Living In The City Or A Farm

When you look out from the window of your condo what do you see?

buck-deer.jpgLiving In The Country Vs Living In The City

When you look out from the window of your condo what do you see? A city skyline? A city-scape of buildings and intersections? People and cars filling the streets? What do you hear? Horns sounding, police sirens or the sound of a wailing baby from inside a baby carriage being pushed down the street? This is the city. Now let that scene fade away and instead imagine a forest, a meadow, a hillside. Imagine a lake or a rushing river, just outside your window. Imagine the sounds of a babbling brook, wind rushing through a forest or of crickets chirping on a still night.
The second scene is better isn't it? Now imagine the second scene also with animals, chickens clucking, cows mooing and pigs grunting. Imagine that open patch of land having greenhouses and raised beds. Now we are getting close to the ideal!

In the city every aspect of life is controlled and regulated. you are under the control of others, your landlord, your foreman, your strata council, your city council, etc. You are dependent on the infrastructure all around you. You depend on the waterworks, the hydro, the garbage removal, the bus system, the snow removal system, the bank, the grocery store, the Walmart, etc. If there is a disruption in your infrastructure your schedule is turned upside down.

The first scene is loud, noisy, polluted, agitating, continually interrupted with your cell phone going off again, oh its your boss. You can't block it out. You can't have all of the pressures of life in the city bearing down on you and expect that siting on a yoga mat in some pose will alleviate it. The yoga doesn't  work. I'm sorry it doesn't  work.
The second scene screams freedom. The second scene is the place where you can rest. It is the place where you can think. Why? Because it is quiet and serine.

Why not try to make the second scene your home? Millions of people have chosen to live a life close to nature. They have taken the plunge, the peaceful plunge. Did it involve sacrifice? Yes probably for most. They gave up many conveniences, many services. But many would say the tradeoff was worth it. They have chosen a simpler life. So find a way. The how may be different for each of us. Start working on your plan today. It may take time to see this dream realized. That's okay. Some would say that they have a purpose, even a calling where they are now, in the city. If that's you, then forget this message and fulfil your calling. However if you are one of the many who do not have a sense of belonging to the city, then escape it, and find a quiet peaceful, solitary place where you have the space to discover your true purpose.

This is just advice, but if you see value in it, then try to get away, even if just for a season. It is my prayer that in that quiet place you will hear God's voice. Your search is a spiritual one. Ultimately fulfilment will only be found in faith in Jesus Christ. Such faith can be discovered in either an urban or rural setting. For you to hear God's voice you need to tune out the other noise and give Him your attention. Escaping to the country is perhaps one way of shutting out the noise. God bless you.

Shawn Stevens


Big Town, Small Town, No Town

What do you like; city, big town, small town, no town? Where is there the most freedom and the most security? Some might think that cities have the most freedom because there are more options of things to do. Some might think that cities are the most secure because there is the most amount of infrastructure. Both of these are illusions, at least in my opinion. You decide. However, I am arguing here for the small town or no town living.

Small town or no town is more free and more secure because less is more. Less population means less government. Less government means less tax. Less government means less regulation. All of these “lesses” mean more freedom.

Less does not just mean more freedom. It means more security. Small town or no town is more secure because  there is less dependancy on government. Less dependency means more freedom to make all of the common sense choices that you want and need to make to be secure.

The liberal social engineers and societal engineers are trying to reduce urban sprawl and increase urban density. However, when cities grow beyond 50,000 the per capita cost of government starts to rise sharply. This s because more and more government is created to rule over more and more people. Along with the more and more government comes more and more taxes. Governments like this. They like to see their tax base grow. They encourage population growth. In fact, they encourage rapid growth.

Rapid growth of a town or city is risky. The most stable kind of growth is gradual growth. The more rapid the  growth, the greater the cost and the debt associated with that growth. The faster the growth the harder it is to control spending.

While politicians are taking the risky path of rapid  growth, high density big city, big government, the population untimely pays for the economic crash that follows. It is passed on to them. However, in the meantime the population lives under the illusion of false freedom and false security.

It is time for a course correction. The alternative is small town or no town. No town is hobby-farm or homestead. No town is maximum freedom and maximum security. You are not dependent on infrastructure, you make your own. You are not dependent on food supply, you grow your own. You are not dependant on corporate employers, you are in charge of your own employment, self employment or remote employment.  Hobby-farming and homesteading is a return to a more natural way of living. Remember less is more.

Shawn Stevens

 

REFERENCES

Joel M. Skousen. The Secure Home. 2013.
https://freedom-farm.org/
https://homesteadfree.com/