life

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What is? What if?

I watched a man die at one of the stores where I work doing merchandising. He just fell over and died right there about 15 feet away from me. I didn’t go over, there were already several people gathered around, 2 people were performing CPR on him, the store had already called 911. I stood back and prayed silently as I continued to work.

I watched the paramedics work on him and take him away. I saw one of the paramedics in another store later in the day and asked about the man, she told me what I already suspected, he didn’t make it.

As you can imagine, that weighed heavily on my mind the rest of the day. I have now witnessed 4 people leave this earth, each had a somewhat different affect on me, this one made me think about just how fleeting and temporary life truly is. This helped put life into perspective, what is really important, what is really insignificant, what do I need to go ahead and do instead of putting it off for later. I wonder what that man might have done differently that day had he known it would be his last day to spend here on earth…

These words are not meant to bum you out, but rather are meant to get you to look at your life, let go of the insignificant things, realize what is important, live your life to the fullest each and every day… Hug someone you love.

All too often, we put off what we really want to do, we get caught up in the minutia of life and focus on the insignificant parts. We all have things we want to do, at least I can say that I do. But going to work, doing a job we hate just to make ends meet, taking a vacation once or twice a year and believing that will recharge us for the rest of the year. I’m not saying quit your job and become a bum, you should be reasonable, but you could be using that time while living day to day to work toward living the kind of life that is more satisfying.

What are your goals? You DO have them, right? What would you do differently today if you knew you were going to die tomorrow? Of course that is an extreme, but we ALL have an expiration date, we just don’t know when that is, it could be before you finish reading this sentence, it could be tonight, tomorrow, next week, next year, in 10 years… you get the idea, it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when, not if.

So what are you going to do with your life? Here is what I decided to change, I have been wanting a camera, a good one, I can make money with it, it will …

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Community

Small is the new large

down

Since moving off-grid, many of my day to day things have had to be downsized, my fridge for one, I went from having a full size, side by side with ice maker to a small chest type freezer to fridge conversion. The large fridge and even the small dorm size units used too much power for our small system. One thing I discovered along the way, when I had a full size fridge, I tended to store leftovers in it until it was time to throw them away, I am forced to be more frugal with the smaller box now.

But the biggest thing I have downsized on is my computer. I used to build computers as a hobby, a serious hobby, I could tear down and rebuild a tower from the ground up. I knew we wouldn’t have the power necessary to run all the computer equipment I used to have so I went to a laptop, that was mentally difficult, guys think going from a Harley to a kid’s bicycle, that’s what it felt like to me.

I did eventually embrace my laptop, even though there was very little I could do to it to improve it, short of adding a bit of memory. I have gone through 3 laptops since moving out here. I am looking at getting #4 soon.

Last year, I discovered the joys of tablets. I wouldn’t have gotten one, except that I needed one to do my job in merchandising. I quickly discovered I could do most of the things I did on my laptop each day but the really great thing is they use so little power! I generally only boot up my laptop 2-3X a week now, preferring to do most things on my tablets.

I can go to bed with my tablet next to me, falling asleep watching Downton Abbey via Amazon Prime without worrying about draining my small solar system. In fact, I generally leave the internet running 24-7 now, something I never did before. I’ll turn it off if no one is going to be at the house, but that is a rarity.

That tablet is an 8 inch Samsung Galaxy Note 8, I purchased it factory refurbished, paying a small percentage of what they cost new. I love the size, bigger than a phone, but still portable, with a screen that is comfortable to view.

I have since acquired a larger tablet, a 12 inch Galaxy Note Pro, I use it for some photo editing and such, but honestly I prefer my smaller tablet for day to day use. Yes, these are older technology, but for me they work just fine.

Now I’m asking those who have gone off-grid, what and how have you downsized? Do you like it, does it work for you? I’d love to hear your ideas :)


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Community

It’s December, again!

I can’t believe it’s already December! Where did the year go? As I posted previously about being thankful, I can’t say it enough, I am so very happy with my life. One reason, and I believe it to be a really big part is the fact that I am content with my life. I don’t have the best money can buy. I don’t have everything I ever wanted. But I am happy and contented with what I have and how I am getting to live. Can you honestly say that?

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