Inspiring words . . .

 

A pair of titles from a self-sufficiency series, titles that occupy my shelves. (Photo from personal collection)

When I need information or inspiration, I often immerse myself between the pages of a book. Anyone that knows me - a short list - could probably tell you my two big loves are nature and books. Both of these loves allow one the opportunity to see the world from the perspective of others. In books, it is the viewpoint of the narrator or experts - the book lover really is a practitioner of empathy, though not all are highly skilled in the area. For nature lovers, it is the opportunity to see this world is not ours alone - it is humbling to consider what a blip humanity is in the wider history of the planet. 

Jostling for space on my shelves are a number of books on self-sufficiency; from growing plants to keeping animals. Now, when it comes to keeping animals, as someone who doesn't eat them, as someone able to exercise care for lives beyond my own species, I have uneasy feelings about animals being kept domestically or as resources to be exploited. However, the undeniable truth is that domestic animals exist, and one can engage with that fact with either cruelty or kindness in their hearts and minds. I strive for the latter.

How I would love a small patch of land in this patch work planet of greens, blues, and greys. A place where I could grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers. A space a little bit wild too, where birds, bees, butterflies, and other little lives felt safe and free. With chickens, rescued from, perhaps, some grim past. And I would take up an egg or two, when they were laid, and cook up a fragrant meal using herbs, fruits, and veg from my little garden.

At the moment, I have a few chili pepper plants and some strawberry plants on the go, also, a selection of flowers, planted for the pollinators, in an urban garden. This garden is a combination of birdsong and trains screeching along railway lines not too far away. Not the ideal, but you take what you have, and go from there. I have a little patch of green in the middle of concrete grey for now.

My interest in self-sufficiency and gardening springs forth from my love of nature and wildlife. As I potter around the garden, repurposing old buckets as plant pots, building makeshift bird baths out of dishes and stones, there is a desire to disconnect from the noise of buying and selling. A desire to reconnect with the natural and the wild.

As my fingers dig into compost and soil, mycobacterium vaccae filling my nostrils and my head with their antidepressant qualities, I am peaceful. As I look up from considering my collection of plants, seeing a female blackbird make use of the bird bath I put together, I am more proud of that achievement than I am of any sale I ever made. As I taste the fruits, literally taste the fruits, of my labours, I am satisfied by an accomplishment I share with peoples who lived thousands and thousands of years ago, closer to the beginnings of us and our societies. 

You never know what might happen when you take a peek inside a book, I suppose . . .

This Sunday, why not take up a book, and see what happens?

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