Vision, Part 3 of 3: The Mission

“The primary need is to withdraw from our efforts to impose a mechanistic overlay on the bio-systems of the planet, to step back from what we have been doing. Then we might listen to the natural world with an attunement that goes beyond our scientific perceptions.”
---Brian Swimme, Ph.D. and Thomas Berry, Ph.D., The Universe Story

I am staring at our dinner table, covered in a thousand scattered pieces of my daughter's kitty cat puzzle. It's a discombobulating site, an array of whisker and yarn fragments that perfectly represents the multitude of possibilities that lay before us. Tomorrow, my wife Raen is quitting her job. In fact, as I am writing this, she is only a mere minute away from pushing “Send” on her resignation notice to her boss. Our stomachs are twisting inside out. Are we doing the right thing? She is quitting the corporate world to devote herself to a life of simplicity, family, and community. She is doing this so we can both take one step closer to the life we have visualized for years. This is it…..once she pushes that button we will no longer just be talking about changing our lives; we will actually be doing it.

This is the first giant leap into our new life together. What comes now is anybody's guess, but we want to narrow the scope of those possibilities if we can.

In our previous "Vision" blogs (Vision, Part 1: What is Value? and Vision, Part 2: Individualism vs. Community) I laid out the philosophy of our Vision Statement for the next phase of our family's life. Now….we lay out our Mission Statement. And today, the day before she hands in her resignation, we designed the blueprint of our life map.

First, this Mission is a small step, a one year commitment. After the first year, we will enter the next phase to get us to our overall life goal: a purely localized economy and getting our house off-grid as much as possible (a challenging feat considering we live in the suburbs….all the more needed, we figured).

Our blogs for the next year will document our adventures and mishaps in this endeavor, so please stay tuned. We will document the fun and not-so-fun moments in trying to localize, in trying to uphold a healthy way of living. In the process we hope to make new friends, exchange ideas, and hopefully inspire some to take up the endeavor with us. Thanks to those that have elected to come along the ride so far. It’s bound to be a doozy!!!

MISSION: To set an example for our children by creating and implementing a life of value for us as individuals, our family, and the community. We will exercise this example by:

• PROTESTING CONSUMERIST CULTURE
o Shopping only at local businesses, local grocers, farmer markets, non-profit, or employee-owned businesses.
o Do not work for any business that does not fit any of the above criteria (hence Raen quitting her current job).
o Decrease holiday/gift spending (Christmas is the biggest contributor to consumerist culture; this will be a big challenge).
o Do not support any monopolizing conglomerates that eliminate competition in local industries (biggest example is Walmart).
o Cut down considerably on fast food spending, a huge economic system of waste (maybe once per month, if that).
o No consumerist indoctrination fed to the children (commercials). This means no TV (we have already gotten rid of it), cut down on child movie watching and computer time (limited to special privileges).

• INCREASING FAMILY JOY
o More homemade meals.
o Creating together through family artwork, crafts, games, etc.
o Family walks at least 4 times per week.
o Donating family time to community enrichment activities.
o Working always to improve parenting strategies.
o Taking time to care for grandparents and other friends and family members.

• CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY
o Starting a not-for-profit business where 10% will be donated to local charities (starting soon by Raen, called “Poet’s Nest” coming soon!).
o Donating family time to community enrichment activities.
o Hosting educational salons from our home on topics of culture, life, spirituality, etc.
o Localizing our garden; networking with the community in growing our own food.
o Skills network; creating a network of trading skills training from seniors (i.e. – sewing, carpentry) to the younger generation (i.e. – technology, yard work).
o Investigating and participating CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).
o Investigating and participating in any local Web hubs that connect local charities, not-for-profits, etc.

• CARING FOR THE EARTH
o Designate at least one day per week of no driving; at the same time, consolidate driving normal weekly driving patterns to not waste gas.
o Act on steps to make home more sustainable; such as, use rain buckets to collect water, find where home wastes most energy and repair it, etc.
o Find ways to eliminate or reduce recycling or trash disposal needs.
o Regular family trips to the Arboretum (our local nature center) and other nature-oriented outings; educate children of the importance of caring for the Earth.
o Work on volunteer efforts to create community vegetable gardens at local schools.
o Implement and abide by contributions on environmental conservation on Live Earth (http://liveearth.org/en/).

• FULFILLING OUR DREAMS
This may sound weird, but we have reasons for making this part of our Mission. Our lives are fueled by imagination, by the need to fulfill our childhood dreams. Otherwise, what’s the point, right? If our children watch us fulfill our dreams, in the process doing what we can to contribute value to the world, then we feel we have given them both an irreplaceable and invaluable gift.

o COMBINED DREAMS:
- Create a physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe home for our children.
- Raise independent and interdependent, happy and joy-filled children.
- Keep our house, despite financial limitations of future choices, and turn it into an environmentally friendly community-centered, gathering space.

o RAEN'S DREAMS:
- Create a daily spiritual practice via meditation with kids, yoga, and walking.
- Create and run a successful not-for-profit endeavor.
- Create collage art for sale/trade.
- Become well-read, starting with books already in our library.

o DANIEL'S DREAMS:
- Become the best father possible; where every day becomes better than the previous.
- To protest institutionalized education where it does not serve the children’s needs and imagination.
- Finish and publish my novel.
- Create and publish a comic book.
- Create a daily spiritual practice via meditation/awareness.
- Create a not-for-profit shamanic healing endeavor.
- Have a survivable income via at-home work (writing, artistry, energy work, etc.).
- When they turn 18, take children on an Amazonian retreat, on an authentic Amazonian vision quest with authentic curanderos/ayahhuasqueros.
- When the children are grown, go on (unlimited time limit) retreat to Paro Taktshang monastery in Bhutan.
- To strive for and achieve complete moksha (liberation) from samsara (the cycle of birth/death/rebirth).