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The Ongoing Journey

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

On a bridge in Honduras, discovering my journey

I have been having an ongoing conservation with Rob Kaiser from the All Around Growth Podcast on the subject of spirituality. The conservation reminded me of some poetry and some thoughts I had on this topic. I wrote these thoughts years ago, but they seem relevant today.

A Quiet Despair 

My heart is numb to this pain I feel

I do not understand why I feel no remorse

My soul is callous to the sin I bear

This evil clings to my heart in a quiet despair

I do not realize what has become of me

Like everyone else, I feel lost and confused

I cry to God, wondering why I am this way

And alone I sit in my quiet despair, all alone 

The remoteness that I feel causes me to hide

I hide away from what I really am

My soul thirsts for you but yet I deny

And hold on to something that is hard to let go

So alone I sit in my quiet despair, all alone 

Departure

It was not until recently, when I departed from “religion” that I began to understand my relationship with God. My departure from church was an attempt to grow closer to God. I did not want to go to church so I simply did not go. Why should we feel that we always have to go to church because that is what we are supposed to do. I want to go to church for the right reasons. I needed time away so God could bring that desire back into my heart. I have to believe it 100% in my heart for it to be real to me.  

Read Departure on my old blog @ Among the Realm

Check out another blog post @ Among the Realm titled, Finding my Path

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

C.S. Lewis

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Spirituality, Storytelling

The Art of Storytelling

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

You must be curious as to what storytelling has to do with building a homestead. My answer is everything! A homestead is not a far off vision of what we will obtain when we have land, chickens, a productive garden or an income generating farm. I want to begin to redefine what a homestead is for our current and future generations. My blog is titled, Among the Homestead and I will be writing about topics related to homesteading. However, I will also write about topics that in the world of homesteading have nothing to do with building a homestead, at least in the traditional sense.

I want to leave a legacy to my kids, grandkids and beyond. I will do that primarily by telling stories. Stories that our told throughout this blog, my old blog @amongtherealm and verbally passed down through what I hope to be generations. Since my Dad’s passing in 2003, I became a husband and a father. My wife and my kids never knew my Dad. Some of the stories will be about him so my family can get a sense of who my Dad was. I will also tell stories of my childhood and the events that shaped me into the person I am today. At the core Among the Homestead is a homesteading blog, so there will be plenty of posts on homesteading projects, side hustles, growing food and permaculture.

A Magical Memory

Growing up I became interested in magic. I began to learn magic tricks at a young age. I poured countless hours into this art form. I am sure my parents were tired me of using them as audience members, but they never showed it.

One of my favorite magicians growing up was David Copperfield. Every year he came to Cincinnati to perform his magic show. When it came time for his Cincinnati show, me and my Dad would always attend. It was a big deal for us. It was the one thing we always did together no matter what. We began the evening with eating somewhere downtown, which was a rare occurrence. Arriving at the theater, I could feel the magic in the air. But it wasn’t only because of David Copperfield. It was also because this was a special event that me and my Dad did together. David Copperfield was a great storyteller. As you watch below notice how he used magic and stories together to create a powerful piece of magic. The second video, has his commentary with some audio commentary about the story behind the trick.

Stories + Homesteading

You still might be wondering what telling stories and homesteading have in common. Stories are powerful and bring about connection. A well crafted story can transport us into another world or bring people into ours. Homesteading is a part of our life and hopefully that grows over time along with new stories. Stories can enrich our lives and bring us together. That is what I hope to accomplish with this blog and our homestead. Enriching our life and others along the way. My Dad impacted a lot of people, read more about his story, The Dirt on the Ball Field.

Ken Burns clip: On Story

Filed Under: Storytelling

The Future of the Modern Homestead

February 24, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Victory gardens were encouraged for families during war time.

We all have likely heard the word homesteading in our daily strolls through social media. Is homesteading a new fad that people want to pursue? Do they know how to incorporate that daunting word into their already busy lifestyle? Probably not, however there was a time in the past when everyone was encouraged to have a homestead.

Victory gardens were an idea from the past that encouraged self reliance and community. We all wish other fads from the past would have stayed preserved in the time they lived, however building a homestead is something everyone should be encouraged to start. This idea of homesteading is the opposite of what’s in place in today’s world. How do we remove this stigma that comes with homesteading that we need lots of land or time? It is true, certain tasks require a lot of time and land, but there are simple tasks that a family could do to make a tiny homestead work for them. I don’t have actionable advice yet on what that might look like. It will be different for everyone. As I build my homestead, with simplicity in mind, hopefully some ideas will present themselves and I will chronicle them on this blog.

Victory gardens, were used to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Besides indirectly aiding the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil “morale booster” in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.

From Wikipedia

Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex,
the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.

Bill Mollison
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Filed Under: Homesteading, Lifestyle

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