Back to the Land June - August 2004

Disillusioned with a relationship and with the material world in general, I set off to live a vision of community and sustainability. Venturing from Wisconsin to the west Coast the summer of 2004, I dedicated those three months to a life on Mountain Home, an off-the-grid community in Southwest Oregon, in a town too small to mention. I have mixed feelings about that summer. It was simultaneously the best and the worst I've ever had.

Living on the land energized me immensely. My hearing became attuned to the sounds of nature and I often heard voices as if spirits were speaking in the winds. Life was simple. I would awaken with the sun to joyously water the plants, watering and nourishing myself in the process. Many projects and daily chores needed to be completed to insure the stability of the community and its continual growth toward greater sustainability. Soil needed tilling, seeds needed planting, buildings needed repairing. The hands on quality of the work and the calm surrounds gave me great satisfaction. I felt whole and complete.

The only aspect of my time on the farm that disoriented me was sickness. The water turned out to be contaminated, but this wasn't discovered until the end of my stay and after I had already become sick from eating a piece of contaminated seaweed, so that I was drinking the water all summer and wondering why I was still feeling so ill. While I have this summer to thank for its inspiration and enveloping warmth, I also must thank it for the four years of illness I experienced following my stay.

While the water triggered my journey into illness, other psychosomatic symptoms took the chance to express themselves further. For four years I dealt with a decreased vitality. It was a time of desperate seeking, for anything that could give meaning and sustenance to a life just wasting away. It was a time of Pluto on my natal Neptune/Mars conjunction, exacerbating my sensitive nervous system with tumultuous shifts and changes.

Neverthless, I cherish that summer. I met some wonderfully inspiring people and enjoyed some delicious adventures in Eugene and Portland. The events of the summer were actually what led to my Thailand travels that December. And I think of these moments when life begins to appear complicated, and I am challenged to remember the simplicity in all things.