No. 027 Reading Time 4 minutes
When someone asks for the launch date of the mud house, we reply,
"End of this month."
We said that in December.
In January.
February, and now in March.
In our previous newsletter, we talked about how finishing never seems to finish.
There are days when there is so much happening.
Planning.
Shopping.
Changing three modes of transport to get all the stuff to the site.
First, in a mini truck from the city to the base point. Second, in a tractor to cross the river into the forest. Third, carry it manually through the stairs.
Then there are days when the work comes to a complete standstill.
You can hear the flies buzzing. Today is one such day.
Ansh has gone to Austria for his art exhibition.
Arjun, our supervisor, has gone to a wedding.
Dadi(Granny) who helps us with other stuff has gone to see her daughter.
It’s just me at the Tiny Farm Lab.
As I writer, I tried calling the carpenter to see if it was our lucky day that he might agree to show up. Work does not happen at the pace of the cities. People never show up on time.
One carpenter who managed to offroad on the forest roads and hike to reach our site to see the work, blocked our phone after agreeing to do the work.
The remote site is too intimidating for some people to work.
We recently got a pipeline water connection for each house in the village.
As soon as we attached our house to this main pipeline, the elephant ripped apart the pipes in the forest disrupting the water supply.
The wooden bridge we made this winter almost washed away after it rained non-stop for three days.
We wrongly beeswaxed the earthen floor with linseed oil instead of citrus oil or turpentine. This has made the floor sticky. It will take more time to dry.
When we plug one hole and then another one pops out.
We find ourselves crawling our way to the finish line.
Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
That is what we will have to do and stop obsessing over tiny details.
We know that patience is the most important meta-skill.
But the last few months have tested every ounce of patience we have.
The ego and our mind, are very uncomfortable waiting.
They want you to do something.
Anything better than nothing!
“ I should have it all figured by now. “
The harder I tried to make things happen, the more frustrated I felt.
Nothing moved. Rather it felt like a quicksand of self-pity and criticism.
I was feeling agitated until I came across this line.
“ Relax, you are exactly where you are meant to be. “
This calmed my nerves.
It allowed me to pause and zoom out.
It made me realize that each difficult situation we face now is necessary to fine-tune the final picture. It is like adjusting the contrast and hues.
Life was feeling like a struggle because I was trying too hard.
I was resisting what was happening.
Aldous Huxley rightly defined my inner turmoil,
“ It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. I was so preposterously serious in those days, such a humorless little prig. Lightly, lightly – it’s the best advice ever given me...So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling, on tiptoes and no luggage, not even a sponge bag, completely unencumbered. ”
I have decided to lose control, walk lightly without baggage, and trust that
“ I am exactly where I am supposed to be. “
Thank you for all the kind emails you guys have been sending!Please feel free to reply and let us know your thoughts on surrendering and letting go.
Love,
Raghav
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What you can watch - Wu-wei | The Art of Letting Things Happen
A powerful and thought-provoking video about the art of not forcing (Wu-Wei)
What you can listen to - TFF Podcast I Building an Earthbag Dome and Vanirah Farm with Pawan and Marloes
How wonderful is finding a partner who shares your dreams and values? Pawan and Marloes are the founders of Vanirah Farm, a permaculture farm on the top of the Himalayan mountain in Uttarakhand, India.
In this conversation, we trace their journey from finding land and building an earthbag dome to growing a fruit forest.
What You Can Read - The Danger of Minimalist Design (& the death of detail) A short thread... by the Culture Tutor
Tiny Farm Friends Newsletter. Every Sunday, we share tiny valuable lessons to help you transition to the countryside and build naturally.