Running Towards, Not Running From

Proactive beats Reactive every time

When the sun rises, I go to work;
When the sun goes down, I take my rest;
I dig the well from which I drink,
I farm the soil that yields my food
I share the creation, Kings can do no more.

Chinese Proverb, Via Jarboe “When the Sun Rises”, The Men Album, The Lab, 2005, CD

In addition to all the other reasons I distance myself from the term homesteading, there is a real sense of desperation and negativity in so much of the conversation around modern smallholding in the American online space.

Everywhere I look people are talking about their reasons for moving back to the land, for homesteading, for going off-grid, or for stockpiling food and guns. And almost always, those reasons are both negative, and reactive.