Three years ago I started a pilgrimage towards an idea that I still fully believe is capable while on the Earth plane. This path that I decided to go down isn't popular by choice among the American culture. In fact, it is often looked upon as an illness.
Three years ago I attended my first Rainbow Gathering in South Dakota. Prior to that my only knowledge of Rainbow was that it was a group of hippies that congregated in the forest. That they partook in drum circles, peace and love.
From that moment on I had always wanted to attend a gathering, That time finally came (almost a decade had past) when I was living in Colorado. A fellow yoga instructor nonchalantly invited me to travel with her to the Black Hills in South Dakota where the national gathering was held. I jumped on board immediately.
That quick decision has shaped the entire course of my life FOREVER. After my radical experience in the Black Hills, which I will share in more depth at another time, I became increasingly anxious about the lifestyle I had been living. My mind had been blasted with new + outrageous ideas that challenged the very fiber of my being. Such as perspectives about our political systems that a sentient being could no longer ignore, the vast amount of ways one could exist, and the deep connection that is available between all humans. I would have deep conversations with a diverse multitude of strange individuals while relaxing on a skynet. It was dreamy!!
Upon my return from the forest, it felt like it was necessary for my well-being to surrender my existence in Babylon. Shortly after Rainbow I quit my job, sold/gifted all of my material belongings that couldn't fit into my vehicle and broke my lease. Home free at last......those words were all I could think about until I set into motion my journey on the road.
Since then I have experienced a plethora of fallacies and miracles with a whole slew of adventures in between. The road has unfolded in unusual + spectacular ways showing me one spiritual teaching after another. My comprehension of the power of manifestation, what it looks like to be a true minimalist, exercising primitive survival skills while listening to my intuition have changed dramatically. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is to show gratitude for what I do possess (without being possessive) as well as using what surrounds me to create the best possible scenario.
I am going to skip the larger part of my story as to show respective relevance for the title of this post. My partner and I conceived a beautiful baby girl and decided to integrate back into Babylon until we could figure out a situation that is more congruent with our values. We have been on the grid for a year now and are still in the throes of configuring a sustainable ecology for our family's sanity. For the last week and during the Spring Equinox we have had little to no currency to our names. Depression and anxiety has tried to rear its ugly head, but we chose to redirect our focus to being creative with what is available around us. Instead of feeling discouraged because of the system and all of its games...we took matters into our own hands and became empowered. Providing healthy, wholesome foods are the priority when raising our little and because money is scarce we chose to grow our own produce. That's not the only reason why we are building edible landscapes, but it is a strong motivator.
We whipped out our seeds from last year, turned over our rich red worm compost, grabbed the random pieces of gutter, railroad ties and the lonesome tire that was lying around to build three new raised beds. We also assembled a soon-to-be aquaponic system that drains into a raised bed tire. And that's how we celebrated life while being poor. A friend once told me a Thomas Edison quote which is great food for thought, "Necessity is the Mother of invention." I'm not a fan of Thomas Edison being that he was Nikola Tesla's adversary, but that statement is a great observation.
With that being said, if you ever find yourself in a situation where the financial flow is tight, I invite you to experiment with your creative side. Pause and observe what is around you and see if you can create something inspirational, beautiful or thought-provoking.