The more things change, the more they remain the same

A small farm or homestead is a long-held dream of mine, as noted previously, but – again as previously noted – is one which has repeated been deferred. But I have never stopped longing and yearning for it. In re-reading some of my earlier entries here, I saw this:

"When I ask myself, 'what do I want to do with my life?' here are some of the answers that I come up with:

• be outside a lot of the time
• work with my hands as well as my mind
• as a writer, do something that’s worth writing about!
• be, as much as possible, “my own boss”
• get out of the urban/suburban sprawl to a rural area
• work with animals, plants, hand tools, and simple machines
• be self-supporting as much as possible, especially as regards food
• own enough land to enjoy privacy, and coexist with nature as friends
• do something in which I can, as much as possible, work out of my home
• be able to end the day with the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing tangible tasks successfully
• help to re-weave the connections between humankind, non-human nature, and the world of Spirit
• do something I can hand down to future generations, if I am fortunate enough to have offspring
• live lightly on the Earth
• teach others

When I look at all of those together, “small, diversified family farm” is what seems almost inevitably to coalesce out of the matrix. While there are other possible careers or even vocations that could accomplish several of these ends, that seems to me to be the only one that hits them all.

That entry was written eight (!) years ago, in August of 2009. It is no less true today than it was when it was written. I do not yet know how, when, or whether I can manage this ~ God alone knows if I can manage it! But I want to, so bad it hurts...