The "Hardship" of Living Off Grid

She said there was no way she could deal with the solitude and lack of modern conveniences like plumbing and electricity from the pole. After all what would her friends think?

I have no “hardship” to speak of. I have always been mentally different from the pack and immune to the consumer propaganda machine.

In other words I never really cared what people thought of me, as long as my life has meaning to me why should I care what Dick, Tom or Jill thinks about me or how I live? If you don’t like what you see – turn your head, it’s that simple.

I learnt along time ago that to save money and work less the first step was to stop trying to impress other people. You will never be happy or content until you stop caring what others think.

Most people are so worried about impressing others themselves that they won’t even notice you or care what you are doing.

Whenever I go into town, I notice all the newer model cars, trucks and SUVs on the road and sitting in the parking lots of various establishments and think of all the thousands of dollars of debt the drivers must have.

And for what? To scream “look at me” to the other drivers that pass by? To impress the opposite sex? To feel a bit of pride as they pass someone sitting in a model several years old. Is it worth it? I don’t think so. At least not for me.

I paid $3,500 dollars for my Chevy Blazer six years ago, it’s mine, it’s paid for and it takes me where I need to go, when I need to be there, what else could I ask for?

I don’t have to trade sixty hours of my life to the company, every month to make the payment. I would rather spend the time God gave me on this earth, following other dreams and ambitions. I don’t think the trade off of life energy is worth the return.

As for hardship – I have none, I have infinite peace, nothing weighing me down, no overbearing boss breathing down my neck or cracking the whip. If I want to spend the day reading or sleeping I can. No need to worry about bills being paid on time.

I can loaf, hunt, tend the garden, go fishing or whatever gets me motivated. No body tells me what to do. I am freer than I have ever been, because I do my own thing without caring about gossip or stares from others, I think deep down under their smug complexion, most wish they could follow my lead.

So what if my electricity comes from the sun or I haul water from a spring to fill my tanks or if my poop goes down the pipes and into plastic barrels buried in the ground instead of a concrete vault put in by a contractor.

I have running water as long as the tank is wet and the batteries have enough juice to run the pump. Hardship? Where.

Peak oil, economic collapse – I will barely notice. I can’t loose my job, the bank can’t foreclose, for me things will pretty much stay as they are now.

What did I do with that book I was reading, oh there it is…