Humilty ~ My first Drop in the Ocean post!
We moved here, four years ago with high hopes and dreams…the kind that any homesteader has when moving to a foreign land. Especially a foreign land filled with strange economics and a different way of life.
When we initially met the people of the area, and saw the homes built in the small surrounding towns, we thought that if they only understood the importance of proper wood stove piping, then they wouldn’t mismatch it so much with duct tape. If they just took the time to repair their roofs, they wouldn’t need to put a tarp on to keep the rain out. Also, a little paint always brightens up an aging house. But they needn’t worry about any of those things, because we were here to help!
With our understanding of carpentry, and savvy business skills from the “big city”, we would have this place whipped into shape in no time!
Well, wouldn’t you know, after we spent the majority of our funds that we brought with us on building our tiny home, we went straight into survival mode. This meant that we switched our focus onto our basic needs of eating and keeping the power on, while we lived in an unfinished home, and taking hose showers outside. We were thankful for our wood burning stove my parents blessed us with, but the those stove pipe and all those matching pieces were so expensive that it almost broke us. And then I had a small glimpse of why I saw so many homes with mismatched pieces. Things here cost twice as much as normal.
We were hit with another large dose of reality. Since this area is economically poor, the going wages are far lower than any city we’ve ever lived in. The employers are more ruthless, and finding a good employee to show up everyday is slim, and to top it off, they don’t like to hire “outsiders”. So, any odd jobs, or handyman jobs were few and far between.
We started having to be very creative in how we earned money. Just like everybody else who lives here.
Then that’s when the fuller picture really came into focus. It was bigger than something we could change by just showing a different perspective or work ethic. This was a way life, and in order to understand it, fully understand it, I had to experience what that looked like.
And we did.
We struggled for a few years surviving in this economy. Having to make the decision between groceries and gas. We had to learn to survive and how to do it together without giving up. We had to humble ourselves and our expectations.
Suddenly, mismatched piping made since. What if they had to choose between that or freezing to death? Isn’t that something? To have to choose between a house fire from poor piping or freezing? It made me look at my shiny pipes a little differently.
As we look forward to the new adventures we hope to set out on, I know that this experience has brought learning and growing to a whole new level for me.
I think this has happened to a few of us. Our expectations didn't meet the reality of the area we moved to. Experience can be a hard teacher, but you remember those lessons the best and take them with you when you move on.
Yes! This is very true! Experience teaches us so much...it's priceless.
So true. Great post
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Stacie D!
You are welcome! Thanks for reading!
this reminded me about your post on the showers and how grateful you were for them.... humility brings a nice appreciation for things that we take for granted!
we never like being there... but - its so nice to appreciate good things <3
It is really hard being there...but it feels so good on the other side with a brand new perspective!
As much as I know I wouldn't turn down a million dollars, I know that the struggles I've went through have made everything in my life worth more.
My Gram says that hunger is the best seasoning. I suppose that could be true for stove pipes. If you need one badly enough, a patched up, pieced together pipe looks a lot better than no pipe!
Walking a mile in someone's else's shoes (or one's own similar shoes) sure goes along way for changing one's perspective!
It really does! I love your Gram's saying...I might even start saying it myself!
I can so relate to your post!! It's amazing how we change when put in to situations that make us evaluate whats important!! It sure is humbling :)
Your story holds a lesson on not judging others; it is hard to be in someone's shoes unless you are actually in their situation (and still, it's usually still different).
I love this post - and I applaud you. Life threw you a curve and you’re hitting it out of the park. So many lessons to learn if you’re open to them.
Thank you! Yes, there are so many lessons to learn...and they can be so hard to go through, but I'm so thankful that I have a genuinely new perspective and not a fleeting idea that will get blown away over time.