Work has been crazy busy, demands of life have stripped me of all my energy and most creative time. I did however, remember to bring my camera on my way to work the other day. It was a really beautiful morning in the country where the moisture from the previous day's melt had frozen in the air and deposited upon trees and hung in the air. It was magical looking. A part of me was mesmerized and felt it was like a fairy world!
It is moments like these that I am so glad I live in a small town and when I travel for work, it is largely through rural areas. So many people stuck in suburbia miss these small moments of great beauty. They miss feeling suspended in time while surrounded by nature. Moments of "slow".
Almost as though prompted, when I started reading a chapter in a book I have at my bedside, the article was on "slow" and "anti-consumerism". The people the article was about chose to live via a 4-4-4 method. Four hours for the labour that kept them alive and well, four hours towards a professional/personal goal, and four hours towards their community and social causes. It was not a disengagement with the outer world, but a living thoughtfully. Instead of whirling about, it was being decisive. I like it. It was inspiring to think about being more connected to the production of food and the items that sustain us. Planning time to do the socially engaging things that build community and connectedness and the time to do what our own talents and abilities drive us to do.
By allocating their time thus, it allowed them to be less dependent on the consumer economy and gave them the time to express-- not work. I so identify with these people. How little I care about the working for money except that money allows flexibility to do other things! Yet, the more I work, the less time I have to spend that money on art classes etc! I find it hard to fit in the community connections that I value, in addition to the work schedule and family. It is exactly this complicated balance that is the problem with modern society. What gives? Community connectedness. Shared social committment. People are just too busy.
Do I have the answer? Nope! But when I got my professional teaching magazine and read the employment stats on certified teachers I knew that my transition from a higher paid job, towards a lower paid highly satisfying job was worth it.
