This July I have chosen to be unconventional. Yes, I know that the idea of a Novel Writing Month is to – well – write a novel, but I have decided that I would do just as well to get my word count up by working on this blog, instead. After all, the more posts I write, the better at it I shall become. I am not sure whether that includes the whole SEO thing, but at least, it’ll be a good start!
Every year I enter NaNoWriMo. Some years are more successful than others. There are usually three opportunities for writing and/or finishing a first draft of a novel – April, July, and November. However, I felt that since I am out of practice, I would need to recultivate the daily discipline, first. And what better way to do so than to keep up a daily blog?
No, I won’t focus solely on writing. I want to spend as little time thinking of writing as possible. Instead, I want to spend my energy dreaming about living out the rest of my days in a village in Ukraine, growing fruit and vegetables, raising ducks and chickens, and keeping some bees. It’s all about living eco-responsibly and having my projects sustain themselves.
There are three ethics of Permaculture that everyone agrees on (not everyone agrees on the definition of the third one!). They are Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share.
Earth Care is pretty straightforward. It means I should not do or use anything that causes more damage than necessary to the environment. That can include recycled building materials, using manual tools as opposed to generator-powered electric tools, using compost that I have made myself instead of chemical fertilizers, using biodegradable cleaning materials, storing rainwater and melted snow, and – lastly – designing my environment in such a way that I need as little energy as possible to control the microclimate around me.
People Care is simple, too, especially while looking at the person in the mirror. Frankly, I’m not young anymore. I still think I have some years left, but I need to think about my dotage and plan for that part of my life, too. That means that I would have to find a way to eliminate stairs, steps, and uneven walkways, and I shall also need to design every room as ergonomically as possible, especially the study/studio and kitchen. It’s also about reducing stress, both mentally and on my body. I am not afraid of physical labor if a good yield is a reward, but there is room for gadgets and gizmos too! Ukraine has a short, but extremely busy summer/harvest season. I’ll probably spend days on end on my feet while processing various edibles for the winter.
The third Ethic, Fair Share, is a controversial one. Everyone agrees that it is wrong to be greedy, but there is a definite lack of agreement on how this ethic should be applied, especially when the yield is much bigger than is enough for one person to consume in a cycle.
For me, this means to share the bounty with the community. It also means that I need to plan my activities so that I HAVE extra to share, whether it be fruit, vegetables, flowers, goods in jars and bottles, or compostables. AND it means that I have to plant what I will want to use so that my efforts don’t go to waste.
The more I think about it, the clearer the image in my head becomes. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I can do it with the help of some friends, and lots of faith and determination.