I've been involved with Art, Arts & Crafts, Politics, and Social Change (not necessarily in that order) since I was quite young. Now that I'm 55-ish (aka Middle-Aged), I've found that none of that has changed. I still love all the same things: music, reading, writing, people, great coffee, good conversations, and life; I also still like being creatively, socially and politically active. In recently years, I've also added a few things like living sustainably, volunteering via the Internet and Blogs to help people, and urging people to respect one another instead of coming down on each other (aka flaming).
Instead of flaming someone we do not agree with, why not try talking to that person to find out where they're coming from. We're all individuals and we all have different points from whence we've come--what that means is this: we need to respect each other so we can keep growing within ourselves. When we were young adults, we all wanted to be individuals. As we get older, we tend towards becoming like everyone else. We need to be flexible in how we think so we can stay young in our minds instead of becoming stodgy and identical. It's definitely easier to be and think like everyone else, but it keeps us from growing.
When I was 20 years old, I made a vow that I would continue learning about life and about people so I could stay fascinating and be someone that everyone wanted to be around. It was a good goal, but a bit unrealistic (or so I thought). What I didn't realize when I made that goal is that I would start becoming like everyone else. That's the last thing I wanted to do and am taking steps to reinforce my 20-year old goal. I like discussing ideas and things more interesting than other people...but people are also interesting, too, if they're doing interesting things.
When I lived near Sacramento, I taught homeless kids how to knit and crochet charging them $1,00 to learn to keep them vested in the class and included knitting needles and a crochet hook. After they finished learning to knit and crochet, they got free yarn after each project they finished with one boy making hats and scarves for his entire family of five and a girl who made clothes for her and her sisters dolls for Christmas. Maybe it doesn't seem like much for many of you, but it gave both the children and their parents hope. The children learned something to help them stay off the streets and helping their families and the parents didn't have to worry that they're kids were on the streets getting into trouble. It was a win/win situation.
Then we moved North and bought a small farm and I realized how different it was than living in or near a large metropolitan areas. Small Town is a nice city in a "banana belt" area. It's starting to get swallowed up by a growing population and retirees, but is still pretty nice. I learned about SUSTAINABILITY here. Sustainable Farming and Sustainable Living to help ensure that our lives would continue in the pastoral manner. But I'll talk more about that later. You may not agree with me, but that's fine, I don't expect you to, but hope we can find some common ground. For now, I'm just introducing myself and what I believe in and hope you will follow me and enjoy...
