We live in an age of meaningless work. For most of us, we spend the bulk of our waking life doing work to earn an income. This work can be rewarding or not. It can be self employment, volunteer work, care giving work, or selling your labour to someone else. Most of this work is designed to either contribute value on the capitalist marketplace or provide support to others who are contributing that value.
I love this. Thank you. You've unearthed words deep within me. Put words to those feelings in my gut. The slow work of well-being is the stuff that matters. What an education should be for all.
So many thoughts about where consent-based-ness ends and us living our values begins, and it’s so interesting to witness your shift in this. I will say that although I talk about consent a lot, I do have some fixed parts to the rhythm of our lives that matter so much to me, that they may sometimes supersede consent (did I just say that?!) I don’t think they are in contrast to consent though. Because if we see consent as engaging in mutually beneficial agreements, or as a collective responsibility, then it becomes less about our children doing everything they want and nothing they don’t want, and more about figuring out how we’re going to show up in our spaces in ways that are mutually respectful. Not sure if that makes sense!
Makes sense and I'm on board. I think that us humans love a good plan of attack when it comes to getting shit done but the practical application of that plan almoat always gets messy IRL. Theres a strong desire to stick to One Approach but the reality is that we need to be flexible enough to shift and pivot as needed to meet collective needs.
You have dusted through some long -left thoughts on the recesses of my mind with this one and I am grateful.
A lot of the thoughts were first sparked when I read A Handmade Life by Coperthwaite a few years ago which was my introduction to "bread labor" and helped form words to my feelings of grounded satisfaction in work that goes toward supporting life.
I, too, have been trying to dance a harmonious rhythm in unschooling, consent, and also "no really, you're helping make the bread today." I haven't found it yet, and perhaps never will as I imagine it changes as they grow and I grow and ideas grow and compost and cycle. But I'll keep trying to find that best beat.
It's such a balance. I was thinking back to Ben Hewitt's book Home Grown when he was talking about the boys helping in the garden and pulling up half the vegetables while they were weeding lol. I haven't read A Handmade Life but I may take a look. Some of these books leave me feeling quite empty sometimes because I'd love to be living life that way but my family isn't always as die hard as me.
I read a different Ben Hewitt book and was grateful to my brother, when I was venting to him, for asking me, "Do you think books like those have run their course for you?" Because he was right. It was getting me agitated that I wasn't living that life, that I wouldn't be living that life, and that instead I would be best served finding the changes I could make, the existing balances and impacts I could appreciate better now and in the life I can create.
But yeah...I grow a lot of our food...and everyone outside of our cohort thinks that because I do that AND we "homeschool" that of course "the kids must work hard in the garden and learn and help so much!!!!1!!!1 "
And to be honest...they don't go in there. Nor does my partner. It's my space and I stress the eff out if anyone steps wrong on the "paths" that aren't really clear. But I am working on widening and clearing the paths so that they might join me in the garden, or walk it as they choose to, without Mama cringing and sucking teeth and trying to not correct every tip toe - ha!
You’re discussing the contents in my brain and the thrumming sense of angst in my chest for the past decade.
I’m working on some projects over here in this wee corner, trying to shake those in alignment out into the open where we can find eachother!
Thanks for being in my head and articulating the good stuff. I haven’t been able to get started writing for almost a year...maybe I don’t need to when others are doing it so eloquently.
My goals have been to get these changes happening WAY faster and more widely by amplifying and disseminating the good work done by people such as yourself. Thanks again!
This post is haunting me, in a good way. I keep coming back to this idea of meaningful work and trying to figure out what that means for me, what that looks like in my home as we unschool.
I'm stuck with it too! There's added layers when we think about meaningful work in the context of modernity versus capitalism versus well being versus decolonization. There's a lot in there for sure...
I love this. Thank you. You've unearthed words deep within me. Put words to those feelings in my gut. The slow work of well-being is the stuff that matters. What an education should be for all.
So many thoughts about where consent-based-ness ends and us living our values begins, and it’s so interesting to witness your shift in this. I will say that although I talk about consent a lot, I do have some fixed parts to the rhythm of our lives that matter so much to me, that they may sometimes supersede consent (did I just say that?!) I don’t think they are in contrast to consent though. Because if we see consent as engaging in mutually beneficial agreements, or as a collective responsibility, then it becomes less about our children doing everything they want and nothing they don’t want, and more about figuring out how we’re going to show up in our spaces in ways that are mutually respectful. Not sure if that makes sense!
Makes sense and I'm on board. I think that us humans love a good plan of attack when it comes to getting shit done but the practical application of that plan almoat always gets messy IRL. Theres a strong desire to stick to One Approach but the reality is that we need to be flexible enough to shift and pivot as needed to meet collective needs.
You have dusted through some long -left thoughts on the recesses of my mind with this one and I am grateful.
A lot of the thoughts were first sparked when I read A Handmade Life by Coperthwaite a few years ago which was my introduction to "bread labor" and helped form words to my feelings of grounded satisfaction in work that goes toward supporting life.
I, too, have been trying to dance a harmonious rhythm in unschooling, consent, and also "no really, you're helping make the bread today." I haven't found it yet, and perhaps never will as I imagine it changes as they grow and I grow and ideas grow and compost and cycle. But I'll keep trying to find that best beat.
It's such a balance. I was thinking back to Ben Hewitt's book Home Grown when he was talking about the boys helping in the garden and pulling up half the vegetables while they were weeding lol. I haven't read A Handmade Life but I may take a look. Some of these books leave me feeling quite empty sometimes because I'd love to be living life that way but my family isn't always as die hard as me.
I read a different Ben Hewitt book and was grateful to my brother, when I was venting to him, for asking me, "Do you think books like those have run their course for you?" Because he was right. It was getting me agitated that I wasn't living that life, that I wouldn't be living that life, and that instead I would be best served finding the changes I could make, the existing balances and impacts I could appreciate better now and in the life I can create.
But yeah...I grow a lot of our food...and everyone outside of our cohort thinks that because I do that AND we "homeschool" that of course "the kids must work hard in the garden and learn and help so much!!!!1!!!1 "
And to be honest...they don't go in there. Nor does my partner. It's my space and I stress the eff out if anyone steps wrong on the "paths" that aren't really clear. But I am working on widening and clearing the paths so that they might join me in the garden, or walk it as they choose to, without Mama cringing and sucking teeth and trying to not correct every tip toe - ha!
You’re discussing the contents in my brain and the thrumming sense of angst in my chest for the past decade.
I’m working on some projects over here in this wee corner, trying to shake those in alignment out into the open where we can find eachother!
Thanks for being in my head and articulating the good stuff. I haven’t been able to get started writing for almost a year...maybe I don’t need to when others are doing it so eloquently.
My goals have been to get these changes happening WAY faster and more widely by amplifying and disseminating the good work done by people such as yourself. Thanks again!
This post is haunting me, in a good way. I keep coming back to this idea of meaningful work and trying to figure out what that means for me, what that looks like in my home as we unschool.
I'm stuck with it too! There's added layers when we think about meaningful work in the context of modernity versus capitalism versus well being versus decolonization. There's a lot in there for sure...
Just so much to unpack! How is this work fostering well being for me, fo my family, for my community? I really want to sit with this