Shelter and Survival

The kids and I have been watching BBC Earth, enjoying the beauty and wonder of life. These animals, there life are so simple: eat, reproduce, survive the seasons.  They have all their means of survival within their bodies and the environment around them.

What the hell have we done to ourselves!? We no longer have access to the environment, for food and survival. We have traded so much in, and made it difficult to survive with dignity, on very little or to put a positive spin on it–by the blessings of our ingenuity and hardiness.  I do not think we can turn back the clock and live primal* anymore. I know everything is very complex, and I am in no shape to argue the merits of modern society vs. close-to-the-earth living like I’d like to.

Nowadays, with the economy, debt, inadequate amounts of affordable housing options, fear of loosing your job, your health care,  squeaking by….It’s just too much. We can’t even feed ourselves because we have no place to grow food, and people don’t garden enough to share with those that can’t. We can’t easily afford a plot of land to erect an affordable dwelling.  You can’t really live in a tent with out getting harassed. You can’t even pitch a tent on private land with permission from the owner (this was something I read a long time ago). Where do you go when everything falls apart? I feel so much has to change about how we live. We live in fear, and we are not coming together in meaningful and effective ways yet.

I recently read Ammonite by Nicola Griffith which was pretty neat because it both offered the experience of very sheltered, modern women of the space age and that of what I’d call a very advanced, low-tech, close-to-the-earth, tribal society—of women. The main character has to adapt to living unplugged from convenience with the native population, and is forced to change to survive. In the end it was all worth it. Yes, she lost fingers, got sick, gained hideous scars–but she came out a wiser, richer person for it. Anyway, I found it uplifting. Loved the book, loved it’s message.

*If you know the right work for this, please share. I can’t seem to find what I need. Primitive comes to mind, but it has a rather derogatory feel to it.

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I posted this over a year ago and it is still relevant, especially so with what is going on in the world.

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