Saturday 12 November 2011

Within the Gloom

The familiar sight of mist and rain greeted me again as I stepped into the woodlands. With the solar year heading towards the winter solstice it is to be expected and one again I took enjoyment of my solitude in the gloom with the chance to order my thoughts and take stock at the end of a difficult week.

With the student protests and the occupy movement taking centre stage on the social sites I prefer to use instead of the media it becomes easy to see how many of the ordinary people of the country are feeling. With so many people being brought into a system where money is the measure of your worth and the main resource for gaining the essentials of warmth, shelter & food, it becomes understandable that such resentment shows itself when the promises of the past begin to fail.

This week I listened to two men I am working with revealing the facts of enforced pay cuts & reduced pensions, together with their thoughts on what they could possibly do without and how to make funds stretch a little further. Last month I listened to a good friend telling me of changes to his place of work and of redundancies being enforced, not because the company was running at a loss, but because targets were not being met.

Such times strengthen my resolve to break away from the systems as they are. I still work, but I have made the choice to invest any money that can be spared into my own endeavours. As I make these improvements I should have less need of money and hopefully I should gain greater freedom and quality time. I live in a place rich with natural & sustainable resources, I hope to spend my time with these. I can have warmth, shelter, food, good company & inspiration all for a fraction of what I am paying at the moment. But I need to make adjustments to my life and home to allow the effects of these. There are also things I will need to do without, luxuries that many a suburban dweller would consider too great a loss, but from my view I will consider my life to be richer without such things.

Within the gloom I found my eyes had adjusted, paths lay before me. I have a feeling my journey is only just beginning.

6 comments:

  1. ...greetings owl ~ pensive moments ~ roiling mists ~ obscuring partially ~ a promised land ~ of hope ~ renewal ~ fertile foundations ~ all these things ~ within the heart ~ dreams ~ aspirations...
    ...good things come to those who wait ~ (patience being the key) ~ & ~ good things come to those who do good things ~ (as yoU do!)~ for yoU are one of the fortunate souls ~ who can see thru' the mists ~ blessed be!... i bequeath a sonnet for thee...

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  2. Thank you for your comment and eloquent encouragement. It is never easy to step away from what is considered normal & support can be hard to come by, I am truly grateful for your words.

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  3. I know where you're coming from, Owl, and have myself set goals of this nature, but alas, I find myself as one of the suburbanites again and again. Thing is, this last break I have been taking from the internet and other social media stuff, is strengthening my resolve to get back to basics. Fingers crossed some progress will be made on this end.

    Love the thoughts and keep them coming!

    Take care -

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  4. Good to hear from you Casey and thank you, I have seen some people get back to basics in the suburbs but they do seem to be in a minority. Hope you can get that reconnection you are looking for, from reading your blog you seem to be going the right way despite things not going so smoothly for you.

    Nice to know that your comment has made it on-line after the last ones seemed to play-up (I have had that problem myself sometimes). Thanks for your kind words. I will look forward to calling in on your excellent Snapping Twigs blog very soon.

    Best regards

    Owl

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  5. A 'Great' Story of 'Truth' & how we could change for the 'Better'...enjoyed your words immensely xXx

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  6. Thank you Binnie, always a pleasure to know you have dropped by and I am grateful for your comment. Hope you have had a great weekend.

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