MAKING A LIVING
Earning loads of money, doesn’t necessarily mean someone is making a good living.
It just means he or she can buy things… but happiness probably isn’t one of them.
Being able to provide food, shelter and the other things we need is essential, and being able to afford a few luxuries can greatly improve our lives, but focusing on being able to buy as much as possible can be dangerous. Especially if it locks us into jobs we don’t like or we get so addicted to making money that we forget to live and develop skills that have long been part of the human experience.
You know, things like hunting, gathering, growing vegetables, rearing animals and making things with our hands.
There seems to be a growing disconnection with those basic skills in the West where many people let computers and phones control their lives so they can pay for most of their needs, including prepared meals. And I fear that may be happening to some extent in Botswana as well. But please don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying going back to selfsufficiency is the key to happiness. I’m just saying being able to do things for ourselves and being in touch with nature might help some of us feel more in control of our lives.
As a matter of fact, the reason I’m writing about this today is that I just watched a TV programme over here in the UK about a middle-aged couple who went a bit too far when they tried to get away from the rat race.
Eight years ago, the husband ditched a well-paying but mind-numbing job in London and moved his wife and two young children to a remote island off the west coast of Scotland. They didn’t get paid for keeping an eye on the land where they were allowed to set up their mobile home, but they didn’t have many expenses either.
And for the first couple of years, they were very happy growing and raising their own food, home learning and collecting firewood to heat the flimsy home they had set up on the side of a mountain. But as the kids got older and the chores and cold rainy weather became more repetitive, self-sufficiency on Rum Island lost some of its charm.
So, three years ago, the family decided to compromise. They didn’t go back to city life and full-time work, but they did move to the Scottish mainland to have neighbours and better phone and internet service. And while they still raise animals and grow some of their own food, the couple now have parttime jobs so they can afford a home with central heating that doesn’t rattle in the wind.
But they all agree going to Rum was a good move… even if leaving was as well. And the son and daughter both say they feel privileged to have spent so much time with their parents growing up close to nature… and they seem to be confident, well-educated kids.
The main thing that struck me, though, was that they seem to be happy and free. I’m guessing that’s because they have basic life skills… including the ability to adjust how much they use them.