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Night by Elie Wiesel

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Moving forward, I will be reposting some old blog posts from Among the Realm that seem relevant today or posts that I like.

I wrote a book review on this for my survey of world views class. If you have not read this book go get it and read it… It will be tough to get through at times but it is well worth it.

Night chronicles the life of Elie Wiesel as he was persecuted as a Jew during the time of the Jewish Concentration camps. Unbelievable events lead Wiesel on an incredible journey testing his endurance, faith, and love for God. The worldview of naturalism was evident among his captors, which causes Wiesel to think those thoughts.

The story begins with a young Elie training in the Jewish customs of the day. The Germans established a presence among the Jewish communities and over time began the oppression of the Jewish people. The German troops began to relocate the Jewish people in communities called ghettos. It was not until the eight days of Passover that the “race towards death had begun.” The German’s first rule was that people were not allowed to leave their homes for three days and if broken was punishable by death. The troops wanted to establish control early so they began to confiscate valuables.

Elie and his family were transported to the second ghetto, the last stop before being transported to the concentration camps. The day arrived for Elie and his family to leave. They were instructed to head to the synagogue which acted like a train station. Eighty Jews were escorted in cattle cars, which would deliver them to the camps. They spent two days travelling, not able to lie down and in the stifling heat. The trip in itself was bad enough, but then Mrs. Schachter began to lose her mind. She was having visions of a fire off in the night sky. This went on for hours until she was beat and gagged to keep her quiet. A few hours later, they saw the flames rising in the sky that Mrs. Schachter envisioned. The smell of burning flesh was in the air as they left the car leaving their belongings behind.

In Birkenau they were sorted according to gender: “Men to the left! Women to the right!” This is the last time Eli saw his mother and sister. Elie and his father remained together, were told what ages they were and instructed to walk towards the crematorium. Two steps away from certain death; they were instructed to turn left to the barracks. The grueling process of sorting continued. They were shaved, beaten, disinfected, and prison garb were thrown at them.

Elie and his father were transferred to many camps throughout their journey. The camps were similar in operation. Elie witnessed his father being beaten many times but felt no emotion. January 28, 1945, Elie spent his last night with his father, but he could not find the tears to cry. Elie was relieved to be free of the burden his father had become. In April of that year, the detainees received word that they were going to be set free. On April 10, Elie was a free man.

The worldview of naturalism was evident among Elie’s captors. The guards had no respect for humanity. They threatened the Jews with death and suffering. The German’s who were capable of this violence had no place for God in their hearts.

One act of inhumanity towards the Jews was sealing them in a cattle car. The Germans wanted to strip everything away from the Jews. Families were torn apart and dignity was not left for anyone. One officer said, “If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot like dogs.” The Jews were reduced to animals.

The Germans succeeded in making the Jews feel unwanted, unloved, not deserving of God. Elie said, “ We were incapable of thinking. Our senses were numbed, everything was fading into a fog. We no longer clung to anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride had all deserted us. In one terrifying moment of lucidity, I thought of us as damned souls wandering through the void, souls condemned to wander through space until end of time, seeking redemption, seeking oblivion, without any hope of finding either.” A man who believes in God would not say these things under normal conditions.

The worse act of inhumanity by the German’s was the hanging of a child while everyone was forced to watch. This forced people to ask, “Where is God?” These acts that were facilitated by humans were forcing people to question their belief in God. Elie questioned God himself, “Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because he caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves?” The violent acts committed by a human that Elie witnessed caused him to think these thoughts.

As Elie was having a conversation about his father to his commander, the commander told him that it is every man for himself; and in this place there is no such thing as a father, son, or friend. He said, “Each of us lives and dies alone.” He also told him to stop helping his father by feeding him. These comments made by the commander were void of God and with no concern for humanity. A Christian does not live alone and die alone. The commander does not see value in a relationship with God and helping humanity.

Elie’s journey diminished his faith as his soul and self diminished from the oppression of the Germans through their violence and lack of decency for humanity.

A Video from The Dark Horse Podcast about Night

Filed Under: Reading Journal

Building the Modern Homestead

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

A look into the past

Lets redefine the modern homestead. First, we have to look into the past. Throughout history, families and homes look different from what we have today. There were multi-generational families, where the kids would learn and consistently be around older members of the family. The homes produced for the family. It was hard work to keep the homestead functioning. The homes of the past produced gardens, meat, eggs and close knit family units. Families worked together to make sure they had what they needed for the coming winter. This kind of home required people to be renaissance men or a jack of many trades and a master of some. It required people to build skills along with a strong sense of community to support each other.

Today, we have homes that take instead of give. We generally hire other people to fix our problems. We buy our food from a store. The focus of how we survive hinges on systems outside of our control. How do we change that? How do we build a productive homestead? What comes to mind when we hear about a modern homestead? A farm? A house with a garden and some livestock? The modern homestead needs a fresh look. We should be thinking how can we have our homes produce instead of take.

A photo of the shire from Lord of the Rings.
I will admit, I do dream of living in the shire, so creating one sounds like a good idea to me!

Is modern agriculture the answer?

No. Modern agriculture is devastating. Things changed between the 1930’s and the late 1960’s as modern technologies were introduced to make farming easier. As a result, the small farmer was out competed by the large corporate farms. All of this progress does not come without faults. The heavy use of synthetic fertilizers were produced to sustain monoculture crops like soy, corn and wheat which caused soil depletion. What modern agriculture really is, is the cultivation of fields. Fields that become barren land. If modern agriculture is not the answer, then what is?

You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden.

Geoff Lawton

What is the solution?

