Safety net

I am thinking about doing more traveling this year, or WWOOF-ing, actually. (If you have never heard of it, go check out their website, since it is an amazing opportunity to travel, have a 'cheap vacation' and meet really great, interesting people. In short; there is en enormous list of addresses all over the world where you can work a few hours a day for food and a place to sleep.) I'm thinking about going to Sweden, but I have no clue yet where in Sweden or when exactly I will go. Or for how long. While I am figuring that out (or I'm letting it come to me) I am also thinking about my house.
Right now, I live in two small rooms in a student house. While it is not too expensive now, it might be when I am away, traveling, so I have been thinking about getting rid of most of my things and leaving. I don't like this place anyway, so 'security' is my only reason to stay.
Having no house to go home to scares me quite a bit. A house is sort of a safety net, but right now, it is also a thing preventing me from going and doing what I most want.

When I graduated last year I thought; I am free now, not attached to anything. I have no big (financial) obligations, no-one to take care of. I'll make sure it stays that way, so I am free to go and do whatever I want to do. I want to make my art, go out into the world and research permaculture and living together in groups, travel a bit. Now I am able to do this, but I am a bit afraid to take the leap. I still think of reasons why I shouldn't be able to go, but I realise now I am the only one holding me back. If there is a time to do it, it is now.

"Leap, and the net will appear."

Back into the trees!

In my last post I mentioned I hadn't been outside much in winter. I was pretty frustrated about this, and about things not moving along. Or at least, that is what it seemed like. I had such big plans of treehouses and houses of trees and living and working in a different place and there I was, sitting at home just longing for sun and somewhere else.
Now of course things being stagnant is an attribute to winter, so no surprise there. Sometimes I wish I could sleep the entire wintertime and wake and start up again in spring, like most trees. Now things are slowly getting back their pace.
I promised I would tell more about my plans for this spring, so here it goes; I will most probably be spending my april and may in France, in 'Le Puy des Bois' helping to build a village of treehouses. There will be some others from the Netherlands going too. I am very, very excited about going here and if you take a look at their website, you'll see why.

Finally outside again.. :)

Spring is in the air! You might think not, since it is still snowing now and then, but I honestly feel the spring already. The stork agrees, it was inspecting it's nest close to our permaculture garden.
Yesterday we were back working in the garden again to do more mulching and to create the paths. It is very satisfying to see the garden take it's shape, it is going to be a big circle. It was also great to be outside working again, that is something I had been looking forward to. With the snowy weather I haven't been outside much.

Rints Swart took some pictures.. In the second picture you can see the paths taking shape.. You can guess how it will look like all the way around when it is finished.
We covered the paths with woodchips. I love working with that stuff. It smells so good! It reminds me of playgrounds and forests and just… the good smell of being outside.
In the first picture we might have needed a tea break.. :)

And it's not just the garden taking shape.. So are my plans for this year, at least for this spring. It looks like I'll be in France in april and may, helping to build treehouses.. I'll share more on that soon! :)

KUNST IST SEELSORGE

"Those who have lived and grown at least to some degree in the spirit of freedom are our creative artists. They have a wonderful time. They keep the world going. They must leave their trace in some way, paint, stond, machinery, whatever.
The importance of what they do is greater than anyone estimates at the time. In fact in a commercial world there are thousands of lives wasted doing things not worth doing. Human spirit is sacrificed.
More and more things are produced without a will in the creation, and are consumed or 'used' without a will in the consumption or using. These things are dead. They pass, masquerading as important while they are before us, but they pass utterly.
There is nothing so important as art in the world, nothing so constructive, so life sustaining.
I would like you to go to your work with a consciousness that it is more important than any other thing that you might do. It may have no great commercial value, but it has an inestimable and lasting life value."
- Robert Henri