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| Painting by Edgar Hunt |
Adjective Informal
"rejecting conventional practices or behavior in a way perceived to be vague and unconsidered or foolishly idealistic." (source: Oxford Dictionary)
The more I read about all the harm the chemicals we ingest
does and the harm that the chemicals our food ingests does the more I
want to farm, garden, and make all my own lotions and potions.
Nothing that comes from the meat case in a standard (i.e.
not a Whole Foods or Natural Grocer type) grocery store lived a happy, natural
life. Nothing. It lived in pain and frustration and confusion, and it likely
died in agony. That sucks…to put it mildly. If one is to believe the expression
about "you are what you eat" then what are we consuming? Metaphysical
misery? Okay, that's branching out a little too far for me, but still. Yuck.
So between the inhumanity of large scale "Factory"
farming, and the terrifying amount of chemicals that our food is given, I don't
want to eat it anymore. I really really don't.
Money constraints and freezer space keep me from buying
exclusively from local farmers and meat companies. I'd love to find a neighbor
(or extended family member) that wanted to go in halfers on a cow or a pig. But
so far, no love on that one. While I wait (impatiently as always) for my
financial life to allow such purchases, I continue to switch out boxed and
"processed" and faux foods from our lives and substitute in
all-natural, homemade, from scratch food.
When we kill things or harvest things, I always offer up a
prayer of thanks to the organism be it from fishing, hunting, or even the
garden. Always.
Our house is in a HOA controlled subdivision despite being
well off the beaten path and way back in the woods. The HOA/County covenants
for the subdivision only allow for a horse or 10 small livestock. I could get
10 chickens if I had the coop for them, or I could get 2 goats and 8 chickens
and so on. I believe the woman who built our house kept goats. That's what I've
been told by those in the know. The various strange rock cairns scattered
around my one acre strike me as the right size for goat graves. I'm not digging
them up to find out though.
I've realized that for me, the path to success is baby
steps. Which is, of course, in direct opposition to my apparently innate desire
to leap in to any project with both feet and 110% enthusiasm. It's a personal
battle I fight. So I have switched to all natural lip balm that a friend of mine
makes (when she remembers!) and I have started making my own toothpaste—I'm on
the second batch and so far I'm really pleased with it. I'm gathering
ingredients to start making my own deodorant as well.
The internet these days is a fantastic resource for these
kind of recipes. I don't trust the longevity of anything online though so I
always make sure to copy the recipes I like off into a document or at least
print them out.
What does all this have to do with my Path and being a
Pagan? It helps me to do my part to care for the Earth and contribute to a
better life and a better death for some of the inhabitants. Less toxins, less
poison, less pain. That is intimately related to my Path and how I choose to live.
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| Sprouts divider by Kawiku |
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