i was up in the middle of the night last night. and i think it was meant to be. i turned on the television and the documentary atchafalaya houseboat was on public tv.
i am completely taken with this story.
and i immediately ordered the book written by gwen roland (pictured above). this is the story of a couple who set out in 1970 to live off the land and the water on a houseboat in the louisiana bayou. the photographs were taken by cc lockwood. they are spectacularly beautiful. i grabbed these photographs from various places off the net but the ones on his site are so worth the look.
i will let you know more of my impressions once i start reading the book. i am really looking forward to this. but i also feel a little apprehensive because i have dreamt about living a similar lifestyle for some time now. and sometimes i feel regret that i haven't just forged forward and trusted my instincts and ideas. but regret gets a person less than a step. and it can do a number on your head. so i try not to listen to that little voice.
also, as i've grown older my desire has turned from a true subsistence lifestyle (it really may be tiring!) to just simplifying to the point where i own my own life. where i don't have debt. where i can spend a lot of time outdoors and i can take care of a healthy garden and do work that is enjoyable to me rather than do work just to earn a paycheck just to pay the bills.
for me these thoughts are as basic as it gets. because we have one life. and we need to take this seriously. to respect and honor the fact that we get to live. and there are choices to be made about how to do it. it is so easy to get caught up in living the way everyone lives around us. in living a sort of zombie existence. in thinking our choices and lifestyle are a foregone conclusion. in being afraid and not thoughtful and courageous. the answer will be different for everyone but you have to ask yourself the question.
you have to have a sense of humor about this crazy ride. and you have to accept all the twists and turns. but in the end when you have that feeling in your stomach and that spark of enlightenment about what will make your life really mean something to you and to those around you, well, you gotta listen.
love, liane
