Tag Archives: faith

November 28, 2022 · 9:12 am

A Poem

We are each of us a microorganism - a thing so small that we are not even aware of the true size of our environment.
We can not comprehend even the simplest of principles within our own ecosystem; it would be arrogant to think we could understand the universe.
We are each of us an ecosystem, a world, a galaxy, a universe - so vastly large that we are not even aware of the smallest parts of our own body; it would be arrogant to think we could understand ourselves.
Somewhere within us a speck writes a poem - we are oblivious to its existence and the beauty of its life and its art.
Somewhere outside of us a being walks a path - it is oblivious to our existence and the beauty of our lives and our art.
The speck, although invisible and unknowable to us, can easily cause our demise if its energy is harmful.
What is your energy?

~Anonymous Appalachian Agrarian

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October 24, 2014 · 12:30 pm

Hand Tools: The Simple Choice

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When explaining my decision to use only hand tools to accomplish all of my tasks, as an agrarian I could give the simple answer: they guarantee my commitment to hard work. Often times, I stop the explanation there. When approaching a project, I would rather choose the path that puts my body to work, giving my mind time to think while my body completes the task at hand, rather than only using my mind while letting my body languish. It is more satisfying and more healthful this way. I don’t use hand tools just because I enjoy it more, though. It is logic on many levels which led me to this decision. Continue reading →

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October 17, 2014 · 12:30 pm

Hard Work and Faith

Hard work and faith are choices you must accept to go down the agrarian path. Hard work is just what it sounds, hard. It is grueling, uncomplicated, and satisfying, and the only way to successfully get hard work done is to work hard.  Continue reading →

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October 11, 2014 · 12:30 pm

Agrarianism as a Teacher

Through agrarianism we allow ourselves to transform seemingly hard choices into easily handled decisions. Through our connection with the land, we learn everything that is important, and are then able to infer what is not. We discover lessons that have far-reaching implications through the simple activities we must perform to sustain ourselves, and in so doing, we become strong and truly independent. We learn that we need to provide very little to receive so much. We only need to provide two things: hard work and unwavering faith. Continue reading →

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October 8, 2014 · 9:15 pm

An Introduction

I live in a beautiful rural county in Appalachia that few have ever heard of, fewer have seen with their own eyes, and a pittance actually have the blessing to call their home. This county is surrounded and sectioned by the sort of steep but gently undulating long ridges that typify the ancient and amorous Appalachian Mountains. In a narrow highland valley, between two such ridges, on the crest of a supple hill, lies a small town with no traffic light, no gas station, no post office, no commercial venture of any kind, just a grouping of houses smaller than a single block in a standard suburban housing development. Close enough in distance to this town to be considered a resident of it, but far enough distant to be blissfully uninvolved in the geopolitical and social affairs of its few nosy and gossiping inhabitants, my family and I reside on a small farm, and give thanks every day for what we view as a blessed existence. Continue reading →

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