushed. We won’t have a cell phone connected to our head and we may not even have a computer some days. There will be no hum of electronics 24 hrs a day and no constant driving in the car. The goal is to sloooow down.

What about Alison?....
Life just goes so fast now. Children have cell phones at age 4…I-pods, Nintendo D.S., Webkins (ugh) and their own Myspace. DOES ANYONE NOTICE THAT KIDS DON’T PLAY OUTSIDE ANYMORE? Children NEED to play outside. There have been repetitive studies done that show that children need nature. They need that connection with earth. More and more children are being put on anti-depression meds. More children have A.D.D. and more children are getting larger and lazier. [1] They sit inside all day and play on the computer or watch T.V. Most children this day and age have never experienced camping in their backyard or playing in a tree house, let alone building one. They have never had a leaf race in a small stream or gutter when it’s raining. They don’t play tag outside or collect flowers. Most children don’t even know what type of tree is right outside their front door. I’ve noticed that more and more children are lacking common sense as well. I’m not sure if there’s a connection, but it would make sense.

Our daughter is one of the main reasons that we’ve chosen to change our lifestyle. We have started homeschooling her and we plan to let her explore mother-nature and become friends with a world she doesn’t know too much about. She’s very excited too so we are blessed.

Homeschooling? Are you sure you want to do that? What about socialization?
That is the most common asked question. Our daughter will get more socialization than she would get in any classroom where she sits 6 hours a day with only kids that are her age. She will get to travel, meet people of all ages and of all types and she will learn from all different faucets other than one teacher in one classroom AND honestly I really don’t want her around most of the children her age right now. Many in this area are horrible influences! =)
Our children are the future for this world. How can there be change if we don’t teach them what’s important? Sadly what seems to be taught in the area I live is that a BMW or Mercedes is important. Name brand clothing and the latest gadget (Webkins-don’t even get me started on that ridiculous game) are more important than having dinner with mom and dad. They are learning at age 5 to try and “keep up with the Jones’s.” I want my daughter to learn that most important in life is to, live in the moment, be happy, love, be kind to others and take care of our planet.…mostly to have compassion for every being and everything that is. If I can pass down the knowledge for her to make a difference for the better on this planet than I’ve done everything I want in life. Hopefully I can teach her what’s important at a younger age so she doesn’t have to struggle with the material desires and nonsense of “normal” society.

The future? Of course we don’t know where life is going to take us. We have no set plans at any given time. Someday we hope to settle on a small piece of land where we can fall off the grid, have our animals, grow our own food and be mostly sustaining on our land alone. Hopefully along the way we will meet others who think like we do and who also want to make a difference


[1] Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv