Creating Satisfaction: Part 3

This final Blog in my "Creating Satisfaction" Series covers a mishmash of different things we can do to live more sustainably and interact with one another in positive ways. I will also cover some of my personal thoughts on a couple of topics that are important to me. I hope some of these and previous items have been helpful in demonstrating the point I am trying to get across. It has been a pleasure compiling these together into a reference source for use and enjoyment...

Wild and Perennial Edibles

To begin, it may be surprising to know that there are many edible plants that grow all around you that most of us look at as weeds. However there are many natural edibles all around you if you can identify and take the time to look around. I have friends in Stelle who have picked dandelions and, as a matter of fact I will be helping bottle wine made from these dandelions today! Making dandelion wine is easy and a good way of  putting to use what we think of as something that is invasive to our properties. If you don't have a bucket and airlock, you can use a gallon jug and balloon.

When I was a kid we would eat what we called "sour grass". It is very small with shamrock shaped leave and little yellow flowers. Actually "sour grass" is wood sorrel and has medicinal benefits.

Wood Sorrel

The following according to Botanical.com: "Wood Sorrel is more effectual than the true Sorrels as a blood cleanser, and will strengthen a weak stomach, produce and appetite, check vomiting, and remove obstructions of the viscera."

This is just one example of the benefits of one wild edible plant. I have inserted a link below that will give you a list of wild edibles and you can cross reference it with Botanical.com to find out what each edible has to offer.

Link: A list of wild edibles of the Midwest

Wild Asparagus Spear

Next I offer you perennial edibles. These can grow wild or be planted and enjoyed year after year. In Northern California wild blackberries grow in all the ditches, against fences and anywhere they will be allowed to grow. A good Midwestern example of a wild perennial edible is Asparagus. It grows just about anywhere there is a good source of water in a place that is generally undisturbed, like in rural ditches (just make sore to wash them very well because pesticide blow-over and run-off can add a little extra, unwanted flavor and a nice shock to the liver). From fruit and nut trees, to berries and grapes, there are many productive plants you can insert on your property that will provide an abundance with little work. And the satisfaction you get once these plants begin producing fruit is tremendous.

Wild Asparagus Fern

You can even transplant many of these wild perennials in you yard if you happen to stumble across them while enjoying a walk down a country road. There are so many good things to eat like mulberries, wild strawberries (if you can find them) and walnuts. And for the real "walnuts" out there, many different edible mushrooms exist, though I suggest doing your homework before you give it a try, because mushrooms can be tricky and have the potential to make people very sick.

Link: Perennial Edible Plants

On to other things. I think there are some fairly important ideas to address and grasp to continue on the road to Satisfaction...

Community
There is always a fish fry going on. There is always a fundraiser happening. There is always a local sporting event to go to. There are Euchre tournaments, softball leagues and community garage sales. Get out and about in your local surroundings and enjoy yourself in an atmosphere that isn't your local gin mill. Going to the pub is fun, but are you building relationships with a clear head? You work hard and deserve some good, clean leisure to unwind from all that work you do.

Charity
We don't give because it makes us feel good. We give because it is necessary to do. Don't be reactive in your giving; be preemptive. Even going to the local Red Cross and getting your CPR and First Aid Certification prepares you to give in a way that when help is needed, you are ready for it. Volunteering and community service should not be mandatory, but we have all had times that were rough enough that others have given to us, so we should understand the importance. We must not look at it as paying back, but a necessary function within his social system.

Homemade Gifts, Crafts and Services

My Pine Cone Sherlock Holmes

My Pine Cone Soldier Complete
With Acorn Gas Mask

The gift that is made with the hands, with creativity and care is the best gift to receive. The handmade, homemade gift is the best gift to give, because you made it with love. A friend I know collects pine cones, acorns and walnut shells and every Christmas season sits the kids down with fabric, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, glitter, glue, beads and all sorts of craft items to make "fairies" as tree ornaments and house decorations. It is one of the household highlights of the year. And every year the family of fairies grows and grows. It is really fun and the kids just love using their imaginations to visualize what they will be creating and make it. When money is tight around the holidays (and when isn't it?) offer your proficient skills to others in a hand-drawn or photo shopped gift certificate that is redeemable. Make the service custom tailored to each individual and it will make the gift of service that much more fulfilling.


Transportation

Nearly 50% of our energy consumption
comes from homes and transportation.

