the 2-year un-plan

(a younger "us")

Come September it will have been 2 years since Luke and I hiked out to some boulders on a mountain with pen and paper in hand, determined that the trajectory of our life needed some redirection and definition.  We were in our first year of marriage, both working jobs that could sustain us materially, but felt deeply that we needed to make more active steps toward creating a life that would meet our soul-needs as well.  That early autumn afternoon we inspected fresh bear claw marks on some tree trunks, ate a few apples, and then went our separate ways to sit, think, brainstorm and dream awhile.  Later when we reconvened (thankfully no bears visited either brainstorming session), each took a turn reading what we'd written, expressing in all manner of drawings, lists, webs and words, words, words, how we hoped our future might unfold.

Our two lists bore suspiciously similar themes, and we excitedly made a 3 step plan to live into the life we dream of.   However, if you read my previous post you will not be surprised that few none of the meticulous, step-by-step details we delineated on paper that day have come to fruition thus far.  But that's not to say that there has not been a journey.  Nor does it mean that we have abandoned those intentions or dreams:

Step 1:  Return to Korea to pay off our debt and then come back to buy our perfect property in a few years.  Be shocked, awed and utterly transformed by an unexpected positive pregnancy test.
Step 2:  Buy a piece of land that's perfect for us.  Begin a long, complicated and beautiful conversation with a group of like-minded friends with similar aspirations about building a self-sufficient community of families.
Step 3:  Learn how to live off of food that we grow, animals that we nurture and relationships that we build.

I suppose that Step 3 is the only one that has been going as planned, though not necessarily in the order we anticipated.  But the process of learning new skills and making silly mistakes is evident in our daily activities and rituals.

At this point in the journey we have new goals and a new step-by-step plan (that I hold loosely in case it, too, should fly out the window).  And it looks something like this:

Step 1:  Be aware of- and grateful for- each moment that we are alive and together.

Step 2:  Get outside often, and spend at least some of that time simply listening.

Step 3:  Be open to the unexpected.  Take advantage of learning experiences.
Step 4:  Grow food in whatever space we have.

Step 5:  Haunt land listings and dream about the possibilities in each one.  Don't give our hopes up too readily.
Step 6:  Support and give love to others who are brave and bold enough to live out their own crazy dreams.
Step 7:  Be ready to give help.  Be ready to ask for help.