LIVING

We have a ring of stones in our backyard. It is, actually, a pit lined with stones, but it hasn't been cleaned out lately, so it is filled with ashes, and appears to be just a fire ring. We haven't used it much for sitting around this year. Perhaps now that Fall is here, we might utilize it. In times past, we did much of our cooking outside.

Many times I sat around the fire, usually with friends or family members, and I would often feel a connection with humanity. I would feel that we were doing something, that folks have experienced, for thousands, maybe, millions of years. Was it profound? It was simple. It was peaceful. It was oneness with the Earth and mankind.

Yesterday, I was sitting outside near the shed where I am raising thirty young chickens. The shed is situated about 100 yards from the main chicken coop, so for the most part, the big chickens don't interfere. These young chickens are almost six weeks old, they are fully feathered out and look like miniature versions of adults. We have plastic lawn chairs set out around the farm, so I can sit and meditate, or rest, or just observe. Around five in the afternoon I gather the eggs from the main coop and then I visit the young chickens and feed them and sit and visit with them. They are old enough now that I release them from their enclosure every Morning and allow them to free range.

While I was sitting there, some of the chickens, gathered around me, looked at me quizzically, and pecked at my trousers. Sometimes they jump in my lap. I had a similar feeling to the campfire experience. I felt like I was experiencing something mankind has experienced for thousands of years. There was great peace and a sense of continuity and oneness. I felt like I have lived like this for thousands of years.

How are we to live on the Earth? I am sure there is not just one way to live on this globe we call Earth. Yet, if we are going to be here, why not live as if we belong here?  Why not be part of it? Jamie and I have pursued kind of a peasant existence. How did peasant become a pejorative term? Peasant life doesn't mean one lives without art, music, literature and other graces of life. We all came from peasant stock at one time. Perhaps, peasant became a term of denigration because they were relatively defenseless against those who would exploit them. Then all classes, except the elite, are defenseless against the exploiters.

In any case, we are moving out of the age of exploitation, how do we want to live on the Earth? We have much to appreciate in the peasant lifestyle. We take from what the Earth lovingly gives us and give to the Earth in return by enriching the soil. We tend our flocks and gardens. We play music. We create art. We laugh. We sing. We enhance our lives with beauty. We enjoy. We live.

The peasant lifestyle doesn't mean we eschew technology. It does mean we don't let technology destroy the planet and insulate us from life. I am using a computer to type and send this message. It doesn't interfere with my lifestyle. Technology is great. We need free energy. We are great beings of light. We need to express ourselves. We need to experience. We need to travel around this Earth and our galaxy.

To become fully conscious means, we are aware when we are being destructive, and we choose not to be. When we become aware that all is life, we will treat our surroundings differently. Life is precious. Life is Love. Yes, we are free beings, let us choose love.

Love and Peace,  Gregg