I hate to say it, but our system is set up so that people almost have no option but to “sell out to the man.” One way or another, we need money to survive. If this were a hundred years ago, and I had a chance to work a plot of land, then I’d be doing just that – but those days are long gone. Our population can’t be fed without the use of highly efficient farming operations. Could you imagine everyone being forced to farm for a living? There’s simply not enough land.

Ok, so it’s safe to say that most of us have no choice but to become a small cog in a big wheel. That’s our system – we provide one of the thousands of tasks necessary to keep our economy functioning, and in turn, we receive money that allows us to purchase what we need to survive (and a little extra). Of course it’s that little extra that has become so distorted over the years – but I digress.

Now, I don’t know the first thing about farming, and I don’t know how to live off the land. Let’s face it; we’re not animals and we don’t live in the forest. We (I) need the system for survival. The problem is defining survival and what is really necessary.

My previous lifestyle was a classic example of things getting way out of hand. When I started defining necessities as a second car, a 3000sq house and a yearly vacation in Florida, I knew there was something out of whack. However, I know many that would vigorously defend their right to have these “necessities.”

Some people need a reality check. It’s not our god-given right to take so much more than we need just because we have the money to buy something. When will people learn that this is not a free-for-all? We are dealing with limited resources. Whether you can afford to buy and heat/cool a 4000sq house is really irrelevant.

I have thought long and hard about what kind of person I want to be and what kind of lifestyle I want for myself. I’ve come to the conclusion that I am neither left nor right, but somewhere in the middle. Call it fence sitting if you want, but considering the life-style I had a year or so ago, I think I’ve come a long way.

There are a few people that have successfully overcome the need for money, but again, I simply don’t have that kind of determination. I would be miserable having to implement some of the survival tactics needed to exist like this.

I don’t want to scrounge in order to exist. I want to provide my own means of sustenance. Without money, I would be forced to live off of other people’s scrapes – and that is simply not me.

Providing one’s own living does not have to mean an out-of-control, hyper-consuming, out-of-touch, existence. That’s why I have decided to maintain a minimalist life-style while providing my own source of income. I’m not interested in becoming rich or even well-off – I am interested in becoming self-sufficient.

Filed under: Becoming self-sufficient • Unemployed

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