There is probably more than one solution to these issues. But I can tell you where it begins. It begins, with you. Take steps into turning your home into a homestead. Over time, transform your home into a place that produces instead of takes. One purpose of Among the Homestead is to chronicle the journey as I build my own homestead. As I build content, I will explore different ways to design the life I want to live. Begin by learning about food production and plant propagation. Grow some plants! Horticulture is the cultivation of plants. The focus needs to shift form agriculture to horticulture.

The quote by Geoff Lawton says, “You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden.” Many people mistake the message that he was trying to convey. It doesn’t say that we can fix all the problems with a garden, but in a garden. What does it take to build a garden? It requires us to be resourceful, learn new skills and problem solve. All of those skills, if used elsewhere can help remedy a lot of different problems.

Do we need the right to food?

We all have the right to food. Sounds good, but is it? Currently, we have the right to food from the system. However, since the right of food is given it means that we are not in control of our food. We saw some food shortages already happen due to disruptions in the supply chain in 2020. Instead of the right to food it should be the right to grow food. Then the power shifts to the homesteader that is designing a system that produces. The goal is to reduce your reliance on systems that support your life or homestead. Think in percentages, not totality. When you get chickens, design it so that you grow some of their food instead of relying on the store to buy feed. Reduce your reliance.

I am not sure if this is an exact figure but I heard this in a podcast earlier this week. Marjory Wildcraft said, “If 1/3 of people had chickens, the need for eggs from the store would go away.” Again I am not sure if this is the exact quote or figure but the point remains the same. Reduce your reliance by growing some of your own food. It begins with you.

When you have created The Shire, give me a call, I’ll be there barefoot and all!

Resources

I have included some extra resources to get you motivated to transform your home to homestead.

The Survival Podcast

Tenth Acre Farm

The Grow Network

All Around Growth Podcast

The Future of the Modern Homestead

You can spend your whole life traveling around the world searching for the Garden of Eden, or you can create it in your backyard.

Khang Kijarro Nguyen

Sitting at our back doorsteps, all we need to live a good life lies about us. Sun, wind, people, buildings, stones, sea, birds and plants surround us. Cooperation with all these things brings harmony, opposition to them brings disaster and chaos.

Bill Mollison

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Living Your Best Life

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

It’s 2021! I don’t have to go into detail on all the drama associated with last year. With 2020 out of the way, there isn’t a better time to start building the life you want. We are focusing on the dash that sits in between the year you were born and the end of your life. That dash is what matters. Similar to planting a tree, the best time to start working on living your best life was 20 years ago. If you haven’t done that, the second best time is now. We will explore the following questions that will help develop your dash. You may also want to read my first blog post titled, Making the Most of my Dash.

  • What does your best life look like?
  • How to use a less than ideal situation to build what you want.
  • How to use the my three things technique to work on your goals.

What does your best life look like?

First things first. Discover what your ideal life looks like. Do you want to own a business? Side hustle? A 9-5 job? Work part time and use a side hustle to fill in the gaps? Figuring this out is a key step in the process. Take the time to think this one over, but don’t dwell. Define some clear goals and write them down. Doesn’t matter if they seem unattainable, write it anyway.

I have some goals as far as what living my best life would look like. The trick is getting to the point of execution. Are you stuck in an less than ideal situation with another job, but can’t leave? How do you use that job as a tool to get what you want?

Using a less-than ideal situation

Living your best life might seem impossible especially if you are stuck in a less-than ideal situation. I have worked at UPS for 20 years. Yes, you read that correctly. 20 years is a long time. A long time of devoting my life to something that isn’t exactly an ideal situation. It was never my plan to stay there that long, it was supposed to be temporary. Yet, here I am 20 years later working at UPS. I can complain about UPS all day long. Sometimes, I do. But that does not get me anywhere. I still have to show up the next day. I can use UPS and the fact that it is a stable job and provides for my family. I can use that peace of mind to start some side-hustles. It is a delicate dance though, the day job can zap all my energy and motivation, leaving little time for working on what I want.

My three things

For those of us who have a lot of commitments, implementing the “My three things” method of completing tasks has helped me. I first learned of it from Nicole Sauce at the Living free in Tennessee Podcast. The idea is that you must complete three things every day towards a specific goal. I do not include general chores or daily responsibilities. Someday’s you might only have one my three things task for the day. Because life is busy you also might have 20 things to complete in one day. Which is going to happen, but the my three things for that day are the tasks that are completed no matter what. This can become complex and ongoing. Big picture goals need a longer time commitment. For example, being debt free or losing weight.

Listen to the Living Free in Tennessee Podcast Episode 275 to learn more about the my three things technique. But, don’t dwell much on technique. The important thing to remember is to start working on completing some goals.

What is your best life?

Well, that depends. Depends on you and your family. I can’t answer this one for you. It is something you will have to figure out as time moves forward. Have you always wanted a garden? Does having a garden fit into your life currently or do adjustments need to be made? Having some minions, I mean kids around can help with getting stuff done around the house. As a result, it will free time up for you to work on some goals instead of cleaning dishes all day long!

Tick tock, tick tock

Time is moving forward so you must act now to build your best life. I drag my feet all the time, waiting for the “best” time. The time is now. Often times the hurdles to getting stuff is not the task but ourselves. Move out of the way, step back from the situation and focus on completing some goals.

I have heard the phrase “the new normal” being pushed to the public. I’m not a fan of the phrase. As time moves forward it will be more difficult to build the life you want. Are you one of the people, wanting life to be like the “old normal?” Well, I have news for you, the “old normal” wasn’t that great either and we should not want to get back to that. We should be looking to build a different life that is drastically different from the old one. One that is is full of meaning and purpose.

There isn’t a better time than now to start living your best life, I know I am!

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

C.S. Lewis

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