Longing for Belonging

I've been searching for my place in the world, a community or a place to start one -- but am not yet sure where that would be, and recent circumstances are motivating me not to give up. I've recently been finding more and more plastic in food. At first, it was processed foods, packaged, premade, then organic bread, inside of frozen green beans (also organic!), and today -- organic dates from Trader Joe's. This is it. If it comes from a big store, it cannot be trusted.

I want to grow my own food in my own way, no machines, no plastic, no ridiculous hours or pressure to be out in the sun between 8 am and about an hour before sunset (I'm very pale).

When I look for opportunities to try a self sufficient lifestyle and help out somewhere, they talk about a lot of hard work. And my point is that it doesn't need to be that way. There can be team work, slow paced working, and actually enjoying the process. In example, watering plants at 6 or 7 am and before the sun sets.

I do feel a pull towards self sufficiency, a really strong pull, but to do it very differently, very consciously, not just for the end result but for the journey itself.

Along with that, I'm looking for a vice-free space, no drugs and alcohol, to be very loving towards our bodies. No pressure to join any religion either. Independent thinking allowed! And I am also guided to let go of reliance on electricity and electronics once there.

If you know of such a place, I'd be curious to find out. If you want to create such a place, I'd be curious to get to know you!

Mariya Bee wrote:

This is it. If it comes from a big store, it cannot be trusted.

I want to grow my own food in my own way, no machines, no plastic, no ridiculous hours or pressure to be out in the sun between 8 am and about an hour before sunset...

Moonlight is perfect for a lot of chores in July and August around here.   Kudos and great luck with your journey.  Garlic and onions are great low maintenance garden starters!

Thanks James!

Like you, I had looked for years for my kind of folks.  Then I then found the forum!

My goals are different from your though.

I clean my house with cleansers you can eat, that kinda stuff.

Folks here grow their own veggies so that do not always relay on grocery stores.

I hope you will ask lots of questions so that we can get to know you better.

Thanks, Nancy! That's interesting!

Anne, I will probably have lots of questions once I actually start something. And that's great to use natural cleaners!

This is the closest I was able to find to NYC.
https://www.ecovillagenj.org/about/

Andy Danielson wrote:This is the closest I was able to find to NYC.
https://www.ecovillagenj.org/about/

Thank for sharing, Andy. Not sure how to join them!

I like the idea of being crepuscular. I feel like doing the most in the morning and evening and then resting, eating, and doing nothing midday and early afternoon. If I didn’t eat dinner I would probably wake up early every morning and get more done, then eat and nap midday. They say humans are diurnal but are we really?

M Ljin wrote:I like the idea of being crepuscular. I feel like doing the most in the morning and evening and then resting, eating, and doing nothing midday and early afternoon. If I didn’t eat dinner I would probably wake up early every morning and get more done, then eat and nap midday. They say humans are diurnal but are we really?

Yay, I learned new words today! Haha! I think it depends on the humans and maybe where they grow up? Some people have bodies that do better in the sun and actually prefer to be out on the beach during peak hours. I'm not one of those folks...