Coping with paradise
I used to think I was the only
one capable of turning paradise into purgatory. Then I went to
visit Everett and realized that most type
A people probably share my unique skill.
Four years ago, I
finally got a chance to live my dream --- turning a chunk of swamp and
berry brambles into a self-sufficient homestead. You would have
thought I would have been in hog heaven, right? Well, I did enjoy
a lot of the first few years on the farm, but I also spent a
considerable amount of time so stressed out that I couldn't see the
immense beauty around me. Rather than noticing the tremendous
changes Mark and I had made on the farm, all I could see were the dozen
huge projects we seemed to never have time to deal with.
Contrast this mindset
with Mark's approach to homesteading. Mark is the world's hardest
worker...when he's working. But he doesn't peer up at the
tattered barn roof with the same heart-wrenching worry I experience;
instead, he enjoys the silhouette of the pole structure against the
blue sky. Once we've done everything on our list for the week, he
kicks back and enjoys the weekend.
Perhaps you're already a
type B person, fully adept at living in the moment. But just in
case you're type A and turning heaven into hell, I wanted to share
coping techniques I've developed in the last few years to regain my
bliss.
| This post is part of our Coping With Paradise lunchtime series.
Read all of the entries: |
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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The lists, the lists... I know we need to get with the lists. You know, we still haven't managed to make and stick with a weekly list yet?
But we're getting there. I was under the house all day yesterday insulating pipes and sealing up vents holes in the crawl space, but other than a run to the bank and hardware store today, I didn't do much of anything.
Mark I'm looking forward to that fly fishing trip. Congrats on your skylight and your sky flight!
Everett
I've had an astonishingly hard time getting myself to write this lunchtime series. It felt a bit like airing my dirty laundry, so I'm glad to hear that two of you are looking forward to it. I hope it helps somebody!
Everett --- I'll be walking you through my convoluted series of lists in later posts. You'll have plenty of time to try them out.