I quit!
I want to share with you a few old words of wisdom that prompted me to make this decision. It's a quick excerpt from an old book on agriculture that was given to me. However, this was the inspiration that caused me to sit back and say, 'I quit'.
Some Wise Words...
"Some people seem to think they must accomplish in a few years what their grandparents spent half a lifetime doing, namely, carving a comfortable home out of the wilderness…. I see no sense in turning a potentially satisfying and rewarding experience into a period of nerve-shattering frustrations.
"Why would you choose to live in the country? Most likely because you crave the peace and quiet of the 'good life' close to the soil.
"It is entirely possible that you could spend half of your lifetime trying so hard to make yourself "comfortable" on the land that you never have time to enjoy the peace and quiet that you have around you." The Country Way, by Lloyd Eighme
A little about us...
That hit me between the eyes and has prompted me to make some revolutionary changes. Perhaps a quick bit of background is in order.
This is our first summer on a new (to us) homestead. While we feel so blessed to finally have our own piece of dirt after all these years, here's the stark reality… a mountain of things are piling up that need to be done--yesterday! At least it seems
that they are all urgent.
The fire season is looking grim this year and our forest would go up in flames like a match box if it was ignited. We need to thin it out and remove "ladder fuels" and we need to do it--yesterday. And set up the water tank and fire pump that will be needed if we do have a small fire pop up in the area, and we need to do that-- yesterday. We need to establish a sizable garden plot--yesterday. And we need to plant an orchard--yesterday. The current off grid power system in this homestead, while it is operational, it's old and needs some major overhauling before it disintegrates-- yesterday. The gophers have taken over the entire area and need to be brought under control--yesterday. And the list goes on… that's without mentioning making a living to afford all these things that need to be done--yesterday!!
Sound Familiar?
Does my list sound familiar to you? Maybe not the specifics, but the long list of super urgent things that must be done before…before…before what? Before something happens. For many years I operated in what I call "crisis mode" moving from one "crisis" to the next. I never had time to do anything particularly well because there were always more pressing
items on the burner. And there was an overarching concern that these things get done before…well, you know what. After years of this, I finally came to realize that operating in crisis mode is liable to catch up with you in the form of hundreds of unfinished projects or jerry-rigged short term fixes that had to be redone periodically. And that's not to mention
the physical and mental stress it creates. Are you with me?
I'm just as concerned about the future as ever, and that's one of the many reasons I live this wonderful lifestyle. But I've come to realize that we can't let our concern over possible impending events lure us into decisions that we will regret later on. You see, I believe that if we do things for the right reasons, we'll not only be thankful for those choices now, but
we'll be glad in the future as well.
1990-2015
So when making decisions, I've started to think further in the future than I used to. I now believe it's the better part of wisdom. Think back to the 1990's. Back then, I couldn't imagine life going on as usual in 2…0…1…5! That was unthinkable! But here we are, and how I wish I had thought about 2015 when making so many decisions over the years. I think it boils down to a healthy mixture of being ready for "things" to happen now, but yet planning for the
future (ever heard the phrase "keep planting"?).
What I'm Quitting
So here is what I'm quitting. I'm quitting the band-aid approach to solving problems on the homestead. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. But even more important than that, I'm quitting the ever-present stress that goes along with living in "crisis mode". God has placed us on this earth for a few short years, and why not make the most out of each one of them and enjoy them for what they are? Enjoy the blessings we have been blessed with, and use those blessings as a means to prepare for the future.
So now, I do what I'm reasonably able to do, and then I don't worry about all the remaining things that are still on the docket. I'll get to them when I'm able to do them and do them right. And you know what? I think I'm able to get a lot more done with this lower-stress systematic outlook, not to mention a much higher quality of life. But it all hinges on doing what you can NOW. Procrastination is the mother of almost all panic. Steady action is the mother of peace
of mind.
So what are some things you can do right now, even if you are far from having your own homestead? Well, I put together a short PDF that you can download for free to give you a bunch of ideas.
