December 16, 2025
Day 1,537 of the Adventure
I remember how my wife and I struggled financially as a young family with small children. This was in the early 1980's. Much of what we dealt with then was nothing compared to today. Still, simply trying to make ends meet was very similar between then and today. In today's economy, there may be better safety nets, but the recent "government shutdown" reminds us just how much of a reliance we have developed upon outside assistance. That "assistance" can be a blessing and a curse. It's not the goods and services themselves that represent a potential "curse". It's the fragility of the system that dispenses them that is of concern, Its becoming more and more obvious as the weight of the demand grows larger and larger. Is there a breaking point to it all? Common sense tells me that the possibility of it certainly exists. I remember how our growing family relied on the WIC (Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children) program for a time when our kids were small. For us, it was the single bit of assistance we qualified for temporarily. It didn't last long enough for us to become dependent upon it, but it was very helpful for a season in our lives. From those early experiences of hardship, I developed an attitude of defiance towards the thought of depending upon governments, systems, programs or any other sources for our survival. As soon as it was possible, we detached ourselves from the umbilical cord of reliance. Our goal for more than 40 tears now has been to create a firewall of self-sufficiency around ourselves. Our early experiences with that included things like a garden, raising rabbits, starting "side-gig" types of small businesses and such. It always included the dream of an acreage or parcel of land to build out a homestead type of property. Unfortunately, as jobs and then later, business ventures became a more dominant part of life, the dream of self-reliance began to fade. Covid changed all of that. The reality of how vulnerable we had become came rushing back to the forefront of my mind. In addition to the old and familiar self-sufficiency tendencies I had, I noticed that something else profound had also changed in me. Perhaps it is a stigma or stereotype you can relate to as well.
My earlier dream of building a self-sufficient homestead looked a lot like "Little House on the Prairie" or perhaps "The Waltons" or "Grizzley Adams". All were popular television shows from my childhood. My dream certainly looked like the articles in the Mother Earth News magazine, of which at the time, I owned every single issue ever published. That version of my dream had roots in a very "Back to the Land" and "Basic Sustenance" mentality. It was a dream that represented a move backward in time to a decidedly more self-sufficient lifestyle. One that many are quick to point out, weren't always the "Good old Days" that we either remembered by ourselves, parents, grandparents, or were represented on TV shows. The new dream of self-sufficiency looked more like a return to some of the old traditions while embracing new skills and technologies that were either not available previously or not fully developed enough to be very practical. A good example of this would be electricity and power outages. In our old dream version, a power outage would mean candles or lanterns for light, perhaps a woodstove or fireplace for heat. Our new version relies more on modern off-grid systems. A power outage for us essentially changes nothing as the solar and battery system we've built causes power outages to go completely unnoticed. Honestly, we still use woodstoves for heat but that's mostly because we have an unlimited supply of firewood. Plus, we like wood heat over everything else. We still have the "caveman" solutions of candles and lanterns in the event they were ever to become absolutely necessary, Here's a quick video look at what our Cabin Building adventure looked like. I suppose the point to this is that yes, the thinking through and building of the systems may be somewhat complex and require a learning curve. That's all part of the journey towards a simplicity of self-reliance. I'd refer to it as an "Intentional Simplicity". It's not the old Walton's or Little House existence. It's something that takes the simple of the old days and combines it with the modern systems of off-grid and homestead realities. The combination allows for the removal of at least some of the hardships of a more back to the land type of lifestyle.
What does it take to move towards Intentional Simplicity with a more self-sufficient lifestyle as a goal? To begin with, it takes an intentional decision. The process is not necessarily an easy one, but the results so far have been very rewarding, for us anyway. The next part is to take intentional steps towards weening yourself away from those outside sources of dependence. It's not something that happens overnight. Learning to grow and preserve food. Learning to cook using ingredient groceries versus prepared groceries. Perhaps begin experimenting with alternative sources of energy, such as solar. The possibilities are endless once you put your creative thinking cap on. Finally, if a parcel of land on which to start your new journey is part of your dream, begin making plans for that part of the adventure as well. I've yet to meet anyone who has taken this path who does not sleep better at night, knowing they're slowly transitioning from a life of dependence and reliance on others to one of self-sufficiency and independence. Ultimately, most will say that becoming one hundred percent self-sufficient is not possible, and I'd agree. However, knowing that your future is not governed as much by food prices, energy prices, grid stability and the effects of hundreds of other tentacles that continually reach in to control your life makes a huge difference in your perspective on life. If you find yourself pondering these things when you should be trying to sleep at night........... perhaps it's your sign to plan for a change! It's okay if that's your dream. You won't be the first to take those first tenuous steps toward the freedom of intentional simplicity in a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
If you feel drawn to the lifestyle I've described, make sure to stay in touch, check out videos and other resources we have to offer. Regardless of how you choose to connect up, we'd be honored to have you as part of the tribe.
Carry On
Adventure Quote: "Here's to having an excellent adventure and may the stopping never start!"
Resources
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Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
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