No Guarantees

I want to thank everyone who commented on my "Goat Updates" post. I very much appreciate your sympathies and encouragements. It was the kind of situation no one wants to face, and for which ordinary life does not prepare us. It was a good reminder however, that there are no guarantees in life, and that there are especially no guarantees in homesteading. It's a reminder that while I cannot always control my circumstances, I can always control my attitude towards them.

Emotionally, making the decision about what to do was the hardest part. The question that plagued us was, did we / are we, doing the "right" thing. Then we had to deal with disappointment which tried it's hardest to morph into discouragement. Spiritually, it was a test of faith. If I say I believe in a Sovereign God, then do I trust Him even if things aren't working out the way I expect?

On a practical level, I had to examine the choices that lie before me. Our goal was to start our own herd of Kinder goats and I have to reevaluate the practical and economical aspects of that goal. In a broader sense, our commitment is to self-sufficiency, but we're not there yet either. Goat milk, yogurt, cheese, etc., have become a mainstay of our diet. But do I want to buy another goat right now, when being a grocery consumer is such an easy option?

This engages my thoughts on an economic level. Some folks think having animals is more expensive than simply buying the product, but I disagree (see "The Economics of Food Self Sufficiency"). I recently saw raw goats milk at a farm at $8 a gallon. Raw cows milk is about $6 a gallon at the bulk food store. Then there's the fuel to drive there and the time to make the trip. Seems easier to let my goats live on pasture, browse, and a little grain, and simply milk them twice a day! Even so, there is still the potential for crises, like Jasmine breaking her leg. I have to decide if these are risks I am willing to take.

I'm writing about this, because my goal is always to encourage other homesteaders. That means writing about the problems and the bad things as well as the good. Unfortunately most of us are not well equipped for many aspects of the homesteading life, because it runs against the grain of modern culture. We know we want to slow down and simplify our lives, but we often don't know how to do that. We know we want to be less dependent on the system to meet our needs, but we often lack the knowledge, skills, and tools to do so.

One thing we all have to deal with is that of expectations. When Dan and I first bought our place, I planned to plant and grow everything we liked to eat. It didn't take long to figure out that everything we like to eat doesn't necessarily grow well here. It can be done, but it would take a lot of extra work. There are only so many hours in a day, so in the end we decided to adapt to our location and modify our diet.

Expectations become a pitfall, when they are attached to assumptions. This has become a modern social problem (at least I think so), and is one reason why there are so many stupid lawsuits; folks want a guaranteed outcome, guaranteed results. It's why prices always to up; businesses want guaranteed income, guaranteed profits. If something doesn't work out, we want to know why and we want somebody to be responsible. The fact that some things aren't anyone's fault, never occurs to some people.

In part, I think this is because human nature likes predictability. We make plans based on predictable outcomes. That's why most folks see farming, or the agrarian lifestyle in general, as a hard way to live. If you've read any of the Little House on the Prairie series, you know what I mean. How many times did Pa make plans for the harvest that didn't come in? "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched" is a well-known, well understood reference to the uncertainties of agrarian living.

It's especially difficult for those who like to be in control. Unfortunately there are some things that cannot be controlled: hurricanes, accidents, earthquakes, cancer, rainfall, how many eggs hatch, etc. Some folks have great faith that science will ultimately save us from the uncertain. I'm not one of them. I think it is far better to learn to accept life as it comes. I may not be able to control my circumstances, but I can certainly control my attitude towards them.

Intellectually I think we all know that working toward a self-sufficient lifestyle does not come with guarantees. Yet crises still catch us off guard despite our understanding. In the end, true success requires acceptance without blame. It requires adaptability. It requires being willing to take risks. Ma Ingalls used to say,“There's no great loss without some small gain.” Oftentimes the gain is experience and knowledge. If we can see that as a gift, then I think we will do well.

No Guarantees © June 2012 by Leigh
at http://www.5acresandadream.com/