Some places want to remain bare by design.
Some people want to live with the bare minimum by choice.
I realized this after spending a weekend in a well-off community of different people from different lines of work. They are the kind of people who can afford to build houses off-grid — the kind of people who choose to spend some of their days outside the hustle and bustle of the city and into the peace and quiet of the mountainside.
They do this not because they can’t afford to pay for the additional costs of being grid-connected. No, they have extra disposable income to do just that. Even more for them to travel hours away from home over the weekend!
But these people have experienced progress well enough that they want to go back to what it feels like being just at one with the natural world.
They have already gone farther in life for them to desire going back to where they began.
So what does it feel to live off-grid? Well, technology is still a gift. We had solar lights everywhere. But that’s just it. The water comes from natural springs and the rest of our necessities? We outsourced them from home.
It’s also wonderful to sleep inside tents too — the closest you can get to sleeping in the great outdoors without worrying about being attacked by bugs (or wild animals?) or soaked in an unwelcomed rain.
And because your mobile phone won’t even get a signal in such a place, you stopped worrying about missed emails or messages. Instead, you immerse yourself in your environment. Being stripped off from our devices compelled us to really communicate around with people, face to face.
Perhaps, it’s the best thing about living off-grid (for a time). It reminds you of what is essential.
Coming back home makes me think about all the things I don’t really need, and the things that really matter.
jessa 