Divisionary

Disclaimer: The term "Earthship" in the below writings is used to describe our Earthship-inspired ​home.

It's hard to fly in the face of conformity.  I don't mean to sound like a martyr or some self-righteous angsty whiner but it really is hard.  Making serious lifestyle changes that go up against the status quo is exhilarating but exhausting at times.  Choosing the life we have for ourselves and working to build an earthship home with a child in tow, no less, has some people thinking we're crazy.  Interestingly enough, however, we've received more positive feedback and support than negative so far.  Though I suppose those who feel negatively about what we're doing are keeping it to themselves or not expressing it to our face.

Perhaps I'm just being paranoid.  It isn't so much what people have or haven't said to us because nearly everything we've heard has been positive.  I think it has more to do with the values and beliefs that have been instilled in me by a consumerist, "keeping up with the Joneses" culture.  While I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the road we're taking as a family is the right one for us, there is always this menace of a voice lurking in the background saying "you had a nice, stable life for yourself and your family.  You were movin' on up!  Why change anything when changing is hard?"  Because, Obnoxious Voice, remaining stagnant is more difficult than changing.  Because changing is exhilarating and just feels right.  Because I'm enjoying life more now than ever before.  Because I want my son to grow up knowing where his utilities and resources come from and be a thoughtful, mindful individual.  Because we weren't meant to be so disconnected from nature.  That's why, you nagging, greedy voice!

When waste, excess, destruction and greed are packaged in nice, neat, shiny convenient packages, it is difficult to see how making more convenient choices day-to-day can be so destructive, though all these choices add up and are indeed harmful to all that is living.  As the fable goes (or approximately so), a frog placed in boiling water would jump out.  A frog placed in lukewarm water that is slowly heated would cause the frog to doze happily until it is too late and has boiled to death. 

It is common for people to believe that we have made progress in the past 100 years and are now more civilized than we have been in the past.  I would argue that standpoint endlessly.  While I do certainly believe that some of the medical advances and scientific discoveries have engendered a higher quality of life overall, I also believe that many of these so-called advancements have led us to become more distanced, reckless and unhealthy as a culture; creating an imbalance that many aren't comfortable addressing.  We're slowly boiling ourselves to death.

If we spend our time concerning ourselves with attaining more wealth and power, we lose our connection with everything around us.  We spend more hours at work than with our families, at jobs that we only like some of the time (if we're lucky) because we have bills to pay.  When we do get a raise at work, we buy a bigger house, a nicer car and start having other people take care of our household because we don't have time to.  We eat poorly because we don't have time to make proper meals and instead consume food that is robbing us of proper nutrition and supporting unethical food production practices.  We take the easy way out and haphazardly use pesticides, antibiotics and other convenient quick fixes for pests, illnesses and household problems instead of rooting for the cause and changing our lifestyles.  We have children but don't have time to teach them how to live mindfully and rely on under-funded and backwards school systems to raise our kids for us.  It is easier to buy something cheap at a big box store to meet our needs or hire someone to do something for us than to take the time to learn a new skill or find a more permanent, thoughtful solution to an issue that has presented itself.

I believe that we as a culture are stuck in a rat race though I respect the fact that not everyone sees it this way.  Instead of chasing wealth and power in an obvious sense, I would argue that real power and wealth lie in oneself.  For example, when you take the time to fix that broken household item on your own instead of pitching it and buying a cheap piece of junk from a big box store that will break soon anyhow, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment and feed the power and wealth that sprouts from knowledge and confidence. You can't assign a monetary value to the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes from preparing a meal made from food you've produced on your own land!

 
While going out and spending money may feel good in the moment, I have found that it is certainly fleeting.  My greatest thrills have come within the past several years because we've been making more sustainable day-to-day choices.  Zac set up a rainwater harvesting system on our micro-cabin which provides water to rinse off with when we're working on the earthship.  You can't wipe the smile from my face when it rains because that means we now have more water to use --for free-- that hasn't been processed with harmful chemicals and delivered to our home at a ridiculous cost.  We did that. We made a catchment system to harvest that water and I get to reap the benefits when I go to use it to wash off my hands at the end of the day.  No amount of money can touch that feeling of accomplishment. I've found that our sense of confidence and power has grown with each household project we've taken on ourselves and with every sustainable choice we've made.  I feel more confident as a mother to our son as I know that we are equipping ourselves with the skills to provide him with a tremendously rewarding life.  

I know that strongly worded essays can annoy and anger some but I feel that challenging the status quo is not only important but absolutely vital.  I'm writing this as a reminder to myself that despite what is pumped into us by our society, more sustainable personal changes can be made and one can live a life they are truly proud of despite any reservations or concerns they may have.  We only have this one shot at living a life we love.  Why waste it going along with the herd?

I heard this song today and every time it comes on WYSO, our local NPR station, I find myself turning the radio up and singing it at the top of my lungs; much to my son's chagrin, I'm sure.  The song is titled Divisionary by Ages and Ages.  In a band biography on Partisan Records' website, Tim Perry, bandleader of Ages and Ages, explains that the word divisionary was made up by the band to describe "a group whose vision of 'right' is upsetting to the existing power structure." And so I share the video and lyrics below with those of you who are also fighting the good fight and choosing to make more mindful choices in the face of a buffet of convenient, yet destructive alternatives.  

DIVISIONARY

Do the right thing do the right thing

do it all the time do it all the time

make yourself right, never mind them

don't you know you're not the only one suffering

I see you up again wandering so diligently 

crossing your t's as though it weren't irrelevant

they say formality, this is what they really meant:

they can be the walk and we can be the pavement

Do the right thing, do the right thing

do it all the time do it all the time

make yourself right, never mind them

don't you know you're not the only one suffering

So what you're up against all the disingenuous

They wave you along and say there's always room for us

But we know better than that to take'em serious.

Still don't let'em make you bitter in the process

And when the light is up, this is how oughta be

We'll make it alright, they'll come around eventually

They say it's nothing but that ain't the reality

They may take us on but they can never take us easy

Cuz they ain't moving, they're just moving around

So if you love yourself, you better get out now

I hear a higher calling

Better here than there I guess
so long