With everyday that passes more and more traditions that were once essential for everyday life have fallen to the wayside. In some ways that’s a good thing, through automation we no longer have to toil in fields or spend months just to produce one item.
On the other hand we have begun to lose the ability to thrive on our own. Think about how many things we can’t even imagine living without. Phones, supermarkets, cars, these were all once obsolete.
Now I for one am grateful for these modern day convivences, after all, things that would have easily killed or harmed us can now be avoided. Not only that but we get to live much easier lives than our ancestors did.
Recently though there has been a strong call to go back to our roots. Many of us are worn out from working, balancing money, and just figuring out what we even want to do with our lives.
But for many the idea of trying to go back to doing things the old fashion way seem unattainable. Many of those in the homesteading community are already those who come from wealth. They treat the old way of life as more of a hobby than an actual necessity.
They have the money to buy land, all organic products, and fancy equipment to make it all come together. But for people like you and me that just isn’t always the case. While I am blessed to have a good amount of property to live on, what I lack is money.
So with that being said is the self-reliance dream still a possibility to the average joe?
A Decline In Our Future
Despite how much our world has changed, there are certain aspects that will always remain the same. We will always need warmth, food, community, and so on.
Although those are all necessities, throughout history we have seen how essential items are weaponized against everyday people. After all if you control the food, water, and housing, you in turn control the people.
That is why I believe more than ever we need to keep those traditions alive. Many of us have become slaves and don’t even know it. We hope that our bosses, our corporations, and our governments will keep us protected in exchange for us following the rules.
Yet we see story after story of our needs being pushed to the wayside. Even those of us who have begun to wake up, struggle to make the first step as traditions that were once passed down every generation our now lost to time.
I am a great example of this, growing up neither of my parents knew how to cook, sew, garden, etc. So when I began realizing that wasn’t the life I wanted it felt nearly impossible to make the first step.
After all I grew up in a small town where resources were few and had parents that would much rather keep living how they were despite the negative consequences it was having in their lives.
Now that I have had time to develop my own skills I can’t even imagine going back to my previous way of living.
A button fell off right before an event? No biggy that’s an easy fix!
Money’s tight but I know how to have fun at home. I’ve learned to make cocktails, fire pits, and hobbies that don’t require you to leave home.
Eating healthy once looked complicated, but now I know how to make cheap, easy meals that are not only healthy but also customizable.
So how does someone even begin to be self-reliant?
Time To Adapt
When I first started this journey I was extremely self conscious. Every person I tried to learn from always seemed way above my skill level. So when my attempt was very very far off from what my example was it truly crushed me.
How did they make it look so easy? Even when I tried doing the fool proof method I still would somehow mess it up.
But I tried, and than tried again, and tried some more. Trying a new method every time to see what worked for me. I also try hard to not limit my advice, even if I don’t agree with you, that doesn’t mean your not knowledgeable as well.
To summarize some key point’s I’ve made us a list of some good places to start:
- Pick 1 focus skill. While you can still learn multiple skills at once, it can get overwhelming fast so pick a main skill to be your base
- Choose a skill that branches. Skills like gardening can branch out to cooking. Foraging can branch out to exercise, and so on
- You will fail and that is O K after all you have no idea what your doing so of course it will take some failures before you succeed
- Try different methods. Just because one method works for everyone doesn’t mean it will work for you so branch out and try everything!
- Figure out if you are a visual learner or not. While reading is good sometimes videos allow you to learn from example
- Use the free tools at hand. Social media is free so use it! It’s also a great way to narrow down your niche
- Check for community events. Some towns offer knitting circles, seed exchanges, and more
- Be cheap. There is no need to go out and spend all your money. The internet is full of cheap to free methods for whatever skill you are learning
- Join a community. Whether it’s a Facebook group to a subreddit, you can learn a lot from others
With that being said, learning a new skill can be complicated. Some of us don’t know where to start but by even reading this blog means you have already begun. Deciding that you want to change is the hardest part so once you’ve gotten over that the rest is in the bag!
You don’t need to be a master to call yourself successful. I still mess up all the time but I am satisfied that I am even able to try. My life is busy with work so I don’t always have the time to practice new skills. Which makes the time I do have mean so much more.
In short learning can be hard but rewarding and I hope that by reading all this, I have encouraged you to try something new! Have a great rest of your day and be sure to like, share, subscribe, and most importantly comment your thoughts on today’s post as I would love to hear your guy’s ideas as well!
With Love, Victoria Fox
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