By: Seth Columbia
Already I have been hearing a lot of “I wish I could do that”s and “that’s so cool I’m jealous’s”….and in a lot of ways I get it, ok thanks you dig what I’m digging cool HOWEVER I want you to get diggin too! What Jazz and I want is to take our inspiration funneled in from all of our own great inspirations, internalize it and form something tangible. It is happening and it is growing so let me share my personal development to remove some of the haze surrounding something as apparently mysterious and perhaps awe inspiring as…being alive? or i don’t know, my life? no, too… just no. how about: as an indefinite cycling trip across the country in pursuit of the eco-groove-y
So you wont have to read this whole damn thing, Bottom Line: Do what you want.
Story time!
I have never considered myself a highly motivated person, in fact I considered myself more of a home body and kind of lazy than anything, for a while at least. I was always in scouts but spent most of my time playing video games. I remember at one point in high-school where I cared so little that all I kept in my backpack was an airline pillow I would whip out and doze off on. I pretty much sucked! I didn’t care at all about anything… except embracing herbal boredom cures and exploring forests or the town by foot and long board respectively with my best buds. We referred to ourselves as the trailblazers (the more you think about it the cooler it is).
In college my herbal therapies continued as did my apathy. But one day I changed. I was on top of a small mountain/hill behind my university campus. A friend and I were discussing the lameness and repeatedly bad decision making of our lives. I thought aloud,
What do I really want to do though?!- gotta ask sometime
I mean I knew I had to do something, i was floundering. My GPA was in the ditch and my student loans feeling like fire under my ass. So I was all like, I like meeting cool people and going on adventures… I think anthropology does stuff like that. So there I went to become an anthro major, imagining myself in foreign places acting like a goofball. And here I sit procrastinating on my thesis in my final semester. The subject of which is an eco-village, where I spent my past summer… acting like a goofball, with a purpose!
Since that first day I have been gathering momentum, allowing myself to gravitate towards the things I enjoy, like, and love. Perhaps this momentum has been gathering for longer and a pattern has been observed, find what I like, find what I like about IT, pursue, repeat. How could that go wrong? Good thing I don’t have a terribly addictive personality…
PermaCycle 
October 25, 2014 at 12:01 am
Great story, and your steps are spot on..
like you, I found myself in a haze, not knowing where I wanted to go, and having people ride you all the time wanting to know what ‘career’ path you wanted to take.
nature has always been one of those things that created an “enchanted” feeling inside of me when I was a kid. Someone talked about the cold weather the other day and I sat and remembered when I was a kid. I loved it when my breath turned into something I could see and float away into the sky, I loved seeing all the leaves fall on the ground for me to run and play in, and most of all, I loved all the diamonds that sparkle in the snow on a clear winters day. Nature and magic go hand in hand, that is what I love about nature, but how does a person pursue magic?
🙂
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October 25, 2014 at 3:37 am
i love it, im in, good question. Maybe if we try to redefine what it is that is magic we can look deeper at what it is that we realy intend on creating. I mean the term lives a duel life, it doesnt exist ya know, that whole magic thing is just a farce… mere illusion, yet when I see her smile i know its magic and when Im realy kicking back into my goofy reprieve, its magic. When Im sitting at my computer trying to write my thesis I know there is magic out there, and I know I cant have it right now and it hurts. Actually it pisses me off. So which do I embrace, do I look at the illusion and let it pass my by as a state of mind that is only going to harm my psyche as I sit trying to cope with this institution? or do I say FUCK IT im out… and now in the pursuit of magic. This duality carries with it all or nothing, It is either all magic or none of it is right? I mean if it is an illusion then we can say well yea you can turn anything into magic,its all smoke and mirrors. I mean just look at the media of the USA, the angel and the devil is decided on the cutting room floor, not in the realities they capture. And on the contrary STOP, stop thinking because thats whats killing the magic, because magic is all around you and you simply have yet to realize it or been enlightened to that level of consciousness….
Maybe magic is just another label to slap on things in this grey area we call life. Im in a certain state of mind right now so dont hold me accountable for this but honestly the more I think about it the more the word magic is pissing me off haha. Its like theres gotta be a better word out there for it….
I guess you said it though, magic is nature… nature is nature… its only natural, i mean if anything is magical it is nature so why even give this bogus bunch of letters we keep referring to as “magic” any of the god damn credit, because as similar as they may seem, as hand in hand as they may seem to walk they arent, man created magic, nature created man. Lets just call it how it is… when she smiles… its just so natural… and when I kick back into that goofy flow…. its just so damn natural. LOVE
-Seth
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October 26, 2014 at 2:02 pm
You are right, I’ve had discussions with other people about words. Human words can never capture the depth and feelings people have, they can never capture the beauty and awe people feel about nature…words are a pale shadow compared to what beings really feel inside. I only used magic because I didn’t know what else to call it, but natural is good, I like it 🙂
I’m glad you understood the feelings behind the words. Some peoole get so hung up on words, that they start arguments over it, all because they failed to ‘feel’ the energy behind them.
Thanks for the reply Seth!
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October 26, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Yea super happy to reply, I need that philosophical outlet at times. And I wasn’t trying to say anything definitively but I agree, the power of words and personal expression through them is so important. It is often our vocabularies that limit our understandings and expression in our lives so it is a topic well worth considering. As an Anthropology major in undergrad I was quite interested in the effects of language on worldview and how the limiting factors of vocabulary and common cultural use dictate a peoples perception of the world. An interesting example is how many eastern and less complex societies often use one word for buy and sell. In our world the dichotomy between them ahs a definite impact and makes room for producer and consumer yada yada. The implcations differ in eastern culture and such but ya. Words define us more than we define them…right?
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October 28, 2014 at 2:13 am
Have you guys seen this website? http://www.wwoof.net/
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October 28, 2014 at 6:03 am
YES! I had an amazing opportunity to experience wwoofing while on a study abroad trip to Spain, in fact that experience lead me to my current state of mind. I was living in a small community in the mountains where life felt so much more logical and tangible considering work, community, and leisure. When I returned to the states I began seeking something similar, stumbled upon eco-villages, spent some time at one and the rest is history. Thank you for your reference though, it can be a realy amazing experience.
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October 29, 2014 at 11:54 am
You know what?!?! I’ve never actually visited it! I know that Seth has done some wwoofing in Spain, and I’ve considered it as a platform for us visiting farms! Thank you -Jasmine
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October 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm
You are effin’ amazing, btw. -Jasmine
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October 28, 2014 at 11:41 am
This is something I’d really like to get into. I noticed there was a permaculture farm section too. When the kids are older I want to do a couple of these trips and eventually become a host farm. I think that would be the best road to travel down for us. It would be amazing to get out there and meet people!
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October 29, 2014 at 11:53 am
I think that is an amazing idea! There is a great blogger out there who does something similar and they are located in Australia…I think you may be following them already. Go you! 🙂 -Jas
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October 30, 2014 at 12:19 am
Permiescot or something like that? His blog is great, I love what he is doing! I used to do road trips and stuff, but rad trips with a great purpose sounds even better! I look forward to doing some more once the babies are older. It has been a while…..Thanks!!!
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October 30, 2014 at 12:20 am
Permiescot or something like that? His blog is great, I love what he is doing! I used to do road trips and stuff, but rad trips with a great purpose sounds even better! I look forward to doing some more once the babies are older. It has been a while…..Thanks!!!
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