===== Simple Living ===== I have only one long term, continuous goal in life. To live simply. What is it to live simply? It is to live this moment of being alive, knowing one's human nature and its ability to inflict harm. Our nature is shaped by evolution. the prime force acting upon evolution is natural selection. While evolution has also thrive by co-operation, the ultimate purpose of that co-operation is selfishness too. Unfortunately, this selfishness has never lead to living a happy life. It only plots further against one's own rationales in irrational ways to cause harm to others and eventually to oneself. There are rewards in this system too. But do we really know why these //rewards// were built? Are there //traps//? Scientifically, we do now know that our brain tends to get [[http://www.time.com/time/2007/addiction/|addicted]] to things which are essentially only natural mechanisms. Simple living is in many ways just practical buddhism, call it //actual freedom// if you like. But I just have one fundamental issue with the method of actual freedom. To me, Life is a significantly wonderful phenomenon of nature. By my perceptions, what I experience is all made up of the same universe that I'm very much a part of. Immaterial of how significant my perceptions might seem to be, I'm insignificant in the long run. To appreciate this very wonder, all that one needs is air to breath, food to eat, a shelter to keep warm and a way to keep yourself occupied. But right now, we're part of a system where we all work towards efficient exploitation of the ecosystem to meet these basic needs. Sure, its all insignificant in the long run, but what exactly is //long run//? A few hundred years means 4 generations of humans (or probably even more) suffering due to the irresponsible and unsustainable ways of life we lived. We came close to understanding our nature, but did we do anything out of our understandings? What way is better than to tell the world that it indeed possible to live happily and harmlessly. Not just harmlessly in the immediate time line but also to leave a message to the generations of the future: that The universe is complex and we are not what we think to be. //I// am a mere software working in mysterious, irrational ways in carving a living for the blind goal of [[wp>Selfish Gene]]. It runs from one end to another, looking for happiness and in the process causes a lot of harm. Nothing but a simple way of life can put an end to this misery. ==== So what is the simple way of life, really? ==== - Know your needs from the wants - Meet needs yourself That is in essence all there is to simple living. But it needs meticulously looking at your current way of lifestyle and see how much of it is contributing to the existence of this very system that is going to cause several generations of suffering for all the living things on the planet (btw, we are living things too and living things eat living things, that's the basic rule). I'm lucky that my dad shares my line of thought and he wishes to return to nature too. He has been of great help in making this //simple living// transition possible. I presume, if anybody else wants to transition from the //mainstream// to the //river stream//, it is probably going to need a lot more preparation. With a care taker, I have the lucky opportunity of experimenting while still earning well by being in the //mainstream//. Oh and must I emphasize that "a lot of money" is in the direction opposite to "simple living"? ==== Needs ==== === Food === //Nutritionally balanced diet free of health impairment causing chemicals// I'd like to categorize these into the following classes of available food * Grains * Pulses * Vegetables * Spices * ... and Fish? (My mom would kill me if she read this ;) ) Taking into account [[food storage|storage]] capacity, what grows naturally and easily and its suitability for the next immediately conditions, decide on the type of stuff to grow. *Work involved* - Planning and monitoring [[our farm]] * If I manage to build a reasonably successful [[permaculture]] forest in just [[our farm|Zone 1]], I guess it should take care of most of my throughout-the-year needs of fruits and vegetables (seasonal / perennials) * For grain / pulse needs, Zones 2 and 3 will continue to be used for growing seasonal grains and pulses - If the goal of //simple living// is to also show that it is possible to live happily and harmlessly, it will not only be worthwhile but also fun showing a practical demonstration of one's food (and surplus) produced by [[permaculture|Doing Nothing]]. I know that people who practice Permaculture all over the world, why even in India, have peacefully fought over Caste Oppression issues. So therefore, it must also be part of my "work" to show examples. But we need working examples first :) So until I get there, I'll devote whatever discretionary time I get to strive towards a //do nothing// farm that meets //all// our //needs//. === Health Care === While I argue that health is dependent on what we eat, it is indeed important to be able to tend to the health care needs of one's dependents. It might be a scorpion bite (for which age old "alternative" medicines / practices do exist) or it might be a heart complication (for which modern science applications have solved quite well). I'm confident, things such as headaches, fatigue, blood pressure, indigestion and so on will be non-issues once the diet has become healthy and once people live a //simple life//. I'd also argue that pandemics / epidemics are essentially a matter of //luck// - if you're resistant, you can continue playing the game. In the case of something like the recent //H1N1// flu, if you happened to be exposed to people who contracted it, you're likely to contract it too. In an //off the mainstream// lifestyle, I guess you wouldn't be exposing yourself to too many people in the first place. In case of contracting one such flu, you're likely to be at a disadvantage compared to the //city dweller// who will definitely have a good hospital nearby, //vaccines// are likely first available in the cities and the //nearest city// might be atleast a day away. But what are the chances that flus that lead to fatality within a day get treated even by being in a //city//? Such a deadly flu, if highly contagious, is likely to overwhelm any city's medical facilities in no time. The most statistically frequent health care need would probably be for things such as air-borne / water-borne bacterial issues such as fever, typhoid, cholera, etc., I also hear amazing stuff about various //heir loom// varieties of vegetables, pulses and grains that have medicinal qualities. For instance, a variety of rice named //Gandagasala// is light in sugar content and is a better //substitute// for regular //tiffin variety rice//. I guess, it would be worth figuring out alternative medicine on a //need basis//. === Discretionary income === //Money needed for other unforeseen needs, such as health care, loss of crop and need to fallback on purchasing food, etc.,// In the short and medium term, this also includes the money needed to pay for a shelter if need be. One of the direct incomes we'd get is the excess food that we can sell. I have no clue how much this is going to be; A few more harvests should give us a good idea. Right now I have no idea how much [[storage]] space we'll be able to provide. In the medium term, until the sufficient confidence of making the //move// to begin //simple living// is established, earn and prepare. This might include already beginning a seasonal //simple living// setup where post harvest, I can afford to rely on the farm earnings while working in the //Business As Usual// world by making use of my //computer taming// skills. In the long term, I [[http://sunson.livejournal.com/171995.html|foresee]] running a [[School]] - something completely unlike the schools that we know of; It would be a school that would encourage debate; It would teach science and I hope there would be great volunteers who'd like to stay with me and run this school :) Most of what this school teaches will be about the natural world. The thread running through everything taught at this school would just be about //Human nature//. Its a school where one produces a great person out of oneself by simply following one's curiosities and at the same time understanding //their place in the grand scheme of things//. There would be projects to meet our immediate needs but there would be no exams. The test is ultimately in managing to live happily and harmlessly... and to do that, one only needs to understand the insignificance of oneself and appreciate the wonder that Nature is. === Shelter === Until there can be a shelter on our own (whether it would be a regular built/purchased house in //thanjavur town// or right in the living zone of a //permaculture forest//), shelter requirements must be met using //income//. *Work* Roughly Rs.2500/- per month for a reasonably good house in Thanjavur town must be provisioned.