The Year in Review

     The year 2014 is nearing completion and as the soltice passes we take time to reflect on the year that was. We ask ourselves what lessons we have learned, what goals we accomplished and how can we continue to build upon our skills and relationships that sustain us. We give thanks and open up our homes and hearts to friends and family. The last days of December are indeed a very special time of the year.
     To me 2014 was a revolutionary experience. My connection to the earth has never been stronger. At the same time it was a year of tragedy and deep sorrow. The trying times in our lives often reshape us as individuals and these times have begun to strengthen my family and have reconnected many of us that had drifted apart. I hope to build upon these relationships over the next year, I think we will find that many of us are walking parallel paths through life and that once merged our pathways will show new direction and purpose.
     I continue to build knowledge and skills towards a regenerative lifestyle, one that will leave an abundant legacy for those who follow in my footsteps. As Bill Mollison has stated by the prime directive of permaculture, "The only logical decision is to take responsibility of our own existence and that of our children. Make it now." This simple idea serves as a guide to a resilient life. The act of taking back the responsibility for your life is absolutely liberating. With out this basic first step you will have great difficulty in providing a wholesome, caring upbringing for your children. It is essential that we provide them with the life skills and knowledge to carry this forward through the generations.
     The numbers of the new year are adding up to show great meaning in my life, my daughters birthday has the numbers 2 and 15 in it (February 15), also if you add the first two numbers and the last two you get my age (20+15=35). This may not mean anything, but I like the pattern that it presents and I believe that 2015 will be a pivotal year for us. We are moving into a new (to us) home early in the new year, so already there is much anticipation to see what new and exciting things we can do with this property. There are many great features of the landscape, and as we observe and interact with the home and the environment it will begin to show us the potential that it holds.
     I would like to thank my audience for taking the time to read and comment on my musings, I am often amazed by the warm response I get from all of you, this blog has become a great addition to my ongoing education and a fabulous resource of reflection and guidance when I start to feel discouraged. I wish you joyful and loving holiday season, and a new year filled with opportunity and health. See you in 2015!
    

A Personal Revolution

In life we are often confined to a certain roles brought on to us by life choices that sometimes do not play out as we expected. Instead of blaming others it is useful to accept your reality as your own and let your spiritual being guide you in the right direction. The elimination of the word blame from your vocabulary is an important step in your path to personal revolution, for it is difficult to focus on building a better world when you are in the mindset of "it's your fault".
  Too often I here people say that one person can't change the world, or their say or actions makes no difference in the outcome. This is bullshit. This kind of attitude is the reason why so many people are saddled with huge amounts of debt and are stuck in dead end jobs until retirement. You and you alone are responsible for your life, making small changes over a long period of time will lead you to your goals. Be patient. Once you start to realize some of your goals people will begin to take notice, you will start to change the world through your example. If you force it, nature will fight back. This doesn't mean you shouldn't share your goals with other people, social media is a great place to meet like minded individuals, test out brand ideas or get a feel for a particular niche. You will find a good balance of encouragement and criticism along the way, both are great tools, use them to your advantage. Some people may begin to feel alienated by some of your actions, this is normal, you will never see eye to eye with everyone. I would be most careful with family members, they are your direct support group. Make sure you explain yourself and what brought you to the point of personal revolution. I know I have made mistakes along this road in the past and continue to struggle with it. Make amends asap. If you follow three basic ethics (care of the earth, care of people, return the surplus) you will have a much easier time with the transition, and remember it is a long road.
  In my life I have certain long term goals and ideas to help myself accomplish them. I see learning opportunities in even the most mundane of tasks, pattern surrounds us, and using pattern recognition can actually make the boring everyday tasks quite fascinating, albeit often in hindsight. I believe in problem based solutions and voting with your wallet. Even though I am employed by a large faceless corperation, I strive to support local business and someday plan to have my own. Instead of taking on more debt via student loans and such I am working a high paying job and choosing to self educate with online courses and plan on using a portion of my tax return to pay for hands on courses not offered through standard educational pathways. My job is a large portion of my education, transferable skills are in everything we do. At 34 years old I refuse to accept the status quo. Education is a life long endeavor.
The one ethic that is most strained by my current occupation is care of the earth. I am a heavy equipment operator in one of the largest industrial projects on earth, the Alberta tar sands. This requires me to travel 1500km from home twice a month, where I rent a room in Fort McMurray. Here's where I must choose to start giving back to the earth. I do not have a vehicle when I am away, opting to walk to the grocer, where I purchase as much organic food as possible, and refrain from all GMO frankenfood. I ride the bus to and from work every day. When at home I use a good portion of my income on locally grown food, and have started a facebook campain to advocate local growers and crafters (www.facebook.com/comoxvalley100). I function stack my personal vehicle use, making sure to limit my trips to town and accomplish multiple tasks whilst there. I will often park in a central location, then walk or bike to the many different local shops I need to visit. We have sold our home in the country and have purchased a rural property only minutes from downtown. In the summer months my wife is planning to bike to work on a regular basis, and I will be running many of my light duty errands on a bicycle year round, weather permitting. We plan to retrofit our new home with solar panels for electrical generation and I will be installing rain water catchment for irrigation of our perennial based food forest. We are turning oil dollars into a resilient, sustainable homestead that will benefit the community and our family for generations. Using the problem to create a solution. You need to view life with a whole systems approach.
  This journey we are on can take us to places we never thought we would go. As you navigate this crooked path remember to take notes, share your experiences with those who are willing to listen and never give up on yourself. You can change the world, good will always be triumphant.