Готовый перевод Мы строим деревню / we are building ecovillage: про ответственность

about responsibility

Since we've left for Altai, we've been receiving a lot of questions regarding different ascpects of our living: food, health, education, etc. In fact, all these questions are about the same - about responsibility. Therefore it should be considered in more details. This theme is very important.

It's not a rare case in our modern society when responsibility is transferred from an individual to certain impersonal governmental or commercial structures. For example, one plans a journey. What does he do? He turns to a travel agency and for a certain sum of money all the responsibility for his trip falls on their shoulders - a load's off his mind, no need to worry anymore. Or the same for a pregnant woman who thansfers her responsibility to an antenatal clinic and then to a maternity home.

And the list is endless: our safety is the concern of the Police, our retirement is in the hands of the pension funds, health service must care for our health, schools - for our children's education, and so on and so forth. We get light and heating through pipes and wires. Food is delivered directly to the shops... So the conclusion is that nowadays responsibility for all basic human needs belongs to anyone except the human himself. But if refer to a traditional society, such a picture is impossible there - many spheres of life (especially basic ones, which are crutial to success and well-being) have always been under the human's control.

On one hand, it's very comfortable. Society in our cities has become specialized to the most extreme degree: one may do something specific and never guess about the source of light in the bulb or especially about vegetable cultivation techmology - all these things deal with specially trained people.

On other hand, such types of society are extremely unstable: any system failure causes a real mess and elementary human needs are affected. It's also interesting that a crisis appears instantly and without any apparent prerequisites.

Actually I can't call myself a number-one fan of any conspiracy theory, but sometimes I guess that many processes seem too unnatural to be accidental ones. And I feel that these periodic crises are really controlled and even profitable for a group of people. Moreover, these very crises are a very convenient non-military form of handling nationals.

During my not so great lifetime lots of crises have occured, from small deficits for some groups of goods - to big letdowns that have led lots of people to the jitters, hunger and even suicide.

So, speaking about ecovillage the main question is: who will bear a responsibility for everything necessary for survival and fully fledged life? And not everyone is ready to take the idea that responsibility for successful living in the independent self-sufficient settlement should fall on their own shoulders. But that's true.

Nowadays more and more of my aquaintances are becoming really independent, they take a responsibility for many spheres of life. Some families give birth at home without any maternity hospital service, some others practice healthy way of living and as a result they almost cease to turn to clinics. As of now I already know several families in which children are homeschooled. And of course the majority of my friends work for themselves, don't take loans and prefer backpacking instead of organized tourism.

People leading such a lifestyle seem to be not so handy for the "system", or if consider a conspiracy theory, they become a real headache for "conspirators"... As a result of moving to the land and switching to natural economy people become more and more independent, what means they're almost completely separated from modern life in consumer society.

It's extremely important to ask yourself what you're ready to be responsible for and which spheres of life you'd like to commit to social structures. You have to reflect on the list of matters for which you're ready to answer.

Resolve to move to ecovillage depends directly on the answers found.

If a family decides to take charge of the major part of life it means they're ready to move, if no - then it's better for them to stay in the habitual environment. And relation's direct here: the more spheres of life are supplied with the family itself the farther from civilization they may settle.

Arithmetic is simple. For example, if a family decides to bear responsibility only for heating they move somewhere to the suburbs into some private house without central heating while all the rest is still got from special institutions. If they decide to additionally undertake for their health they can easily settle in some place without hospitals, clinics, ambulance, etc. If they're even ready to provide children with secondary education on their own they can live much further, away from schools and especially kindergartens.

The same for working for yourself. We've got into the habit of muttering about bad boss and negligible salary, but it's quite another matter when you understand that your salary depends only on you and nobody else. It's both about size and existance itself. It's radically new level of responsibility and not everyone is ready to it.

I can tell the story. Generally, it wasn't the simple way. Especially at first time. In the beginning, when I understood that I won't go to work in hospital as the doctor, for "normal work", I didn't believe in it. And by inertia still I went to get a job in different structures. And then I understood that having now settled, I will remain without the next travel which I planned for the near future as right after the device precisely nobody will give holiday to me. This understanding then to me very much prevented to begin "normal life", and the stable salary always lost opportunities at any time to go there where I want. I didn't reach a human resources department.

It was morally hard time. I didn't get permanent job, and didn't learn to earn independently yet. At this time my classmates already became managers of offices. I, remained faithful to myself: as well as in student's years, I continued to travel a self-locking device, to photograph and write about it.

At the same time I began to advise and teach slowly. I already had a certificate of the psychotherapist, but there was no experience. Here I also started this experience collecting. At first acquaintances were my clients, I accepted free of charge, simply for study, then began to take for the work small money, then - to be engaged in consultation more actively and even got a job in one private clinic, however, with very free schedule.

In parallel with it I began to teach at first contact improvisation - that itself very much loved, then I began to conduct applied psychology - the course "NLP-Praktik", in "NLP Tyumen center". Then I had more or less stable salary. And the most important - understanding of that I can provide myself, thus keeping full freedom, without reporting to anybody and without depending in any way on any days off or holidays.

Now we live in Altai. I practically don't advise - there is nobody simply, I teach very seldom when I leave to the city. But I have a confidence that if necessary I will be able always to get any resources which are necessary for me. Now I have no constant income, but I absolutely and completely bear responsibility for the activity. For me it is very important. Here, of course, there will be a question about economy: and on what to live? About it I will write is an important question, but a bit later more. And now I will tell in more detail about the belief.

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/45942/183466

Переводчики: grechissimo, natte, ivanovishe