Trying to slow down, but who cut the brakes?

I am continually being challenged by the need to simplify my life and slow down the pace. Yet every step I take towards this goal seems to be redirected and I find myself in the same situation that I was trying to escape, and my life remains as complicated as ever.

This is true of so many different areas of life. I have been trying to establish a veggie garden to reduce reliance upon commercial food production. Not only should this reduce the cost of food, it is intended to increase the freshness and flavour of the food we eat. But the desired reduction of cost doesn’t seem to be working. Creating and maintaining a vegetable garden seems to be very expensive.
A few years ago I moved from the city to a country town, hoping to maintain a more frugal, less job-dominated life. I worked out that I could easily earn enough money from part time employment to sustain a simplified lifestyle. Yet despite my intentions I could only find fulltime work and have been unable to realise the hoped for slower pace.

Full time work has also had other effects. Once again I’ve become used to receiving a “full time” salary, and it seems like my lifestyle has moulded itself to fit the incoming funds. I can no longer imagine how I could survive without that income when there’s a shed to build, a bathroom to renovate, an evaporative air conditioner to replace, ceilings to repair and paint, gardens to complete… There’s always something else that needs money. And note I haven't yet mentioned all of those other things required to decrease my "ecological footprint".

It would seem ideal to be able to live a more self-sustaining lifestyle, but one thing I’ve noticed is that self-sufficiency is a very expensive business as can be seen from the example of so many who are trying to move in that direction. Even with Government rebates, people are spending a fortune on water tanks, grey water irrigation systems, solar panelling and who knows what other technologies that are "essential" for a simpler, less damaging way of life. Clearly the “ideal” does not come cheaply and I suspect it may be another consumerist con; this time targeting those with a social conscience.

WHERE THE ARTICLE HAS NO NAME

Inspired by Molly on her Cross Roads blog, I am giving thought to the reason why I write here. What is THIS blog's "central theme". I think the name gives an indication of its lack of direction when I first created it.

I have two very different blogs. The most active, The Onesimus Files is "theological" in content and has always had a sharper focus than this one.

"Where the Blogs Have No Names" started as a place to write about various other interests. However, when I finally had the opportunity to start gardening my garden became the main focus.

It is only recently that I’ve started to investigate other blogs. I now have several favourites that help to keep me informed and educated. Some of those blogs have helped to revive my desire for a simpler lifestyle.

That was one of the intentions behind our move to the country, but the need for some kind of employment helped to get me back into the “financial security” trap. My initial hope was to work part time to get enough of an income to maintain a simpler, more frugal lifestyle. But without even trying I found myself in a full time job again and I think my lifestyle has slipped back into the same rut I tried to escape by leaving the city.

A lot of my recent reading (particularly on blogs) has been centred on self-sufficiency and frugality, trying to pick up tips and inspiration to help me back on track. This blog will perhaps reflect some of that journey, but it will also continue to look at my various interests and influences. As my profile states, I am a man of diverse obsessions and when my interest leans in a particular direction my involvement is rarely half-hearted.

EXPOSING MY LAZINESS!

I very recently found a very interesting and inspiring site at the following link:

http://www.happyearth.com.au/

It is owned by a couple who are achieving what so many of us only dream of doing. They have converting their average suburban block from swimming pool and concrete into a very productive garden.

The website is full of interesting articles detailing the journey they have taken. Their experiences are also heavily illustrated with before and after photos, and their progress is also recorded on video.

Even though their experiences in themselves are a great inspiration, the website has additional interest for me because they have a block of land the same size as mine and they are based in Wollongong where I grew up.

The only negative aspect of their project is that it shows me up for the lazy unimaginative person that I really am. What I’ve dreamed of doing and what I’ve planned to do – they have actually DONE!!!