The Good Life...
by Linda Johnson Well here we are in 2006. It's been a little over 12 months since we moved our caravan down to our little block. It's hard to believe it's nearly 3 years since we left the 'big smoke' and we still have no house! Just as well we have few neighbours and nice surroundings.
14th May 2006Time goes very slowly here in the country and you need to remind yourself what day it is as one day blends into the next, but looking back, we have made some progress.
Our block is 3 acres of sloping clay leading down to a creek which means any earth you move has the potential to wash away when it rains - we actually inherited a lot of good soil that others uphill have lost over the years when they removed the trees. We have spent a lot of time in the last 12 months shoring up the earth works and building drainage channels to ensure anything we do will not be washed away. Our embankments are firming up and the roads and terraces are holding well. Terraforming is slow work.
We have also tapped our natural underground spring after much work, allowing the crystal clear water to run into our water tank for drinking and bathing. Our dam water runs into other tanks for our garden. We had to put lots of water pipe in and along the ground, but the system basically runs itself by gravity now. Extended pipes lead to the areas where we're planting fruit and nut trees. These are coming along nicely and will hopefully have some fruit in the next year.
Our garden beds are taking shape. I still have more to put in, but this summer we had tomatoes, capsicum, potatoes, garlic, leaks, cabbages, corn, strawberries, carrots, lettuce, basil and lots of other herbs. I've only just weeded the strawberry bed as six months ago a big brown snake jumped out a few inches from Ted so we gave it a wide birth and it got very overgrown. I heard from my neighbours that the snakes actually eat fruit (I thought they just ate mice and eggs!) so now I know where all my strawberries went - the serpent in the garden of Eden!
We've also planted lots more native trees and shrubs along our fenceline as a privacy and dust barrier. They're growing very well and just starting to flower - the birds will enjoy them. We have also tamed some of the wilder grass areas allowing the smaller grasses to come through making a green carpet that looks good enough to roll on (insects and frogs permitting).
We haven't built our chook-house yet as I'll be doing that in brick to keep them dry and safe, and we are running out of bricks for the house - we've used them everywhere else! So I'll wait until the brick part of the house is built before taking any more. In the coming months we'll be learning to be bricklayers.
Much of the work we've done is not immediately obvious and everyone keeps asking if we've got a house yet. Unfortunately not, but we're getting closer to starting! I will be very glad to be able to run my business from home again and even get a phone on. At the moment I'm travelling each day to another property where I keep my stock to check e-mails and pack orders. Our crystals are selling steadily and we travel around to various markets and fairs meeting lots of people along the way.
Our travels also give us the opportunity to work with Earth, moving stuck energy and buried records through our energy fields from the places and people we come into contact with. We need to be mindful as we do this, that we do not lose our own energy and subtle bodies in our interactions with others. We get so used to the gentle energy at home where we have few neighbours and lots of nature. Whenever we come back home we take stock of ourselves and do whatever repairs are necessary to our fields.
A few months ago I made a little seat down near the creek and brought some crystals down for an outdoor altar among the birds and animals. This has proved to be a very relaxing and the energy is wonderful. You can feel the presence of the elemental kingdoms and elements all around. There are so many species of wild birds there and they are not shy like in the city - they come right up next to you and go about their business without fear. Recently a large bush turkey came flying across the creek at me then landed right beside me and happily dug up insects next to me while I meditated. She has since become a regular visitor.
We have new wild visitors each day. A family of wallabies came recently to show off the new baby. Last week a platypus splashed about in the water near my meditation seat so that was a buzz!
So, life in the country plods along. And although progress seems to be slow at times, hindsight has shown that everything has happened in the right divine time. If we had done things too quickly we would have missed something. We just need to keep our dream focussed and the way clear and things unfold when they are meant to.
We have found that by living more simply, we can get by on far less money than in the city - which is just as well as we no longer have 'real' jobs. When we sold our house in Sydney we paid off any outstanding debts, thus releasing attachments and finalising karma with those institutions and places. Even though we don't yet have our new house built, we don't have a mortgage here, we don't have car payments, we don't have water rates - we don't even have much of a mobile phone bill as we don't get a signal unless we're visiting a town or city.
We grow some of our food and eat simply. There are no take-away food outlets near us so we make our own fast food, and we know what's gone into it. With limited storage space we only buy what we're going to eat this week rather than fill our fridge and cupboards with things to throw out in a month's time - you'd be surprised how much money you'll save. We've also given up meat which saves lots of money.
Several years ago we were eating mostly vegetarian food, but when we started working on ascension we found we needed much more protein through the early stages and so ate meat again, making sure we blessed it well. In the last six months we have given it up and found it was easier that we thought, as we had intended the change beforehand. I thought Ted may have had trouble having no meat but when I said we couldn't afford meat and beer he became vegetarian! I will put some recipes on the site.
We have never regretted moving here to this beautiful place and living a cheaper, simpler life. Each time we visit the city with the dense vibration and smoggy air we can't wait to leave again. We hope that our ascending readers feel inspired to move out from the city to the country or ocean areas in the months and years to come.
have fun,
Linda
Copyright 2006 Linda Johnson www.newage.com.au