Just Get Started

I'm in the middle of reading a new e-Book called "Your Custom Homestead: Awakening a Fresh Vision of Homesteading." The synopsis is:

Contrary to popular belief, a homesteader doesn’t have to be someone who lives on hundreds of acres with the perfect red barn and white picket fence.

Modern day homesteaders come in all shapes and sizes-
■They live in apartments in the middle of the asphalt jungle.
■They reside in suburban neighborhoods with minivans.
■And you might even find them on the outskirts of town on just a couple of acres.

Your Custom Homestead will take you through a 21-day process of moving closer towards your homesteading dreams, no matter where you may live.

So far, it's a good read. One of the main points that I've reached so far, and one that has really started to resonate with me, is that you don't have to and you shouldn't wait for the future to happen. You should MAKE the future happen, and do it NOW!

This idea is one that I have been thinking about for a while now. It's a theme I've run across in various situations, but the one that comes to mind has to do with peach trees.

I've got three peach trees in 3-gallon pots. This sounds ridiculous, but to make matters worse, I've had them in these pots for about three years now. Each year I've had to prune them heavily to keep them small enough so that the pot size doesn't kill them outright. Of course, this means that they aren't flourishing and have never flowered. Why don't I just plant them in the yard?

Well, I haven't wanted to plant them because I don't want to have to leave them behind "when we move to our forever home." That's an example of waiting for the future instead of making it happen. Firstly, how long will it be before we move? Secondly, how do I know that these peach trees will even be a variety that I love and want to put effort into at our forever home? Thirdly, and perhaps most realistically, wouldn't I rather use these trees as a learning experience now, when I have the time, so that when we ARE at our forever home I can raise peaches the right way without wasting time?

Good, healthy peach trees are so readily available that there is no reason to let these unknown, stunted trees hold me back. I can use them to learn about pruning and proper care, then when we do get to our forever home, I'll be ready to hit the ground running so to speak with the knowledge of how to do it right.

Anyway. That's how I'm feeling about things these days - don't wait for the future. Just get started now!