What I’ve Learned in 3 years of Living in the Forest
I grew up in the suburbs of Ottawa. I spent 5 years living in Waterloo for university. I moved to downtown Victoria when I was 25. Then Mike and I bought a property in the middle of the forest in the Slocan Valley. While there are pros and cons to being a city mouse or a country mouse, here are some of my reflections since living in the sticks for the last three years:
Internal Versus External Stressors
When you cut out the noise pollution of the city, there is still noise pollution between your ears to deal with. Just because I no longer hear perpetual sirens or have to sit in noisy traffic, doesn’t mean that there aren’t stressors to navigate. I think that no matter where you live, there will be stressors. Some you can control and some you cannot, but it’s important to have methods to deal with them. For me, I journal. I journaled as a kid and I journal now to help me work through the things I’m feeling and figure things out. Some people meditate or do therapy or have other practices to deal with stressors, but having a way to process things is essential no matter where you live. Eliminating some external stressors (of course in place of others), has allowed me to tune inward more, to really understand myself better, and I will continue to learn more as the distractions are fewer.
How to Manage More Responsibilities
I went from renting an apartment and going to a workplace, essentially only being responsible for myself, to home ownership, growing a business in a different format, raising chickens, caring for pets, building a gym, keeping a garden alive, and protecting the land around us. I won’t say I have it all figured out, but I will say I’ve learned that while the responsibility list grows, the one thing that needs to remain a priority is myself. If I’m not feeling generally healthy and strong (of course we all have days we feel run down), then I cannot continue to show up for all of the things that rely on me.
How to Be Resourceful and Consume Less
Sometimes the water pipe breaks on a Sunday and you can’t just go get replacement parts from the store. We learn to use what we have to make it work. Need wood to build something? We look around and there are dead trees waiting to be turned into useable material. We have learned to do a lot of things ourselves, and have to shout out the school of YouTube for the support, and of course to Mike’s diligence in learning new trades.
The fact is, no one cares what you wear out here. So the pressure to buy new clothing has all since evaporated. There are no shops besides the gas station 8 minutes away. There is no temptation to purchase things we don’t need. I go into town every 1-2 weeks to do “the big grocery shop” and buy all the essentials and where I can, things in bulk. We cook every meal ourselves. There is no takeout or delivery. These are things I am grateful for, as much as I may miss some of my favorite restaurants from the city on rare occasion. I have realized that I have everything I need already.
The Force of Nature is Real
I moved to the West Coast to be closer to nature. Now I am surrounded by all of it. The power of the river, the vastness of the glacier, the majesty of the mountains, the towering trees. It’s not something I would ever want to trade. As intense as it is to feel very small and sometimes helpless in the middle of a storm, seeing the trees sway in the wind, it’s the most beautiful feeling to be soothed by the sound of rushing water, and it helps me keep a larger perspective. I don’t take blue skies for granted because I’ve seen them smoke-filled. The river fluctuations teach me that Mother Nature is all-powerful and she is a mirror for human behaviour. I am happiest when I am outside in nature. So, for as long as I can, find me here.
