Buddhism

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Permaculture is a whole wonderful way of looking at things.

The aquaponics picture on the page you linked has been one of my huge fantasies. Imaging being able to provide for oneself and others through such a simple, logical, and wonderfully self-sustaining fish tank/greenhouse! It's not feasible in my present location, which is just as well because I've got quite enough projects going at the moment, but I'd love to see aquaponic greenhouses everywhere.

One of my favorite people is Starhawk, who is very invested in permaculture projects and calls much of her work "earth magic." I'm not much into ritual, but feeling a part of the web of life energy that is our Earth is a profound experience. Then looking beyond into the universe that we are part of, as well, (whatever it is, because we really don't know, do we?) is so mind bending that I just have to go dig in the dirt and play with my worms for a while. LOL

I do know what you mean about feeling lighter with fewer possessions. A certain amount of "things" and "stuff" are necessary for basic functioning, though, even for the most simple of lives. It's amazing how much excess we manage to accumulate without even trying, though.

Recently, I read about a young man who's been traveling around the country for a few years with little but the clothes on his back. He's been mending those with bright threads and colorful patchwork, and accepting whatever is freely offered in terms of food and shelter. Someone called the police because he was "acting erratic and saying 'I love you' to traffic," which made me laugh. He was polite and cooperative with the police, who took him to the local psych ward. Staff there could find no evidence of mental disorder, and the psychiatrist who interviewed him actually seemed a little awed. He was released back to the streets the next day, where he happily returned, calling himself an "Infinity Filter" and "Free Spirit," and saying he loved the world.

I found his story incredibly attractive, a bit of a modern-day St. Francis perhaps, and I wish there was some way to keep track of his travels and experiences. Most of us can't live that kind of life, but we can adopt (and perhaps spread) some of his joyful, free-spirited, cosmic outlook, free of tethers and attachment to a lot of "stuff." (Reference the immortal George Carlin for appropriate commentary on "stuff.&quot