I’ve been homesteading and learning homesteading skills for 35 years. Long time! I’ve been an “urban homesteader”, full on homesteader (think acres of land and all the animals, gardens, orchard, bees, etc), mountain homesteader, and a nomadic homesteader last year. Over these many years, I’ve met and had conversations with thousands of homesteaders!
One aspect I’ve discovered, no matter where I’ve homesteaded or how I’ve homesteaded, a homesteader has the ability to think outside the box.
There are general explanations/solutions for problems that arise. However, my animals never seemed to have read the same books I did! The issues I was dealing with weren’t exactly the same as what Google described. So as Winnie the Pooh often said, I had to “think think, think think.”
Critical thinking, thinking outside the box, finds it’s greatest exercise while living the homesteading lifestyle. I love the challenge of finding solutions that work within my circumstances. I love pushing on the boundaries of “normal” or “typical.”
And I have found by doing so, dreams and aspirations become a reality! Don’t get sucked into status quo…. Be weird! Be different! Be the person you were created to be!
On this New Year’s Eve, find a moment of quiet or silence. Allow yourself to wander mentally and actually give voice to that dream, experience or adventure you’ve been wanting. Create goals or “steps” to make your dream, experience or adventure a reality. Think outside the box. And so what if your aspiration doesn’t make sense to anyone but you! It’s YOUR dream!
Several years ago, my friend and fellow homesteader was over visiting. I needed to make whipped cream. I pulled out my hand held mixer, inserted the beaters and plugged it into the socket on the wall. Nothing. I switched sockets. Still nothing.
My friend and I stood there for a moment. I really needed to make this whipped cream and the conventional way was obviously a bust. Within a few minutes, my friend walked out of my kitchen and into the garage. She came back with my hand held drill.
“Hand me one of those beaters.” I did so and she inserted the end of the beater into the chuck, tightened it and placed the beater into the bowl with the heavy cream. She pulled the “trigger” on the drill and voila! Such a brilliant solution!
Status quo would say you can’t bring a drill into the kitchen to create food. But thinking outside the box says you can! A “typical” solution to my problem would have been, whisk by hand or buy another hand mixer. Creative or critical thinking says, what else do I have on hand that can hold a beater and make it spin really fast?
So this New Year’s Eve, as you’re looking forward into 2025 and what it will bring, choose a dream, experience or adventure that you want to make happen. Write out those goals, steps or plans so you’re not aiming at nothing.
But most importantly, think outside the box for solutions…. Be the drill!
