Careers are Overrated

Think about it. Unless you love what you do and are seriously passionate about it. Do you really want to sell your life to some company for $20/hour, and a one night retirement party after which they all promptly forget about you and you are replaced in 3 weeks time.

Most people work the standard 5 days a week during daylight hours, that is 71% of your days for your whole of your working life (which also often are the years of the most abundant health, raising a family and self discovery and development.

I for one think that is stupid. (Please don't miss understand, that doesn't mean that I just want to sit on my butt all day doing nothing). I want to live, live a full life and find ways to provide for myself doing meaning things that I care about. I want my life and my work to become one, not because I am forced to work evenings and weekends, but because my work is my existence within and experience of my community.

A Night at Logging Camp

The North Coast Forest.









Well I had an awesome sleep last night after spending 2 hard bush days and one night in logging camp. My body is bruised and aching. The bush hiking is a definite workout. Slopes are 100% and covered in mossy and slimy logs.

You can kind of get an idea of what the hillside is like from this picture. You are usually hanging onto branches, roots, or saplings to pull yourself up. It is basically full body hiking. I had a few instances yesterday where I reached out to grab a branch to stable me only to discover that is was actually a leafless stock of devils club. It is beautiful hiking and the forest is full of birds.

Yesterday I even saw a humming bird stick his head out around the side of a tree to see what we were up to and then scoot off.

At the end of the day the helicopter picked us us from the top of the ridge. The view up there was incredible!

Must Read Book...

ok, I got this book out of the library yesterday, I have been meaning to read it for a while. Anyways, I got it yesterday on my lunch break and I am already 100pgs through. That says something! I do ready but not usually that fast. Here it is:



It is a collection of essays:

• The Joy of Sales Resistance
• Conservation and Local Economy
• Out of your Car, Off your Horse
• Conservation is Good Work
• A Big Bad Idea
• The Problem of Tobacco
• Peaceableness towards Enemies
• Christianity and the Survival of Creation
• Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community

They are all very readable and not too long. I am already on the second last one, "Christianity and the Survival of Creation," and like I said I am only 100 pgs in.

If you have already read this book please post any comments you may have. If not head down to your local library!

Kingdom of Heaven (NOT the movie)

I have been thinking about life and thought I would share a thought with you all (and maybe even get some feedback...)

I really want land. I want to live a simple life: grow my own food, build a sustainable home, live in community, care for the people and plant/animal communities around me and teach others about making peace with creation.

Yesterday I was listening to a Mars Hill Sermon (April 22, 07) Rob Bell drove home the point that I have heard Rikk Watts say again and again. Heaven is not some place else, heaven is a redeeming of the earth. Heaven is coming here.

This got me thinking about my desires of caring for creation, living simply and living in community. If heaven is a restored and redeemed creation don't my current desires fit into that. Is is possible that dream is not a dream for my life right now, but rather an inner longing and dim reflection of a life that will be realized in all its fullness in heaven (i.e. a redeemed creation). And, that any sort of manifestation of that dream in this life is not a fulfilling of my desires, but rather a sign of the kingdom of heaven; obviously not perfect, but a dim reflection.

If this is the case, where does that leave me? What do I pursue? what do I strive for? How do I live my life in light of that?