After my time off-grid last week, I’ve had a few observations swirling around my head. None of them warranting its own piece.
Nor am I being all, “I spent half a second off-grid, and now I’m an expert; buy my course.”
It’s not that. It’s that I felt these things stood out:
Off-grid doesn’t mean serene or zen or dead.
It depends, of course, but in the case of the community in Knowlesville, I had more to do than on any normal week. Even though it feels busy, my online life is quite minimal.
There, though, the pace was relentless. And the work, too.
But it wasn’t painful because…
Chores aren’t chores if they support the life you want.
People are building houses, raising animals, supporting the community, improving their land, nourishing their children, and growing food. And even though it’s so much more “work” than we see in the digital world, people don’t complain about it.
It doesn’t feel pointless. It brings people together.
And…
Regular gathering makes community real.
Every Thursday, the entire community descends on one person’s house for ~2 hours for a potluck. They bring not only their food contribution but also their dishes. So the host isn’t left with a stack to clean afterward.
Maybe there are people who pull this off in cities too. But I’ve never been fortunate enough to see it. It’s SUCH a powerful culture-builder.
Built into this is my final observation…
Multi-generational living is a winning strategy.
They gather as a community based on physical proximity. Not shared interests or stages of life. Not employment type or income level—though there’s a bit of that, given people have chosen to move/live there.
This means they’re exposed to way more viewpoints than average. (Especially compared to our algorithmically siloed social media “lives.”)
I won’t overtly tie it into anything. But there’s certainly lots to think about. Lots to apply. Analogies galore.
Observationally,
James
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I accidentally took this selfie with Fable, one of the dogs on the farm. |
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