The changing of life

Hello all! 

I know I keep saying I will begin blogging here again and I am hopeful to get back at it. In the meantime here's our happenings...

We have sold all the pigs at this point...all we have left is the dogs which we will keep....no chance they will leave...Life is different for sure...I spend my days quietly here at home keeping the house and figuring out my new normal...its not been easy...17 years of homesteading was a long time and we had an established routine and now....well, it's all gone...I'm not sad at all.... it's nice...we were tired...the peace here is amazing...Farm girl has moved on to begin her life a couple towns away and is happy...My home is quiet and peaceful...I love it!

As I look around the world and see the chaos and hear the things we hear through various sources things are certainly disheartening...sometimes downright scary...it's funny though...here, at Rocky Oak its like a whole 'nuther world...the peace...safety...and security I feel here....Don't get me wrong, I know things can change in an instant but right now this place is my refuge..so much has changed over the years, but one thing hasn't changed and that is that we are still very much prepper's...I guess we feel its just in our blood to be prepared...The more that happens in our country the more concerned and motivated we become...I feel for those that just haven't or can't seem to get the prepper mindset...Yes, we understand things happen and preps can be wiped out in an instant...nothing in our world is certain...things happen...but everyone can do something to prepare for natural or other induced disaster. Hubby and I have been through many hard times in our 27 years of marriage, so we understand the need to have a little extra on hand...It's just who we are as people.

For many years we used homesteading as a way of preparedness...we raised our own meat, milk, and vegetables...but it became all to apparent to us that the money we were spending on the critters was really not cost effective...and not just that....the sheer volume of time spent was overwhelming...there is certainly something to be said for the old ways...no doubt...but for us, it became to much...we were spending way more money, time and energy trying to create a way of life that was long gone...oh! don't get me wrong, we loved it and we learned so much, but at the end of day it just wasn't meant to be..There are so many ways to "prep"....and for use we choose to simply use store bought foods...we can buy bulk meats and dehydrate them for longer shelf life..same with fruits and veggies...we will still garden in a more manageable way that works for us..We all have to do what works for us!

I thought when we decided to sell out and live differently it would be so hard....but it wasn't...it was freeing...When my dad passed last year it changed me and I realized I didn't want to be tied down with all the ideals and notions we had...we spent all our time working and it just came to a point we ask if that's all life was....work...we concluded life was meant to be enjoyed as we only get a little while here on earth to make it count....

I want to make what time I have count...I want it to count not only for me and hubby but we want to make a difference in the lives of those we meet...We want to bring a sense of joy, peace and contentment to the world...we spent so many years in a church that taught division, hate and non-acceptance that we wasted so much energy and life...we hurt people not on purpose but we believed what we were taught...its all so sad to us now...I spend my mornings in quiet meditation, reflecting and letting go of so much baggage I carried for so many years...I am learning to find peace with me and with others...Seems I look at life so different than I did a few years ago or even just a year ago...I take the time to literally stop and smell the flowers around me....I take time to notice the breeze...I look up to the clouds and smile as I see them floating lazily across the blue sky...I take notice of the birds and how they are content just sitting on a branch filling the air with sweet sounds as they tweet...I notice the spiders creating their web homes and doing so with such elegance and perfection taking pride in each strand of web they spin...they make it count...I sit and rest my feet on the grass and close my eyes and truly feel the coolness and I am thankful for the moment...Mindfulness is my new norm...so much in our lives are lost to the hectic days and lives we lead...rushing here and there...worrying about this and that...we are so busy that days pass and turn into weeks and then into month and years...one day we wake up and realize we have more life behind us than we have before us and we begin to take a hard and honest look at what we have done...many of us realize we have worked it away, worried it away or simply just spent so much time trying to find who we are or being what others think we should be we just wasted the time way.

I have realized over time...peace and happiness only comes from within...we don't find happiness in a lifestyle, a church, a job, other people....we might find pleasure in those things..pleasure is momentary...happiness is longstanding...peace is found no matter what the circumstance if we are happy within ourselves...When we involve ourselves in all the negativity the world throws at us we tend to look for pleasure to ease the pain we feel...when we have real peace and happiness in the very core of our being, those things will not shake us...we can simply take a moment, breathe and be grateful for what we have discovered within...Each day I wake up grateful for another day to make a difference, somehow...even if that difference is in the life of a simple bird that has found food that I have put out in a feeder...it truly is the simple things that can have the greatest impact in our world...so as we move forward here at Rocky Oak Haven we are learning to be mindful and find the peace in the changing of life...

Until Next Time...
Kris