Sao Paulo, Brazil has a traffic disaster with some 6 million cars driving through their streets and have begun correcting it by implementing the above procedures and have drastically reduced fuel consumption while making mass transit the way to travel, because their policies have made bus commuting time comparable, if not faster than that of conventional transportation, including taxi cabs.  When we travel alone in our cars, it shows our thirst for fuel and hyperindividualism. Riding transit and carpooling is the first thing we can do to drastically reduce our usage of fuel, in turn saving us vast amounts of money collectively and if we can find other, responsible solutions for our fuel use, we can begin working our way toward making a statement that we will not stand for uncontrolled consumption that will be a major factor in economic downfall.

About 85% of our energy usage comes
from fossil fuels. Let's make that 1%
pie slice grow exponentially.

I thank you for reading and considering these ideas. They are not at all original. I just feel they need to be shared with those who have not yet been exposed to them. Good luck in your travels and the journey toward your own independence and remember that we don't need to compromise comforts to live responsibly.

JC

Coming Up...Truths and Fiction About Solar and Wind Energy...Plus, the Choice Between High Speed Rails and Alternative Energies.

What Is Satisfaction?

We look at our lives and many of us are satisfied with the direction we are taking. I find others are looking for a new way to live that isn't so demanding that they can have more opportunities to spend time with family and their interests. And isn't that why we live and reproduce?

As many of you have come to find out, I am pretty fed up with both sides of the aisle. No one is working for us anymore. And after research, I found out that they may never have been working for us in the first place. When the revolution was happening, our new government was encouraging people to buy "their" land out "west". These loans were low or no interest. We were taught in school that these people were expanding the U.S. territory for no other reason than to try to capture the American dream. The truth is the newly formed U.S. government was providing these loans to homesteaders to create equity and a credit line for the purpose of purchasing weapons for the Revolution.

So from our inception our country has built a line of credit to borrow...and borrow...and borrow...in this instance, borrowing to fund their war. Now I believe that every man has the natural right to be free to make his own choices. And I would personally stand up for the rights of people who are being wronged or their natural rights were being violated.. But we have built debt from day one. Don't get me wrong, there have been a number of times in this country's existence that we have paid these debts, however we perpetuate this belief that unregulated capitalism and borrowing are going to be our economic salvation. All the while, good, honest, hardworking people are losing everything from their homes and jobs to their retirements and investments.

Anyone who still believes in the "Right/Left" paradigm is only encouraging this behavior further. It is up to us to decide when we have had enough of their "representation" and create our own, new representation.

Is there a such thing as too much technology? When we begin working to pay for our technology, we have bowed to another slavemaster. Don't get me wrong, there are benefits to technology. But when technology becomes our obsession, we tend to forget there is a beautiful Earth beneath our feet and a mass of wonderful people who mostly want the same things we want. How did we get along until 25 years ago?

We want security for ourselves and our families. And we want to enjoy our loved ones and watch them flourish. How can we do that when we our breaking our backs just to keep up with the pace of an economy? Many a man and woman work so hard trying to attain and keep comforts so their families can live well. But stuff is not life. When we die we take nothing from this Earth but our reputation. And included in our reputation is the picture family and friends have created as a result of the quality of life and love we have offered to them.

So, would you be willing to comprimise a small amout of your quality of physical life for a larger portion of the quality of mental life so your loved ones can feel more secure? Is it all about stuff over satisfaction? You can still have stuff, but when do you have enough stuff and when you begin acquire new stuff are you feeling that there is not much satisfaction to "more"? And there is solid evidence that claims your quality of life peaks at a certain point of financial prominence before it plateaus and sometimes even begins dropping while wealth still rises. So, how can we make time to enjoy those around us? Simplify.

What does "Simplify" mean? In the next blog I will attempt to demonstrate what we can do to save a little money so our lives are a little less demanding that will hopefully free up a little time for us to enjoy and interact more with the people we care about. Some of these ideas are practical. Others may be a little unorthodox. But while we wait to find out, please ponder on the following question:

Would you give 80% of what you have so 5 people could have 80% more than they have?
I tend to believe I know what mothers will say..."I already have." So maybe the rest of us can be more like moms....

Every dollar that is made at the top is being taken from some unfortunate soul at the bottom.

Next Blog...Simple tips that will save us money and care for the Earth and its inhabitants.