Everyone that has dived into the realm of living off grid has their own reasons. Much of it revolves around a form of detachment. Something about their current lifestyle didnt feel right and action was taken. Some may have been born into it and really dont know any better (or worse). Is living off grid really living off grid though? I look around and still see Iphones (including myself), various forms of electricity, forged metals from china, mass manufactured plastics and so on. I have no real problem with any of this. I try to avoid chinese products but they still find a way in. A smart phone is convenient and offers a wealth of information, more than Ill ever need. As much as I wish I could say Im off grid, I dont feel like it.
I may have no utility bills and cell service is poor. Heat comes from hand chopped wood from my own lot. Water comes from the ground. My own muscles power most of what happens. So what does living off grid mean to me? It means doing without. Constantly. Even when I was living in a city, doing what I should be doing, Id constantly challenge myself. I went two years without a car, bicycle and motorcycle got me around even through winter. I loved it. A snow storm would pummel the area and coworkers would offer me a ride home. I never obliged. The hour plus walk through feet of snow was nothing short of magnificant. The aversion to pain and difficulty makes us weak. Not just physically but mentally and spiritually. Our spirit dwindles with every task completed the easy way. Nothings learned. No challenge is overcome.
So when Im asked why Im doing what Im doing, I often skip the long answer and say Ive returned to my childhood. I play in the woods, work isnt really work and there isnt any kind of race. I dont expect anyone to understand as they often dont. A coworker is intrigued by my off grid life and when asked about electricity I talk about the ideas of a basic solar system. To which he replies, oh good then you can have a satelite. I can only sigh and say no. It may be something to be proud of to proclaim that all standard amenities are kept without being on grid. Air conditioner. Washer. Dryer. Satelite/cable television. Internet. Running hot/cold water. However where is the fun in that?
With every time saving piece of tech used, something else fills its place. The race of the rat. Even working a job at 60 hours a week, I dont feel rushed. Ever. Time is the only real luxury. Nature has or soon will provide what I need. Being off grid creates a certain immunity to what happens out there. Out there being the places with traffic cameras, gyms packed with hamsters spinning the treadmills, fumes of vehicles at a standstill, fast food bloated bellies, eyes locked on the talking heads every evening and a case of the Mondays, every Monday. The reliance on money to provide happiness is a fruitless battle. A fatal one at that. I dont even consider myself off grid, merely at the fringes of society yet I feel whole enough that Id be happy if I were dead tomorrow. Ive tasted freedom and it was good.
Is this how it feels some days?
