This post will probably come as a puzzlement to
those who are expecting me to hand out some profound post on Sekhmet. While the subject matter is a bit of a side jaunt, because Sekhmet is the very embodyment of personal power, self-reliance and personal sovereignty, I think that it is appropriate. My journey with Sekhmet all but coincided with coming to this place; a small acreage with a log house and a ton of potential nestled in the woods that overlook the beautiful Wapsipinicon River Valley.
Many magicians, witches and the like make a lot of noise about Nature and getting back to it. They tout the virtues of living in harmony with the land and the creatures and the spirits on it and living in rhythm with the seasons. Some of us actually get to potentially live that kind of a life.
Next week is the 25th anniversary of having completed the closing on this place. The journey was difficult in that we sold a completely paid for home in the city to buy this property that had a mortgage. The banks hemmed and hawed on the closing, and we were quite literally homeless for about a month. Sleeping on the stone floor of a fellow magician and her mate that is just a stone’s throw from this property. Every tear shed, every frustration was worth it, however.
In that time, I have been divorced and have remarried my partner of 23 years. I’ve watched my son grow up and is now entering his final semester at college – majoring in the very industry that is what this place is about – horticulture and living in harmony with the land. I confess, I have met the challenge that was set before me with varying degrees of both depth and success. Sometimes what we believe we want, what we need and what is possible are simultaneously at odds with one another. Sometimes however, we get a glimpse, a sense that it will all work in harmony. We have been so close to he edge of losing it all, facing unemployment, drought, flooding and the potential of foreclosure. We had the triumph of refinancing and at last getting it completely paid off. It has all been about focus and priorities. For our family, it has been about being here.
The job is not done, the work is not done. We are still doing repairs, making improvements, looking to more sustainable lifestyle with raised beds and the possibility of being able to get off the grid finally. This place has always been an oasis and all of the members of our family tend to let out a grateful sigh of relief and a whispered “Thank you,” when we get back home.
Fifteen acres is plenty of land, even that is mostly wooded, with limestone cliffs and a creek that runs through it. There is a sense of peace here. Of course, lately that peace can be disturbed when looking around us we are seeing more houses dot the land that overlooks these beautiful woods It makes me feel a little bit of desperation to buy up as much of the land around us. There is this notion that if somehow we can keep encroaching civilization out, we can preserve it.
I’d much rather have my neighbors continue to be the hawks, eagles, owls, foxes, turkeys and other wildlife that call this place home than hear the pounding of hammers and thrum of bulldozers as another foundation is dug in the subdivision up the road. The problem is, because land prices have skyrocketed and surviving children who inherit the family farm see dollar signs and are not thinking about sustainability or preserving the land are parceling it out into plots. Whenever I see trees being mowed down to make room for someone’s future grassy yard, I shake my head. What could have been more beautiful than looking out over the forest? More houses drawing on the aquifer that feeds the deep wells for all of us out here are also going to further tax that resource. Those are the kinds of things that are a source of concern for the future. Even if you have your own well, water conservation should be a priority.
On this blog, I am going to be putting the focus on the subjects of self-sufficiency and sovereignty. Some of the things I post will be how-to’s, and other things may have more spiritual overtones. I may decide to focus on writing, or any number of other things that catch my fancy. (Hey, that’s the fun of having adult ADD!) The overall focus is really going to be about Wholistic living; which is Mind, Body & Spirit and how to keep them all together. In today’s world, that is becoming more and more of a trick and far more necessary than many of us may have done to date.
Life Belongs to Sekhmet 