This is intended to be the first essay of a series of three, talking about our life in present, say since we moved out to the farm almost seven years ago.
The next part will be about our behavioral patterns and their potential impacts on the rest of the world, as a dating couple soon to become husband and wife, growing together, inconspicuously molding each other as time went by. A retrospective from 2001 to 2006.
The third and last part I will dedicate to that deeply holistic, sensitive era that is ahead of us and teeming with exciting plans to accomplish – to the benefit of not only us, but the world (human and non-human, animate and inanimate) as a whole. Forgive me if I don’t attribute a deadline to any of it, but I can honestly tell you that we do carry a great sense of urgency in our hearts – a patient alacrity, if you will, like a wise mature predator gathering its force for the right moments, but then jumping and preying – on dreams. Biting into them to make them come true!
In this context I will portray our lives as they could influence yours, theirs, well, ours as humanimal society on Earth – in those three time plains.
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If everybody lived like we do now, healthy infants would be born in the most intimate and loving environment their parents can possibly arrange for. There would not be anyone else present or directly involved, but the parents and their newborn(s) in perfect harmony and enjoying undisturbed bonding – a seal for a lifetime.
Hospitals’ maternity wards would be there for emergency cases only.
Families would not have any medication in their household whatever, not even Aspirin and they would treat their health by the means of phytotherapy – actually they would do their best to prevent the formation of an illness by regularly consuming herbal teas as pleasure drinks, would try to identify and incorporate into their culinary explorations as many of the locally native, available wild plants, as possible.
They would experiment with other alternative healthcare methods, such as reflexology, acupressure, dry body brushing, oil pulling and, when necessary, homeopathy.
People would learn to bear with more pain and let certain discomforting bodily conditions take their course.
Children would not be vaccinated at all and they would have a healthy, strong immune system through wholesome diet and active lifestyle.
When sunbathing, they would take all of their clothes off – all. No white bottoms or bikini lines, just evenly tanned bodies as nature intended.
Where women are not supposed to show their breasts, out of solidarity and a full embracement of gender equality, men would not have their shirts off either. Not at leisurely activities, not on construction work.
On means of public transportation men and women would take their hats off and no one would occupy seats with their luggage. Especially youth would be ready to offer their seats for those in more need to sit down: the elderly, the ill, pregnant mothers and parents with small children, even if the accompanying parent is the father.
Since I took you on the road, let me point out to you, that nobody litters here and as a result roadsides and all public places are absolutely clean of garbage. Since hardly anyone smokes and even smokers carry cigarette cases on them for the butts, there are no tobacco products laying on the ground either, not even at public transportation stops.
No stray animals around: cat and dog owners take responsible care of their pets and their litter (in both offspring and feces sense).
People care about their animals’ health as they care about their own, with herbal treatments and no vaccinations or other allopathic medications including painkillers. If the animal is in unbearable, hopeless condition, the owner steps in and euthanizes the animal with great attention to minimize pain as well as the duration of it.
The same applies to slaughtering animals for food: the butcher seeks out the most gentle way of taking the animal’s life, which usually involves sharp knife, the right place, angle and power to perform the cut and bleeding the animal out so it basically passes out when it passes away. Humility is quintessential.
Parents of toddlers would already be devoted and active unschoolers, convinced that there is no better learning than the one that observes and facilitates the natural curiosity, the genuine interest and ultimately the true passion of the child. This kind of approach gives new sense to co-education by regarding the youth an equal partner in learning, who can also share new ways of looking at things with its elders, that are in turn receptive to those.
The entrepreneurial spirit would be strong and wide-spread, in most families at least one of the parents working from home, a situation desirable for non-institutional education.
People would cook their own food – always, except rare special occasions or when visiting others. They would eat diversely and not discriminate against anything, but over-engineered foods. People would also preserve for winter (where applicable).
Gardeners would learn how not to turn the soil but allow native vegetation mingle with sown or planted crops.
People would gradually figure out how many clothes are enough and reduce their wardrobes to that minimum necessary amount, ready for switching over to all natural, handmade, hand-tailored garments, including footwear and accessories.
I think you got the picture by now…
What kind of changes are you ready to make in your life, that could have a beneficial ripple-effect in society? Please share (some of) those with us.
About Roland
I totally get the picture and love it! Trying our best in our little part of the world to live the same way. It makes me smile to think of the world living this way…can you imagine?
I caaan… The world ought to move in this direction – there is no other sane way.